• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer, April 28, 2017

There is another digital media land rush underway, as media companies, agencies and tech firms all rush to build a presence in the burgeoning world of social-media influencer marketing. The last few months have seen a spate of partnerships between publishers and influencer networks, offering advertisers cross-channel campaigns combining online influencers with their own editorial assets.

Time Inc., the nation’s largest magazine publisher, announced a strategic partnership with Speakr, a media-buying platform connecting brands to social media influencers, to create an influencer network for Time Inc., called Connect.

Social media influencers in the network will benefit from cross-promotion on Time Inc.’s social channels, while Time Inc. will be able to offer brands native social advertising capabilities through Connect, including an array of analytics and targeting capabilities, as well as compliance and quality control functions.

Speakr CEO Marco Hansell stated: “By powering Time Inc. Connect we are building a content creation community that is unique to Time Inc. and that combines the trust, curation and quality of their advertising offerings with best-of-breed influencer capabilities.”

This is just the latest move by publishers looking to expand their influencer footprint.

Last month, the Hispanicize Media Group formed a new media company combining several Web sites and platforms, including LatinaMoms.com and Popful.com, with an influencer network powered by Exit 7, an online network of Hispanic celebrity influencers. Hispanicize’s properties also include food site Hispanic Kitchen, DiMe, a network of content creators, and the Hispanicize conference, an annual event for Hispanic bloggers.

Nylon Media formed a creative content studio last year to produce sponsored content, including live events, custom experiential activations, video, original content and influencer marketing for brand partners.

In 2016, The New York Times Co. acquired HelloSociety, a digital marketing agency focused on social media influencers and mobile channels, from Science Inc. Time Inc. and YouTube fashion network StyleHaul, which maintains a network of influencers in the beauty and fashion category, announced a multiyear partnership to create advertising programs targeting Millennials.

Back in 2015, Hearst Corp. joined forces with video advertising technology platform Reelio to create new, highly targeted networks of online influencers.