Be Social
Be Social (The Digital Department) is a Los Angeles-based digital communications company operating an influencer marketing agency (The Digital Dept.) and an AI-powered virtual try-on platform (be Retail Social) for retail e-commerce in beauty and fashion.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Be Social does
Be Social (legal name: The Digital Department) is a private digital communications company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Los Angeles, with an additional office in New York. The firm operates an influencer marketing agency branded The Digital Dept., offering brand strategy, talent management, experiential marketing (via its BRANDEdit format), and affiliate services to consumer brands across beauty, footwear, entertainment, eyewear, and beverage categories; its website lists case-study engagements with Polite Society, Vans, Magnolia Pictures, Eyebuydirect, and Happy Thursday.
In parallel, Be Social markets a technology product called be Retail Social, an AI-powered virtual try-on platform that uses animated, personalized human avatars to enable customers to virtually try on beauty and fashion products before purchasing. The technology is positioned as a B2B integration solution embedded directly into retailer e-commerce platforms, with stated plans to extend from beauty into fashion and apparel categories.
The company's go-to-market operates across two channels: B2B brand engagements via the influencer marketing agency and enterprise technology integrations via the virtual try-on platform. Debenhams is the single disclosed enterprise technology customer (announced April 2025), with the retailer's CEO noting tangible early benefits. Pricing for both business lines is not publicly disclosed, revenue is not reported, and no funding rounds, acquisitions, or leadership changes are documented in the available sources.
Be Social firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Be Social
- Legal name
- The Digital Department
- Website
- https://besocialpr.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Be Social (The Digital Department) is a Los Angeles-based digital communications company operating an influencer marketing agency (The Digital Dept.) and an AI-powered virtual try-on platform (be Retail Social) for retail e-commerce in beauty and fashion.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Be Social industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Influencer Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Public Relations Agencies (54182)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Media & Community Management (BPAFAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Social Media Creative Agencies (Content & Community) (MPAAAAAE), Social & Digital Insights (Social Listening, Online Community Research) (MPAAALAK)
Keywords
Where Be Social is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Be Social business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Distribution channels1 record
Be Social product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Be Social (operating through The Digital Dept.) is a digital communications and influencer marketing agency delivering brand strategy, talent management, experiential marketing, and affiliate services to consumer brands. The company also offers be Retail Social, an AI-powered virtual try-on platform that integrates animated personalized human avatars into retailer e-commerce sites to enable virtual product try-on for beauty and fashion categories.
Product overview
Be Social operates as a virtual fitting room technology platform, branded as be Retail Social. The company offers a single core product—a virtual try-on platform—that enables retailers like Debenhams to integrate AI-powered virtual try-on solutions into their beauty and fashion segments. The technology leverages animated, personalized human avatars to enhance customer experience and enable seamless product visualization across platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Brand Strategy Services
Companies that use Be Social
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Be Social technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature1 record
Be Social partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DebenhamscoreBritish online department store Debenhams has partnered with Be Social (be Retail Social) to integrate AI-powered virtual try-on solutions into its beauty segment. The partnership aims to enhance customer experience using animated, personalized human avatars for product visualization. Plans include expansion from beauty to fashion and apparel categories. Debenhams CEO Daniel Finley expressed confidence in the partnership with tangible early benefits noted.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Be Social competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- HireInfluence: HireInfluence is an influencer marketing agency serving consumer and retail brands, comparable to the agency services reflected in The Digital Dept.'s website. It illustrates the broader competitive set for the influencer services side of Be Social's identity.
- Lalaland.ai: Lalaland.ai uses AI-generated human models for fashion e-commerce, a directly adjacent approach to Be Social's personalized human avatar try-on. It is more narrowly focused on fashion model imagery but shares the avatar-for-retail thesis.
- Aspire: Aspire operates an influencer marketing platform plus agency services for consumer brands, comparable to The Digital Dept.'s blend of brand strategy, talent management, and experiential campaigns. It shows the agency model at greater scale.
- Wannaby / AR try-on category players (e.g., Sephora Virtual Artist): Wannaby built AR-based virtual try-on for shoes and accessories before being acquired by Google, illustrating both the validated demand for Be Social's category and the consolidation risk from well-capitalized acquirers.
- IZEA: IZEA runs a creator marketing platform and agency services, broadly comparable to The Digital Dept.'s influencer marketing and brand strategy offering. It represents a publicly traded analog of the agency's business model.
- Obviously: Obviously is a full-service influencer marketing agency serving beauty and fashion brands, comparable to The Digital Dept.'s brand and experiential offering. It represents the agency-side overlap rather than the AI tech overlap.
Direct peers
- Perfect Corp: Perfect Corp builds AI- and AR-powered virtual try-on solutions for beauty and fashion retailers, the same core use case Be Social targets with Debenhams. It is a direct competitor in AI-driven product visualization for online retail.
- Obsess: Obsess builds immersive virtual store and virtual try-on experiences for fashion and beauty retailers. It competes with Be Social on the OEM/embedded integration model into retailer e-commerce sites.
- ModiFace: ModiFace (acquired by L'Oréal) provides AR/AI virtual try-on technology for beauty brands, overlapping directly with Be Social's be Retail Social platform. It is a deep-pocketed incumbent in the same technology category.
- Vue.ai: Vue.ai sells AI tools for fashion and apparel retailers, including virtual try-on and product visualization. It targets the same enterprise e-commerce buyer as Be Social.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Be Social social profiles
Digital presenceBe Social financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Be Social leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Be Social funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Be Social M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Be Social
What does Be Social do?
Be Social (operating through The Digital Dept.) is a digital communications and influencer marketing agency delivering brand strategy, talent management, experiential marketing, and affiliate services to consumer brands. The company also offers be Retail Social, an AI-powered virtual try-on platform that integrates animated personalized human avatars into retailer e-commerce sites to enable virtual product try-on for beauty and fashion categories.
Is Be Social a public or private company?
Be Social is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Be Social founded?
Be Social was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Be Social based?
Be Social is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Be Social's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are HireInfluence, Lalaland.ai, Aspire, Wannaby / AR try-on category players (e.g., Sephora Virtual Artist), IZEA and Obviously. Direct peers are Perfect Corp, Obsess, ModiFace and Vue.ai.
Does Be Social have an API?
No public API is recorded for Be Social.
What industry is Be Social in?
Be Social's product category is Influencer Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAAAE, Social Media & Community Management, with a secondary code of MPAAAAAE, Social Media Creative Agencies (Content & Community). Its NAICS code is 5418 and its SIC code is 7311.