Written by Joe Jackson on May 6, 2022. Posted in General Interest

Brainlabs purchases youth marketing experts Fanbytes

Fanbytes has been acquired by digital media agency Brainlabs. Fanbytes specialises in influencer marketing for Gen Z, producing content across social platforms TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. Brainlabs and Fanbytes have always shared similar data-led, test-and-learn approaches to their work, and the purchase will help the Gen Z marketers reach new international audiences.

“I’m super excited about welcoming Fanbytes to Brainlabs, not only because I’m in awe at what they’ve achieved in such a short space of time but I also see them as an essential piece of the jigsaw in our digital media offering,” says Daniel Gilbert, Global CEO at Brainlabs. “Influencer marketing has rapidly become an integral part of the digital media mix so to be able to offer it alongside our other capabilities under one roof is a huge advantage to our clients.”

The 60-strong team at Fanbytes is led by CEO Timothy Armoo. He started the company in 2017 while at university, and was named in last year's Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List. Under the stewardship of Armoo and co-founders Ambrose Cooke (COO) and Mitchell Fasanya (CTO), the company offers services to over 500 brands across the globe, including Samsung, H&M, Estee Lauder, Mattel, Ubisoft, and Nike. Fanbytes will now lead and shape Brainlabs’ influencer offering, bringing its expertise to US, LATAM and APAC regions where Brainlabs already has offices.

“Through Brainlabs’ global network we can supercharge what we do, bringing our technology, expertise and talent to an even bigger audience, says Armoo. “We’ve also found a kindred spirit that shares similar ambitions… From being first advocates of Snap and TikTok before the industry took either seriously, to literally inventing new ways for brands to use those channels, we’ve always carved our own path, and helped our clients carve theirs, and we’re excited to continue this with Brainlabs.”

Fanbytes nurtured a strong reputation for delivering award-winning campaigns thanks to its proprietary data tool Bytesights: an extensive dataset of over 3 million social media influencers that enables brands to monitor growth, predict trends, and identify emerging influencer talent. The company has also built notoriety for innovation through industry-first projects like Bytesquad, a collective of six top TikTok creators who made history by creating Europe’s first ever TikTok house. The project secured 2K Games, Rubik’s and Public Health England as brand partners.

In 2020, Fanbytes launched the Fanbytes Impact Fund, a GBP250,000 fund dedicated to addressing the pay gap between black and non-black influencers and to provide funding and agency expertise to black-owned businesses. In its first year, the fund supported 14 black-owned businesses and 85+ black creators.

“From day one, Fanbytes has been about more than just an ambition to fundamentally change how brands can speak to consumers (and vice versa),” Armoo adds, “but always being one calculated step ahead in how we achieve that.”