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Legacy agencies vs independents

  • Lauren Ludlow
  • 6 days ago
  • 1 min read

Publicis just acquired Captiv8 - and if you're in the creator economy, it’s a move worth watching.


Recent shake ups:


→ Publicis acquired Influential in July 2024 

→ Now, Captiv8 joins the mix, just one year later

→ WPP picked up Village Marketing

→ Orchestra scooped up Small Girls PR

→ Marc Benioff invests in Whalar at a $400 million valuation


Here’s what’s interesting: these agencies aren’t being folded into the legacy holding companies. They’re staying independent.


Why? Creator marketing doesn’t scale like media. You can’t centralize trust, cultural fluency, or relationships - and trying to often strips away what made these agencies valuable in the first place.


Having worked inside these networks — and collaborated across the ecosystem - this is what I see.


This isn’t just about buying platforms. It’s about buying time:


- Time to catch up and build credibility

- Time to figure out how to scale creator work without breaking the magic


At Ludlow Social, we’re small by design to be upstream in strategy. We turn influencer marketing into a growth engine, not just a paid tactic. And we’re building systems that compound influence - not just convert it.


The creator economy isn’t niche anymore. It’s infrastructure, operations, and a solid tech stack to enable scale.


The real question now is: who gets to define best-in-class?



 
 
 

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