Socialites

What Socialites does

Socialites is a full-service social media marketing agency headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, founded in 2010 by Wendy Thompson. The company delivers integrated social media services across six practice areas — Performance Media, Ideation & Creative, Community Management, Influencers & Ambassadors, Content Creation, and Audit & Strategy — to enterprise and mid-market brands globally. With a team of 31 specialists and a documented operational footprint across 69 countries, Socialites has delivered more than 4,069 campaigns since inception for clients including Microsoft Azure, Westpac, The Warehouse, New World, Mars, Reckitt, Kimberly-Clark, Bayer, Elizabeth Arden, Asahi, Fisher & Paykel, Tourism New Zealand, and Spark. The agency is a certified Meta Business Partner (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Pinterest agency partner, and TikTok agency partner, giving it preferential access for paid media planning and buying.

The company's underlying technology stack rests on three proprietary assets: (1) The Social Club, an influencer-marketing arm acquired in May 2020 that maintains a 7,000+ ambassador database — described as the largest in Australasia — paired with proprietary campaign management software; (2) Magnesium's Follow the Money precision targeting platform, powered by a 250M+ retail-customer data-point dataset analysing location, online behaviour, and purchase behaviour; and (3) the agency's own community management infrastructure, which moderates an average of 2,776 conversations per day across client communities. Co-CEOs Wendy Thompson and Melanie Spencer (who joined as CEO in 2019) lead the company alongside a distributed team across Aotearoa, Australia, and Asia-Pacific.

Socialites operates a professional-services revenue model based on agency retainers and project fees for enterprise and mid-market clients. GTM motions combine enterprise field sales, community-led acquisition via The Social Club's influencer ecosystem, and channel partnerships with Meta, Pinterest, and TikTok. The company is privately held under Socialites Group Limited with no disclosed external institutional investors, parent company, or public-market activity. Awards include 2022 Campaign Asia Silver for Independent Agency of the Year (ANZ), 2021 Influencer Marketing Agency of the Year, 2021 Deloitte Fast 50 (11th place), and 2019 Australasian Social Media Marketer of the Year (Wendy Thompson).

Name

Socialites

Legal name

Socialites Group Limited

Website

https://socialites.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Socialites is an Auckland-based full-service social media marketing agency founded in 2010, serving enterprise and mid-market brands across 69 countries with integrated performance media, creative, community management, and influencer marketing, supported by a 7,000+ influencer database and certified platform partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Media Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Media & Community Management (BPAFAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paid Social Advertising Management (MPAAACAC), Social Media Community Management & Response (BPAAABAJ)

Keywords

• Social media agency
• Influencer marketing services
• Paid media planning
• Community management services
• Social media strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Social Media Agency Retainers and Project Fees: Full-service social media agency providing performance media, ideation and creative, community management, influencer marketing, content creation, and audit and strategy services to enterprise and mid-market brands on retainer or project fee basis.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Socialites is a full-service social media marketing agency that provides performance media planning and buying, ideation and creative, community management, influencer marketing via The Social Club, content creation, and audit and strategy services to enterprise and mid-market brands globally. The agency delivers campaigns across social and digital platforms in 69 countries and maintains a proprietary influencer database of over 7,000 ambassadors.

Product overview

Socialites is a full-service social media marketing agency headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, operating globally across 69 countries. The company offers six core services: Performance Media, Ideation & Creative, Community Management, Influencers & Ambassadors, Content Creation, and Audit & Strategy. Through its acquired subsidiary The Social Club (acquired May 2020), Socialites provides access to a database of over 7,000 professional influencers and content creators with campaign management software. The company is a Meta Business Partner and TikTok/Pinterest agency partner, serving major brands across multiple industries including retail, finance, healthcare, technology, and tourism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Social Club: Influencer marketing arm acquired in 2020 with database of 7,000+ ambassadors and world-leading campaign management software
• Media X

Products and services

• Performance Media Expert media planning and buying across all social and digital platforms globally. Builds performance funnels and media engines with detailed reporting and data insights. Leverages certified Meta Business Partner, Pinterest and TikTok agency partner status.
• Ideation & Creative Out-of-the-box, socially-led creative thinking with content created specifically for each platform. Delivers made-for-platform creative work through a database of talent and full-stack social media specialists and creatives.
• Community Management Turns random social media followers into loyal brand communities. Trained team handles sensitive topics with empathy, manages social tone of voice, FAQ databases, and escalation plans. Handles 2,776 average daily conversations across client communities.
• Influencers & Ambassadors Influencer marketing channel strategy and management through The Social Club. Maintains a database of over 7,000 ambassadors and world-leading campaign management software. Delivers claimed 11x higher ROI than other internet marketing channels.
• Content Creation UGC and TVC content production that deeply connects with audiences. Includes content from a global team of influencers creating authentic content through to perfectly curated brand feeds matching brand guidelines.
• Audit & Strategy Comprehensive social media strategy development including review of existing activity, competitors, target audiences and best practices. Sets benchmarks and KPIs to track results and return on marketing investment.
• The Social Club Influencer-specialist agency acquired in May 2020, considered the best in Australasia. Provides a database of over 7,000 professional influencers and content creators with world-leading campaign management software. Won 2021 Influencer Agency of the Year (Australasia) at Social Media Awards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11x higher ROI from influencer marketing vs. other internet marketing channels
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NZMEminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2022NZME announced a new partnership with Socialites — New Zealand's leading social media specialist agency. NZME's chief digital and publishing officer Carolyn Luey was involved in the announcement.
• The Social ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocialites acquired The Social Club in May 2020, described as the best influencer-specialist agency in Australasia. The acquisition added a database of over 7,000 professional influencers and world-leading campaign management software to the Socialites Group. The Social Club operates as Socialites' dedicated influencer marketing arm.
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSocialites is a certified Meta Business Partner with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, enabling the agency to access preferential tools, insights, and recognised status for paid social media planning and campaign management across Meta platforms.
• PinterestminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocialites is a certified Pinterest agency partner, enabling Pinterest advertising and campaign management capabilities for client brands.
• TikTokminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocialites is a certified TikTok agency partner, enabling TikTok advertising and creator campaign management capabilities for client brands.
• QualmarkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFollowing The Great Kiwi Content Drive with Tourism New Zealand, Socialites worked with Qualmark (New Zealand's official tourism quality mark) to deliver a social media development and education programme called Supercharge Your Social Media, helping tourism operators get their social media wings.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mailman Group: China-headquartered digital and influencer marketing group with APAC reach across WeChat, Weibo, TikTok and Instagram — comparable to Socialites on cross-platform social campaign execution for enterprise brands in Asia.
• Obviously: Auckland-based full-service social media and influencer agency operating globally with similar client mix and platform-native creative focus — direct competitor for NZ enterprise and DTC brand retainers.
• Billion Dollar Boy: UK-based influencer marketing agency with a global creator network and campaign management platform, comparable to Socialites' The Social Club arm on influencer specialisation and enterprise brand execution.
• Collectively: US-based influencer marketing agency providing campaign management, creator sourcing, and analytics — closely comparable to Socialites' influencer arm on enterprise brand work and campaign tooling.

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy Social: WPP-owned global social media and influencer offering within the broader Ogilvy network — competes with Socialites for enterprise social retainers as part of a wider full-service portfolio.
• VML: WPP global brand and experience agency (post-VMLY&R/ Wunderman Thompson merger) with significant social media, influencer, and community management capabilities serving enterprise brands worldwide.
• DDB New Zealand: Local DDB office and broader DDB Worldwide network — broad incumbent creative and digital agency competitor; Socialites founder Wendy Thompson spent ten years at DDB before founding the agency.
• TBWA\New Zealand: Local TBWA office and TBWA Worldwide network — full-service creative and digital agency incumbent in NZ where Socialites founder Wendy Thompson previously worked as a digital specialist.

Regional players

• Thinkerbell: Australian integrated creative, influencer, and PR agency operating across ANZ — directly comparable ANZ-region competitor for mid-market and enterprise social/influencer retainers.
• The Monkeys: Australian creative and social agency under Accenture Song — comparable ANZ-region competitor for integrated creative, social, and influencer work for enterprise brands.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SocialitesNZ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/socialites-
• Instagramurlgeni.us/instagram/I6Bh
• Xx.com/socialitesnz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Socialites