Influencer Marketing Platform Lefty Joins Cathay Capital Backed The Independents Group
April 13, 2021
Europe
The Independents Group is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with Lefty, a Paris-based premium influencer marketing platform. Supported by global investment firm Cathay Capital, the alliance will see Lefty’s three founders become partners and shareholders of the group while continuing to lead the growth of the site.
Lefty operates a proprietary SaaS (software as a service) platform, enabling brands to discover, manage and measure collaborations with social-media influencers. Already used extensively by the global luxury industry, Lefty is recognised as one of the market’s leading platforms to analytically track the impact of influencer marketing strategies.
Through its data-driven site, Lefty enables brands to manage and measure the performance of social media campaigns across TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Lefty integrates a discovery tool, allowing users to quickly find relevant influencers through filtered searches based on audience size, engagement, and interests. Brands can also differentiate the impact of organic versus sponsored content and analyse the demographics of influencers’ communities.
As a direct result of the partnership, Lefty and The Independents are expected to soon announce the coverage of the main social networks across Asia, including China — thus delivering a global solution for clients. The partnership will also see Lefty’s platform incorporated into each of The Independents Group’s 12 global offices. Two larger Lefty hubs will be opening in New York and Shanghai to service the North American and Chinese markets.
“Lefty has built a fantastic platform which will grow to become a substantial part of our group’s activities,” says Isabelle Chouvet, CEO of The Independents Group. “Influence has been a core element of our work, across our communications agencies Karla Otto and The Qode but also at our experiential agency K2. What’s new and thrilling with this partnership is that it also adds a new layer of data insights and performance tracking that will complement our qualitative and personal approach to influence. It will give us the ability to scale up our capabilities.”
Established in 2015 by Christian Rivasseau, Roman Berenstein and Thomas Repelski — graduates of the prestigious École Polytechnique, in Paris — Lefty’s team of engineers will bring technological capabilities to the group. This will include integration and development within fields such as AI, big data, search and data-visualization, as well as UI/UX and agile prototyping.
“We have spent the last two years putting together a scalable technology platform that can integrate with any social network and we are thrilled to have a chance to develop it globally, including in Asia where our SaaS offer is still very new,” says Lefty CEO Thomas Repelski.
“The online influencer space is fast consolidating across the world. This timely partnership between The Independents Group and Lefty will enable both organisations, as well as influencers and clients, to benefit from a considerably greater scale and from ever more precise technologies. We look forward to supporting their growth in Asia and globally,” conclude Edouard Moinet and Jérémie Falzone, Partners at Cathay Capital.
Lefty’s technology team will lead the development of new services for the group in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle sectors, thus consolidating the position of The Independents Group’s communications agencies Karla Otto and The Qode as leaders within the influencer marketing space. Lefty’s technological and data capabilities will also prove transformational in the way the agencies service their existing clients, with data-driven insights incorporated into overall brand strategies and day-to-day decision making.
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENTS
The Independents is a global group of agencies for industry leaders across luxury and lifestyle, comprising Karla Otto, K2, The Qode and Lefty. The agency collective is powerfully positioned to offer streamlined strategy, creative, talent, influencer marketing, experiences and communications services for leading brands across key territories.
Each agency within the group shares distinct values: a drive for excellence, an understanding of the dynamic cultural landscape and a sense of community rooted in thoughtful collaboration.
ABOUT LEFTY
Lefty is a SaaS influencer marketing platform supporting the world’s most innovative lifestyle brands to discover, manage and track influencers and measure their impact.
ABOUT KARLA OTTO
Founded in 1982, Karla Otto is a full-service brand-building agency specialising in fashion, design, beauty, lifestyle, arts and culture, operating from 12 cities.
ABOUT K2
K2 is a full-service experiential communications agency providing innovative strategies for the world’s leading brands in luxury, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Founded in 2002, the agency works across Asia, Europe, the Middle-East and the US.
ABOUT THE QODE
Luxury communications agency The Qode was founded in 2010 by Dipesh Depala and Ayman Fakoussa. Based in Dubai, the agency’s work spans the Middle East, North Africa and India.
About Cathay Capital Group
Cathay Capital Group is a global investment firm supporting companies at all stages throughout North America, Asia, Europe and Africa. By helping navigate the opportunities of globalization and sustainable transformation, Cathay is the partner of choice for companies aspiring to lead markets and make a positive impact. Its global platform connects people – from investors and entrepreneurs to management teams and leading corporations – across continents to share knowledge, the tools to scale, and achieve the extraordinary. Founded in 2007 with a strong entrepreneurial heritage, Cathay Capital now manages over $4,2B in assets, has completed over 180 buyouts, growth and venture capital investments with the global reach and local expertise across Paris, London, Munich, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.
For more information, please visit www.cathaycapital.com
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