Fanbytes

Fanbytes is an influencer marketing agency that specializes in connecting brands with the Gen Z demographic on social media platforms. The company was founded in 2017 by Timothy Armoo, Ambrose Cooke, and Mitchell Fasanya while they were university students. Armoo, who served as CEO, had prior entrepreneurial experience, having started his first business at 14 and sold another, Entrepreneur Express, at 17. This background in media and audience engagement influenced the foundation of Fanbytes. Cooke, the COO, and Fasanya, the CTO, brought complementary skills to the venture; Cooke developed an algorithm for identifying influencers as part of his dissertation at Imperial College, while Fasanya had experience building and selling a tech company. The trio recognized an opportunity in the market to help brands authentically reach younger audiences.

The company's business model combines agency services with a proprietary technology platform to manage influencer marketing campaigns. Fanbytes operates on a campaign-by-campaign basis, with a minimum spend, and charges clients using a cost-per-completed-view model, ensuring brands pay for engaged viewership. Their client roster includes major international brands such as Samsung, Nike, H&M, and the UK Government. The firm carved a niche by focusing on platforms with high Gen Z engagement, like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, before they became mainstream marketing channels.

The core of Fanbytes' service is its data-driven platform, Bytesights, which features a database of over 3 million influencers. This tool enables brands to identify suitable influencers, monitor campaign performance, and track trends within their sector. The agency is known for developing creative strategies, which they term "advertainment," to foster genuine engagement rather than just accumulating impressions. In 2020, Fanbytes established Europe's first-ever TikTok creator house, Bytesquad, and launched the Fanbytes Impact Fund to address the pay gap for Black creators and support Black-owned businesses. In May 2022, after receiving interest from multiple companies, Fanbytes was acquired by the global digital marketing agency Brainlabs for a sum reported to be in the tens of millions, and now operates as Brainlabs' influencer division.

Keywords: influencer marketing, Gen Z advertising, social media agency, TikTok marketing, Snapchat marketing, brand engagement, youth marketing, creator economy, digital advertising, social media campaigns, influencer analytics, data-driven marketing, content creators, youth advertising, viral marketing, Bytesights, Timothy Armoo, Ambrose Cooke, Mitchell Fasanya, Brainlabs