Influencer marketing firm Partipost bags US$7m to continue Asia expansion

Asia’s crowd influencer marketing and commerce platform Partipost has secured an investment of over US$7 million. About 20% to 30% of the fresh funds will be used for marketing. The remainder will be used to accelerate the development of Partipost's new product suite to support the increased business needs of their multi-market commercial clientele as mask mandates retire across the Asian markets. Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong will join as Partipost's sixth, seventh and eighth operational footprint in the next 18 months.

Partipost's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it will be focusing on user acquisition in 2023 so that more consumers can become influencers for the brands they love and be rewarded for doing so. It plans to hire at least 100 staff across Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong, and it is in the look out for roles in business development, marketing, and account management. The company is currently in Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The oversubscribed round is led by global venture capital fund manager, iGlobe Partners, with participation from Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Taiwan Mobile, Cathay Venture, and Quest Ventures. With this fundraising round completed, iGlobe Partners’ partner Joyce Ng will be joining Partipost’s board as a director.

According to Partipost which cited a Statista report, the geographic range of investors in this round reflects the accelerating growth in the influencer marketing industry in Asia, which is poised to hit US$24 billion by 2024. Partipost has worked with brands including DFI Retail Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Jinro and COTY.

Jonathan Eg, founder and CEO of Partipost, said: “Despite the macroeconomic challenges, we have been able to complete this fundraising round. A lot of the credit has to go not only to our investors but also our team members across the region for their dedication, perseverance, and belief in the future of Partipost. We want to be a platform for all brands to use and all influencers to use, and we are definitely getting closer to that vision.”

This isn't the first time Partipost raised this amount of money. Partipost received extended funding on their series A, with a total investment of US$5 million in 2021. The funds was used to accelerate product and market expansions as the COVID-19 business climate propels the growth of Partipost’s commercial clientele. It also further developed Partipost’s tech platform and accelerate business expansion into Vietnam, as well as strengthen current operations in Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and its recent expansion into Malaysia and the Philippines earlier that year.

Two years ago, Partipost secured an investment of US$3.5 million in a Series A round funding to expand its business into Malaysia, Vietnam, and Philippines, as well as to strengthen current operations in Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan. The round was led by SPH Ventures with participation from Quest Ventures and other investors. 

IGlobe's Ng said that with the ever-increasing social media penetration rate in Asia today, the company believes that the creator economy will be here to stay. As such, brands need to explore different marketing tools to break through the content clutter in this ultra-connected digital age.

"Partipost has disrupted the traditional idea of marketing by creating a robust crowd influencer ecosystem and efficient workflow for influencers and brands. As the lead investor for this financing round, we are impressed with Eg and his team and are excited to journey with them to take them to the next level, Ng said.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Seah, partner at Quest Ventures Asia Fund, added that this is its third cheque in support of Partipost. In addition to garnering an increased share of the advertising and marketing budget pies, Partipost has increasingly been retained by marketing clients to develop product sampling and research campaigns in traditional trade distribution channels, he said.

"Alongside the shift in mindsets and habits of end customers, brand marketers are now looking for captive funnels to capture a covid generation of WFH consumers inundated with choice. Influencers and creators on Partipost’s platform, as a result, have seen their talent value validated commercially by the market. Tony, Ben and Jon are the genre of digital economy operators we will continue to support," Seah explained.

Brand marketers are doubling down on influencer marketing. In fact, Partipost's influencer marketing report said brand marketers are currently investing up to 33% of their marketing budget in this segment. 

Partipost's crowd influencer marketing and commerce platform seks to drive authentic word-of-mouth marketing by matching brands to influencers with the highest brand affinity. With data insights collected through its in-app polls and user behaviours, Partipost’s data-centric framework crowd sourced influencers with follower sizes ranging from a few hundred to millions of followers. 

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