WhoSay, a US-based marketing platform backed by corporates Comcast, Tencent, Amazon and CAA, was acquired by media group Viacom for an undisclosed sum on Monday.
The acquisition followed a two-year partnership between the companies, during which WhoSay handled more than 50 advertising campaigns for a variety of Viacom units, such as television channels MTV and BET.
Co-founded by entertainment agency CAA and chief executive Steve Ellis in 2010, WhoSay operates a creative marketing agency aimed at a wide range of talent from micro-influencers – social media users with 1,000 to 50,000 followers – to international celebrities.
WhoSay’s offering includes vetting and casting, campaign strategy, content production and distribution across social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram.
The company has been responsible for more than 400 campaigns that have generated more than five billion views in total. It plans to expand its campaigns into television and brick and mortar stores following the acquisition.
WhoSay had raised approximately $30m in funding according to Variety, though the figure could not be independently corroborated. Deals databases PitchBook and Crunchbase place its total equity funding at about $20m.
WhoSay last disclosed funding in 2012, when mass media group Comcast’s investment unit, Comcast Ventures, led a $12m series C round that included e-commerce firm Amazon, internet company Tencent, Greylock Partners and High Peaks Ventures.
Greylock had previously supplied funding in 2011 and while the size of that investment was not publicly disclosed, a regulatory filing indicates WhoSay raised nearly $1.2m at roughly the same time. It also closed a $2.4m series A round in 2010.