Dotdigital Group plc has acquired Social Snowball Holdings, a U.S.-based influencer, affiliate, and referral marketing platform, for $35 million. The acquisition represents the first time a customer experience and data platform has integrated an influencer marketing solution into its core offering.

“The creator economy isn’t just about awareness anymore, it’s about revenue,” Milan Patel, CEO of Dotdigital, said in a press release. “Social Snowball brings an entirely new and highly complementary performance channel into our product stack.”

The acquisition responds to two key market trends: diminishing effectiveness of traditional paid channels and shifting consumer preferences. With iOS privacy updates limiting tracking capabilities and paid media costs rising, brands seek more data-driven and cost-effective customer acquisition strategies.

In addition, Gen Z consumers, projected to become the largest consumer segment by 2030 according to Bank of America, demand more authentic engagement from trusted voices, including creators, peers, and online communities.

The combined technology aims to help marketers leverage first-party data to drive word-of-mouth growth at scale through trusted content and incentives.

Growth Alignment

Founded in 2020 by Noah Tucker, Social Snowball enables brands to convert prospects, customers, and creators into brand advocates through incentive-based promotion. The platform emphasizes revenue attribution over clicks or impressions.

With over 1,500 subscription-based Shopify customers, including G Fuel, Brez, and True Classic, the acquisition accelerates Dotdigital’s reach within the Shopify merchant ecosystem.

“We are super excited to be joining forces with Dotdigital,” stated Tuckerl. “Together we’ll enable brands to build influencer marketing programs at a scale that was never before possible, helping them turn influencer and creator partnerships into a powerful customer acquisition channel.”

The acquisition follows Dotdigital’s 2023 purchase of e-commerce personalization platform Fresh Relevance, continuing the company’s expansion of its marketing technology capabilities.