LONDON — Bulla Co, an early-stage Gen Z influencer agency that has recently closed a six-figure pre-seed round, has acquired student marketing specialist Hype Collective, part of The Family group that also includes B2B PR and marketing agency Hard Numbers.

Bulla Co uses proprietary technology – including its own social-led influencer platform – to create Gen Z-focused influencer campaigns, while Hype Collective, founded in 2017, is an experiential marketing specialist targeting students that has worked with clients including Warner Bros. Entertainment, Co-op and Deliveroo.

The two companies, which now have a combined team of nearly 20, will continue to operate as separate brands but with shared resources and an independent services framework. The terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Bulla Co CEO and founder Joshua Roche (pictured, right) said: “By combining our strengths, expertise, and resources, we aim to shape the future of influencer marketing and experiential to deliver ground-breaking strategies that push the boundaries of creativity. We welcome Hype Collective’s experienced team to Bulla Co; together, we are going to create powerful campaigns that humanise and ingrain brands within youth culture.”

Hype Collective managing director Simon Lucey (pictured, left) will become commercial director of both agencies, but there are no other management changes. Lucey said: “I'm incredibly excited that Hype Collective will be joining forces with Bulla. I've watched from the sides in awe of their rapid growth powered by a smart team and innovative technology. Together we'll be able to offer a broader range of services, guaranteeing better results, while retaining our specialist expertise in the student space.”

This acquisition will enable The Family, the previous owners of Hype Collective, to fuel the growth of the rest of its portfolio, which includes performance-driven marketing and communications consultancy Hard Numbers and Magic Digits, a management accounting firm for the creative services sector.

The Family co-founder Paul Stollery told PRovoke Media that by divesting Hype Collective, the group could focus on nurturing its other ventures: “The Family exists to help founders launch and scale innovative agency propositions. In the short term, our energy will be focussed on scaling companies within our existing portfolio. In the medium-to-long term, our investment criteria is simple: if you've got a genuinely differentiated proposition that addresses a gap in the marcomms sector, we want to help you take it to market and make a success of it.

“We believe that this deal is proof of The Family's business model. We want to create a holding company that has the talent, approach and desire to launch, scale and, eventually, sell agency businesses. Hype Collective is the first of what we believe will be many similar stories coming from The Family in the coming years.”