Picstars AG
Picstars - Creative Influence - Influencer Marketing Schweiz -.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
$2.3m | - | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Picstars AG, founded in 2014 by Henrik Kammermann and based in Küsnacht, Switzerland, operated a technology-driven marketplace for influencer marketing. The company's primary mission was to digitize the sponsorship of brand ambassadors, with a strong focus on sports and lifestyle personalities.
The business operated on a managed service platform model, providing a 'Picstars-Cockpit' where brands could connect with influencers to create and monitor social media campaigns. This platform allowed companies to find suitable ambassadors and measure the success of their photo, video, and hashtag campaigns executed through the influencers' social media channels. Picstars curated its own database of verified influencer profiles to facilitate these connections. The company targeted corporate clients looking to integrate influencer marketing into their media mix.
The company was initially led by founder Henrik Kammermann, with serial digital entrepreneur Mark Sandmeier joining later as CEO and investor. Sandmeier, known for growing and exiting jobs.ch for CHF 390 million, was attracted to Picstars by the combination of sports and social media. His involvement began with consulting before he became an investor and then CEO.
Picstars achieved several milestones, including being named a Venture Leader in 2016 and 2017. It successfully raised capital through multiple financing rounds, including a Series A of $2.08M in January 2018 and a further CHF 2.3 million in October 2019 from investors like Tamedia, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), and investiere.ch. However, the company faced significant challenges, including the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which led to a downturn in the advertising market. After its German subsidiary filed for insolvency in late 2022, Picstars AG in Switzerland also declared bankruptcy and entered liquidation in April 2023, a move that affected its remaining 12 employees.
Keywords: Picstars AG, influencer marketing, brand ambassadors, social media campaigns, sponsorship digitization, sports marketing, AdTech, Marketing Tech, Picstars-Cockpit, Mark Sandmeier, Henrik Kammermann, brand sponsorship, influencer platform, digital marketing, content creators, social media advertising, campaign management, venture capital, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Tamedia