WPP has announced its strategic investment in China, in Beijing-based StarEngine, which it describes as a "social content-marketing technology startup." Financial details of the deal weren't disclosed.
As per terms of the deal, the two firms will develop social commerce products, aiming to give advertisers more control over KOL investments.
“WPP’s clients have built a follower base of millions but sometimes struggle to monetise their multi-platform fanbase," Patrick Xu, country manager for WPP in China, said in a release. "WPP and StarEngine will jointly develop...(a) product that is purpose-built for planning and execution of social-commerce campaigns.”
The strategic investment highlights WPP’s emphasis on the Chinese market and marketing technology, the company claimed. StarEngine was founded in February 2021 and has 36 employees, all in Beijing. WPP didn't disclose the startup's client list.
Liu Bing, CEO and founder of StarEngine, said in a release that shared clients and new prospects would benefit from "from a streamlined innovation funnel" and use the firm's tech capabilities to improve "operability of underlying technologies".
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