Activate
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Activate does
ACTIVATE (formerly Bloglovin') is an influencer marketing platform that operates as a brand within Impact's Partnership Cloud following Impact's August 2020 acquisition. The company serves brands, agencies, and talent managers with three integrated offerings: the ACTIVATE Platform (a self-serve SaaS for influencer discovery, casting, relationship management, campaign workflow, and analytics), the ACTIVATE Network (an opt-in marketplace of 300K+ vetted creators combined across ACTIVATE and Impact), and ACTIVATE Studio (white-glove managed campaign services including strategy, casting, and execution). The platform originated as Bloglovin' in 2007 (reaching 12M+ registered users), formally launched the ACTIVATE technology in 2014, and rebranded to ACTIVATE in 2018 under CEO Kamiu Lee.
The technology stack covers the full influencer campaign lifecycle: Influencer Relationship Management (IRM) for logging and filtering custom influencer attributes, a casting/recommendation engine ('Define Your Casting Lens'), customizable task and deliverable tracking, and comprehensive reporting on conversions, CTR, impressions, and audience sentiment. The platform integrates with TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, and is a Shopify Plus Certified App that automates product ordering, discounting, and fulfillment. Content Amplification extends organic influencer content into paid Facebook/Instagram campaigns, and an Agency Experience with white-labeled Client Portal serves multi-brand agency accounts. A talent manager portal supports roster-level oversight, and the platform claims reach to an extended database of 5MM+ Instagram influencers.
Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: SaaS platform subscriptions (quote-based, annual cadence with no public pricing), ACTIVATE Studio managed services priced per engagement, marketplace commissions on creator-brand introductions, and partnership/affiliate commissions enabled by Impact's Partnership Cloud (supporting fixed, hybrid, value-based, and performance payout models). Go-to-market combines self-serve PLG sign-up (web demo request, Shopify App Store) with a sales-led enterprise motion amplified by Impact's distribution into 15 of the world's top 20 consumer companies. The company has raised approximately $18.6M in venture funding pre-acquisition (lead investors historically including Northzone, Betaworks, Lerer Hippeau, and White Star Capital) and made two acquisitions (Finale in 2015, Sverve in 2016) to consolidate creator-economy assets before the Impact exit.
Activate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Activate
- Legal name
- ACTIVATE by Impact
- Website
- https://try.activate.social
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Activate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Influencer Marketing Platform
- NAICS
- Media Representatives (541840), Public Relations Agencies (541820)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Influencer Marketing Platforms (Discovery/Search/CRM) (MPACAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Influencer Marketing & Creator Marketplaces (BPAMALAG), Campaign Management & Workflow Software (Briefing/Approvals) (MPACAGAE), Influencer Gifting, Seeding & Sampling Platforms (MPACAGAL), Influencer Paid Amplification & Whitelisting (Spark Ads/Branded Content Ads) (MPAAAHAJ)
Keywords
Where Activate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stockholm
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Activate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Subscription: ACTIVATE Platform provides self-serve access to technology, data, and an influencer network. Brands and agencies pay for platform access to discover, manage, and track influencer campaigns.
- ACTIVATE Studio Managed Services: Full white-glove influencer marketing services provided by the in-house Studio team, including strategy, ideation, casting, and campaign execution. Sold as a premium managed service alongside or independent of the SaaS platform.
- Partnership Automation / Affiliate Commission: Post-acquisition by Impact, ACTIVATE is integrated with Impact's Partnership Cloud which enables commission-based payouts to creators and influencers, supporting fixed fee, hybrid fixed/performance, value-based, and performance-based payout models across the partnership channel.
- Marketplace Commission / Creator Fees: The premier marketplace connects brands with creators from different verticals and top-tier talent agencies, with ACTIVATE taking a platform fee for facilitating these introductions and collaborations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Platform access and ACTIVATE Studio services are offered on a quote/proposal basis with no public pricing listed. |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Activate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Activate is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform that enables brands and agencies to discover, recruit, manage, and measure influencer campaigns through a SaaS application built on an opt-in network of vetted creators, supplemented by ACTIVATE Studio, a managed services offering that delivers full white-glove influencer campaigns. The platform covers discovery and casting, Influencer Relationship Management, campaign workflow, ROI reporting, content amplification into paid social, and integrations with major social platforms plus Shopify for product seeding.
Product overview
ACTIVATE by Impact is an influencer marketing platform consisting of three main components: the ACTIVATE Platform (self-serve SaaS technology), ACTIVATE Network (opt-in network of 300K+ qualified influencers), and ACTIVATE Studio (full-service managed campaigns). The platform offers end-to-end capabilities including influencer discovery and casting, campaign management and reporting, Influencer Relationship Management (IRM), custom surveys, Agency Experience with multi-brand management, Social Mentions listening tools, Content Amplification for paid social, and a talent manager portal. The ecosystem integrates with TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, and Shopify.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ACTIVATE Network: World's largest opt-in network of qualified and vetted influencers
- ACTIVATE Studio
- ACTIVATE Platform
Products and services
- ACTIVATE Platform End-to-end self-serve influencer marketing SaaS covering influencer discovery and casting, Influencer Relationship Management (IRM), campaign workflow, comprehensive ROI reporting, social mentions listening, content amplification, and integrations with TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, and Shopify. Built on an opt-in network of vetted creators.
- ACTIVATE Network The opt-in creator network of 46,000+ vetted and authenticated influencers across diverse verticals (plus an extended database of 5M+ Instagram influencers that can be invited), enabling brands to discover, recruit, activate, manage, and measure influencer partners.
- ACTIVATE Studio Full-service managed influencer marketing offering that delivers influencer strategy and ideation, casting and execution, and fully managed campaigns on behalf of brands and agencies. Positioned as an extension of the client's team and available as fully managed engagements or à la carte services.
Companies that use Activate
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Activate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability5 records
Feature12 records
Activate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- ShopifycoreACTIVATE integrated with Shopify, enabling Shopify merchants to connect their stores to ACTIVATE's influencer marketing solution. The integration automates product ordering, fulfillment, approvals, discounting, and shipment tracking sharing for influencer sampling campaigns. ACTIVATE is a Shopify Plus Certified App.
- TikTokcoreACTIVATE integrated with TikTok, allowing influencers to connect their TikTok profiles to their ACTIVATE account. The integration surfaces TikTok data including display name, bio, follower count, total likes, average likes, average shares, total videos, and video content with engagement metrics on each influencer's profile.
- TwitchcoreACTIVATE integrated with Twitch, allowing influencers to connect their Twitch profiles to ACTIVATE. The integration surfaces Twitch metrics including view counts, total followers, total subscribers, total views, average views, and video content details (title, description, thumbnail, views, duration) on each influencer's profile.
- PinterestcoreACTIVATE is a Pinterest Marketing Partner. This partnership enables ACTIVATE to provide deeper influencer analytics to brands, agencies, and media companies through the Pinterest platform, with co-marketing visibility within the Pinterest ecosystem.
- Bloglovin'flagshipACTIVATE originated from Bloglovin', launched in 2007 as an online platform and community for creators, tastemakers, and their fans. Bloglovin' had over 12 million registered global users. Brands began leveraging Bloglovin' to find influencers, which led to the formal launch of the ACTIVATE technology platform in 2014. Bloglovin' media placements are still used in ACTIVATE Studio campaigns (e.g., Dollar Shave Club case study).
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Activate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CreatorIQ: Enterprise influencer marketing platform offering discovery, workflow, relationship management, and analytics. Directly competes with Activate Platform for enterprise brand and agency customers, and is widely regarded as a category leader in the same SaaS segment.
- Grin: Influencer marketing platform focused on creator relationship management, gifting, and ROI analytics, with deep Shopify and e-commerce integrations. Directly competes with Activate for DTC and e-commerce brand customers, including on Shopify merchant workflows.
- Aspire (formerly AspireIQ): End-to-end influencer marketing platform with marketplace, workflow, and content collaboration capabilities. Directly competes with Activate across mid-market and enterprise brand customers, with comparable marketplace plus managed services model.
- Upfluence: Influencer marketing platform with discovery, outreach, campaign management, and e-commerce integrations. Directly competes with Activate, particularly on self-serve SaaS and Shopify-integrated influencer workflows.
- Klear (Meltwater): Influencer marketing platform offering discovery, analytics, and campaign management, now part of Meltwater's broader consumer intelligence suite. Directly competes with Activate on discovery and analytics, with the Meltwater parent adding PR and media intelligence scale.
- Traackr: Influencer marketing platform focused on brand safety, performance measurement, and global creator discovery. Directly competes with Activate on enterprise brand customers and creator relationship management.
- Tagger (Sprout Social): Influencer marketing and social intelligence platform acquired by Sprout Social. Directly competes with Activate on discovery, campaign analytics, and enterprise influencer workflows, with Sprout Social adding social media management distribution.
- IZEA Worldwide: Influencer marketing marketplace and managed services provider, public company offering influencer discovery, campaign execution, and content licensing. Directly competes with Activate on marketplace and managed services, particularly for enterprise brand campaigns.
Broad incumbents
- impact.com: Activate's parent company and the broader partnership automation platform that Activate is integrated into. Overlaps with Activate on influencer and creator partnership management, but operates as a much broader affiliate, B2B, and creator partnership suite rather than a pure-play influencer platform.
Emerging players
- HypeAuditor: AI-driven influencer analytics and fraud detection platform serving brands, agencies, and influencer marketing platforms. Overlaps with Activate's analytics and discovery capabilities, but focuses on audience quality and authenticity rather than full campaign workflow.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Activate social profiles
Digital presenceActivate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Activate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Activate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Activate M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Activate
What does Activate do?
Activate is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform that enables brands and agencies to discover, recruit, manage, and measure influencer campaigns through a SaaS application built on an opt-in network of vetted creators, supplemented by ACTIVATE Studio, a managed services offering that delivers full white-glove influencer campaigns. The platform covers discovery and casting, Influencer Relationship Management, campaign workflow, ROI reporting, content amplification into paid social, and integrations with major social platforms plus Shopify for product seeding.
Is Activate a public or private company?
Activate is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Activate founded?
Activate was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Activate based?
Activate is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Activate make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are ACTIVATE Studio Managed Services, partnership Automation / Affiliate Commission and marketplace Commission / Creator Fees.
Who are Activate's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CreatorIQ, Grin, Aspire (formerly AspireIQ), Upfluence, Klear (Meltwater), Traackr, Tagger (Sprout Social) and IZEA Worldwide. impact.com is listed as a broad incumbent. HypeAuditor is listed as an emerging player.
Does Activate have an API?
No public API is recorded for Activate.
What industry is Activate in?
Activate's product category is Influencer Marketing Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAGAA, Influencer Marketing Platforms (Discovery/Search/CRM), with a secondary code of BPAMALAG, Influencer Marketing & Creator Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 541840 and its SIC code is 7311.