Michael Birch, who co-founded social network Bebo along with his wife Xochi Birch, has invested an undisclosed amount in social media agency Punktilio. He’ll also become an adviser to the company.
Punktilio, whose clients include Arsenal F.C, Harper Collins, Phones 4u and Simon Cowell’s SyCo Music label, was founded by ex-Bebo Head of Music, Hal Stokes, so there’s an existing relationship between the two. Stokes launched Punktilio with his brother Sam after leaving AOL last year.
AOL of course purchased Bebo for $850 million in March 2008, and is only now looking to shut down or offload the site, which has suffered badly in the last few years with the rise of Facebook.
Stokes says of Birch’s investment in Punktilio: “The Birch deal means we can now compete with the big oil-tanker agencies that are progressively moving into the social space. Social media is the glue that binds digital and ATL marketing together; it’s our intention to be the leaders of that booming reality – from creative to strategy, media buying to app builds.”
While Birch adds: “The social space is now a visible reality, and it’s only going to get bigger. Few people truly understand it, particularly from a brand perspective but everyone involved with Punktilio has worked on both sides of the fence so the knowledge and skills are unparalleled.”