Bill Gates’ Corbis Acquires Branded Media Agency Plaid Social Labs

Corbis has plans to offer more product integration and placement for brands looking to advertise on social media. To that end, the digital media-centric company founded by Bill Gates in 1989 has purchased media agency Plaid Social Labs for an undisclosed amount.

Founded in 2010, the Provo, Utah-based Plaid Social Labs describes itself as a boutique agency which aims to “increase awareness, lift sales, establish product credibility, and build an active community of brand advocates.” It focuses heavily on both social media and online video product integrations, connecting popular digital stars with like-minded brands. Plaid has previously worked with clients including Turkish Airlines, Warner Bros., Sony, Petsmart, and Ubisoft (who they connected with YouTube’s Devinsupertramp to create the viral Assassin’s Creed Unity parkour video).

Plaid will join Corbis’s Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), an interactive platform which provides marketers with brand integration opportunities. Plaid Social Labs will help Corbis offer its clients more targeted product placement and branding opportunities with leading digital creators on YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, Twitch, Instagram, and other social platforms. To help with these efforts, Corbis will also launch a new digital channel under the BEN umbrella.

“By incorporating the Plaid Social Labs capabilities into BEN and creating a broad-based, digital channel, we are able to jump-start our capabilities in online video and social media and offer brands and advertisers an immediate, comprehensive solution to the challenge of connecting with young people,” said Mark Owens, Chief Revenue Officer of Corbis, in a release. “We are thrilled to have them as part of our team.”

“I am excited to be joining the incredible, global powerhouse in integration that Corbis is building, bringing new levels of sophistication, technology and analytics to product integration and embedding,” added Rick Ray Butler, Founder and President of Plaid Social Labs. “The BEN platform and Corbis’ extensive relationships with brands, advertisers, producers, creators and distributors of content will be rocket fuel for our business.”

Through the acquisition of Plaid Social Labs, Corbis has in many ways read the writing on the wall. A recent study by Defy Media discovered 63% of consumers between the ages of 13 and 24 are more likely to buy a product endorsed by a YouTube star (as opposed to only 48% with a traditional celebrity). With those stats, and some well-crafted branding campaigns, Plaid Social Labs and Corbis are well-positioned to generate millions of dollars for their clients.