Today, global performance marketing platform CJ has announced its acquisition of Perlu, a Syracuse, New York-based influencer networking and technology platform, focused on serving the creator community.
Founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of digital marketing company Terakeet, Perlu provides a rapid service that connects brands with its dynamic community of influencers. Perlu’s platform will be integrated into the company's ‘CJ Influence’ offering, which already includes global content creators and account teams working to drive brand performance.
CJ’s leading performance technology will serve as the backbone of Perlu’s creator community to further drive commerce growth. Placing a greater emphasis on the connection between affiliate and influencer marketing, this acquisition promises to drive more accountable sales and derive better insights into the full customer journey.
Mayur Kshetramade, CEO of CJ, spoke at length about building stronger bridges between the worlds of affiliate and influencer in our recent interview with him. When asked what trends affiliate marketing should capitalise on this year, Mayur responded, “In 2023, we will finally see the combination of influencer marketing with performance marketing’s exacting and accountable approach.
“There’s a big challenge right now for advertisers to scale influencer marketing efforts and results. Supercharging influencer marketing by fully integrating affiliate’s advanced-level insight, analytics, and expertise will take the influencer channel far beyond what it is capable of today.”
Evidently, CJ is already prepared to stride into this space and push the potential of partnerships forward.
Speaking on the acquisition, Mayur comments, “Affiliate and influencer are a natural fit. We have worked with content creators and publishers for years and developed a dedicated influencer specialisation about 10 years ago. Perlu’s approach is resonant with our ecosystem and ethos – we work hard to find the win-win-win – a win for brand advertisers, a win for publishers, and by that, a win for their consumers. Perlu does the same for influencers, brands, and their audiences. We are thrilled to bring Perlu into CJ to continue to elevate our content creators' performance within our CJ Influence offering, now including Perlu.”
Andres Echenique, Co-Founder and CEO of Perlu, said: “Just like affiliate marketing, influencer marketing benefits most from relationship building, from the ongoing, well-nurtured partnerships between a brand and its community of influencers to drive sales. Joining CJ and its vast network of long-standing advertiser and publisher relationships is the perfect fit for Perlu’s growth and it's the right place for our clients and community to continue to thrive.”
We expect to see a greater strengthening of the relationship between these two channels throughout 2023, reaping the benefits of seeds sewn over the past few years.
