November 18, 2024
Corporate
- We Are Era acquires 100 percent of the shares in Social Match
- Expansion of expertise in influencer and community marketing
- Strengthening market positioning in the creator economy
We Are Era, a pan-European media company in the creator economy, is strengthening its offering for advertisers in the German-speaking region. The digital agency Social Match will become part of the international company with locations in six European markets. With this acquisition, We Are Era is further expanding its influencer and community marketing business and strengthening its presence in the rapidly growing creator economy.
The Social Match team comprises more than 120 experts in areas such as influencer marketing, content creation, channel management and paid advertising. From offices in Berlin, Cologne and Münster, the digital agency founded by Robert Levenhagen advises brands such as Henkel, CASIO, Thalia, Krombacher and funk. With the takeover, Social Match is docking directly onto the international activities of We Are Era, which will create a wide range of cross-media and internationalization opportunities. The management of Social Match under Martin Wroblewski and Bastian Schlochtermeyer will report to the management of We Are Era around CEO Tobias Schiwek.
As the shortest route to every community and subculture, We Are Era focuses primarily on community and culture marketing for brands, broadcasters, platforms and NGOs. The company combines the business areas of data, talent, content and reach marketing under one roof. With the acquisition, Social Match will also gain access to the portfolio of We Are Era's in-house talent agency of the same name with 1,500 artists and creators in 12 European markets.
“Social Match is the perfect match for us - operationally and culturally. Robert, Martin, Bastian and their team have established processes that perfectly complement our philosophy of community marketing. As pioneers, we at We Are Era have been decoding the lifeworlds of fragmented target groups in a data-driven way for years. We see communities as the most valuable currency in the attention economy. For our partners, we are the shortest route to every community. With the precise processes of Social Match, this path is now even shorter. 'Belonging' is more than just a strategy for us; it is a core corporate value that shapes our understanding of communities and informs our daily interactions. That's why we are delighted to welcome the Social Match team and look forward to building brands for the age of the community economy together,” explains Tobias Schiwek, CEO of We Are Era. Together with Nancy Julius (COO), Barbara Zeiss (CPO) and Christoph von Schwerin (CFO), he will manage the business of the RTL Group company.
“With Social Match, we have built a successful case in the creator economy in Germany and are thrilled to have the opportunity to further consolidate our core expertise in influencer marketing and social media management internationally as part of We Are Era. The resulting synergy effects also offer our customers completely new opportunities to expand target groups and tap into new markets,” emphasizes Martin Wroblewski, Managing Director of Social Match, and Managing Director Bastian Schlochtermeyer adds: ”In the discussions between Social Match and We Are Era, it quickly became clear that we have the same view of the creator economy, but above all of a modern working world and corporate culture. Just like us, We Are Era places a strong emphasis on its employees. The content-related, but above all excellent cultural fit with the We Are Era team makes the takeover a logical next step for both companies and helps the digital industry to become even more professional.”
The acquisition of Social Match by We Are Era is pending approval from competition authorities in Germany and Austria.
