WPP acquires influencer marketing agency Goat

British advertising giant WPP has acquired award-winning influencer marketing agency Goat for an undisclosed amount.

Founded in 2015 by Arron Shepherd, Nick Cooke, and Harry Hugo, London-based Goat Agency has provided influencer marketing solutions to many leading brands around the world including Meta, Uber, Dell, Tesco and Electronic Arts. The company has monitored the performance of more than 50,000 influencer channels as well as over 250,000 pieces of content so far, WDD said in a statement.

Goat, which currently has a team of more than 150 employees across its three offices, has been previously named among the top LinkedIn companies, Europe’s fastest growing agency by Adweek, and Social Media Agency of the Year by The Drum.

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WDD announced that Goat will join its media investment group GroupM following the acquisition, and merge with its influencer marketing division INCA ‘’to create the industry’s first truly global influencer marketing agency with more than 300 employees in over 30 markets around the world.’’ The merged entity will be named ‘’Goat’’ and operate under the media performance organization GroupM Nexus.

Goat Founder and Chief Executive Officer Arron Shepherd said: “We couldn’t be happier to be joining WPP and GroupM to bring our leading global influencer marketing and digital solutions to some of the best brands in the world. We are delighted to combine forces with the amazing talent at INCA to deliver even better value for our clients all over the world.”

WPP CEO Mark Read commented: “Influencer marketing is a key growth priority for the industry and for WPP. Our clients are increasingly planning budgets at a global scale and require partners that have the global reach to help deliver, whilst driving engagement and impact at a local level. Goat’s proven track record in the influencer marketing space paired with GroupM’s record of excellence will continue to build on our unparalleled expertise in this area.”

According to a recent report from creator marketing agency Open Influence, 64% of marketers are expecting to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2023. 

WDD’s acquisition of Goat could help significantly grow its footprint in the influencer marketing arena and pave the way for a bigger slice of the pie.