Brandwatch

What Brandwatch does

Brandwatch is a consumer intelligence and social media management software company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Brighton, United Kingdom, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cision Group Ltd (with Cision's global headquarters in London). The company's platform combines social listening, consumer research, publishing, engagement, analytics, influencer marketing, and media intelligence into a unified suite consumed by over 7,500 brands globally, including 2/3 of Forbes' 100 most powerful brands. Core products include Consumer Intelligence (formerly Consumer Research), Social Media Management (the integrated Falcon.io suite comprising Publish, Engage, Measure, Benchmark, Listen, and Advertise), Influence (formerly Paladin), Search Intelligence with GenAI Monitoring, Vizia visualization, and Media Intelligence & Insights, all layered on the proprietary Iris AI engine that applies natural language processing, generative AI, predictive analytics, anomaly detection, and knowledge retrieval across text, image, video, and audio modalities drawn from 100M+ sources with multilingual and APAC-specific coverage (WeChat, Weibo, RedNote). Recognized as a Leader by Forrester (2024) and QKS (2025) and a Major Player by IDC (2025) for social suites, social media management, and influencer marketing respectively, Brandwatch holds EU-U.S., UK-U.S., and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certifications for its Crimson Hexagon and Falcon.io US entities.

The company generates revenue through enterprise SaaS subscriptions priced via custom quotes on annual or multi-year terms, distributed through a sales-led GTM that combines direct enterprise field sales, inside sales for mid-market, and cross-sell leverage through its Cision parent. Target buyers span intelligence-led social teams, communications and PR-led organizations, and enterprise marketing departments across verticals including agencies, financial services, media and entertainment, pharma and healthcare, retail, CPG, and technology. Named marquee customers include Virgin Holidays, OnePlus, Metia, Bimbo, BBC, Eurostar, Nestlé, and the Detroit-based integrated communications firm Franco. Brandwatch has expanded its capabilities through acquisitions of BuzzSumo (2017), Crimson Hexagon (2018), Qriously (2019), and Paladin (2022), the last rebranded as Influence; in February 2026 the company and partners were selected by NATO's Communications and Information Agency to deliver the Information Environment Assessment Capability, extending the platform into government-grade disinformation monitoring.

Name

Brandwatch

Legal name

Runtime Collective Limited

Website

https://brandwatch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Brandwatch is an AI-powered consumer intelligence and social media management platform, a Cision subsidiary, that serves 7,500+ enterprise brands globally with social listening, publishing, engagement, influencer marketing, and GenAI search monitoring across 100M+ data sources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Media Intelligence and Consumer Analytics Software

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Social & Digital Insights (Social Listening, Online Community Research) (MPAAALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reputation Measurement, Auditing & Sentiment Analytics (MPAAAOAO), Media Relations, Monitoring & Rapid Response (MPAAAOAK), Measurement, Attribution & Brand Safety (Fraud/Compliance) (MPACAGAF), Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive) (BPAFAEAJ)

Keywords

• Consumer intelligence platform
• Social media analytics
• Social listening software
• Influencer marketing platform
• Digital market research

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription: Enterprise SaaS platform sold through subscription contracts, typically annual or multi-year agreements. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to enterprise requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Brandwatch provides an AI-powered consumer intelligence and social media management suite that enables enterprises to monitor over 100 million online sources, analyze consumer conversations across languages, and manage social publishing, engagement, and influencer campaigns. Its core modules include Consumer Intelligence for social listening and research, Social Media Management for publishing and engagement, and Influence for end-to-end influencer marketing, all unified by the proprietary Iris AI intelligence layer.

Product overview

Brandwatch is a comprehensive consumer intelligence and social media management platform offered as a unified suite with modular components. The core platform consists of Consumer Intelligence (social listening and research), Social Media Management (formerly Falcon.io for publishing and engagement), and Influence (formerly Paladin for influencer marketing). These are enhanced by the Iris AI intelligence layer providing generative AI and NLP capabilities, Search Intelligence for GenAI monitoring, Vizia for visualization, and Media Intelligence & Insights for expert analysis. The Social Media Management module includes sub-products for Publish, Engage, Measure, Benchmark, Listen, and Advertise. The platform operates across 100+ million data sources with multilingual support and is a Cision company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Falcon.io: Social media management platform for publishing, engagement, and analytics. Now integrated under Brandwatch's Social Media Management solution.
• Influence
• Iris AI
• Brandwatch Academy

Products and services

• Consumer Intelligence

Quantifiable outcome

• 22% higher click-through rate on Twitter ads, 59% higher landing rate, and 144% higher conversion rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Blackbird.AIflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Brandwatch and Blackbird.AI consortium selected by NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to deliver Information Environment Assessment Capability (IEAC). The solution provides AI-enabled tools to monitor, analyze, and respond to disinformation and narrative threats across public and commercial data sources. The consortium integrates Brandwatch's social intelligence with Blackbird.AI's narrative intelligence platform.
• TrajaancoreTechnology or Integration · 10 February 2026Technology partner from Cision portfolio integrated into the NATO IEAC solution. Trajaan provides technology capabilities for the information environment assessment capability delivered to NATO.
• PaladincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2022Brandwatch acquired Paladin in March 2022 to enhance its social media suite with influencer marketing management capabilities. Paladin has been rebranded as 'Influence' and is now part of Brandwatch's Social Media Management solution. The acquisition enables influencer-brand collaborations, campaign management, and measurement.
• Falcon.iocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFalcon.io merged into Brandwatch; former Falcon products now integrated under 'Social Media Management' in Brandwatch's suite. Existing Falcon customers can access products via the Brandwatch login.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sprinklr: Enterprise social media management and customer experience platform offering publishing, engagement, listening, and analytics across the same buyer profile (large CMOs, social teams, and global brands) that Brandwatch targets.
• Talkwalker: AI-powered social listening and consumer intelligence platform, a direct competitor to Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence with similar enterprise customer base and multilingual coverage.
• Khoros: Social media management and online community platform serving enterprise brands with publishing, moderation, and analytics, competing for the same brand and agency buyers as Brandwatch's Social Media Management suite.
• NetBase Quid: AI-driven consumer and market intelligence platform specializing in social analytics, sentiment, and trend detection, directly comparable to Brandwatch's Consumer Intelligence offering.
• Synthesio (Ipsos): Enterprise social listening platform owned by Ipsos, providing consumer intelligence and trend analytics to global brands in direct competition with Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence.
• Meltwater: Media intelligence and social listening platform serving PR, communications, and marketing teams globally, offering overlapping capabilities to Brandwatch and Cision's media intelligence suite.
• Sprout Social: Public social media management platform serving mid-market and enterprise customers with publishing, engagement, analytics, and social listening, directly competing with Brandwatch's Social Media Management product.
• Hootsuite: Long-standing social media management suite used by enterprises and mid-market brands for publishing, scheduling, and engagement, with overlapping AI-driven social listening capabilities competing with Brandwatch's suite.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe Experience Cloud: Enterprise marketing and analytics suite that includes social media management and content intelligence as part of a broader martech portfolio, representing a bundled alternative to Brandwatch's specialized suite.
• Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Broad marketing technology incumbent offering social studio capabilities within a larger marketing, advertising, and customer engagement cloud, often displacing point solutions like Brandwatch in large enterprise deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brandwatch
• Facebookfacebook.com/Brandwatch
• Xx.com/Brandwatch

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A5 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brandwatch