CM-CIC Capital Privé and Ardian Croissance invest $5M in Brainsonic, to transform the company into a global leader in content marketing and social media. The Brainsonic group, which is made up of 150 people and combines a digital agency with software activities in the areas of employee advocacy and brand content management, plans to double its activity over the course of three years, most notably through growth in Europe and the USA.

Founded in 2003, Brainsonic is a digital agency that has won many awards, including the Grand Prix TopCom 2016, and that specializes in content marketing and social media. Brainsonic will benefit from the support and expertise of CM-CIC Capital Privé and Ardian Croissance, in order to grow both internally and externally, and to reinforce its position as a leader – particularly through its two trademark solutions, Sociabble and Damdy.

Sociabble, the cloud employee advocacy platform, has become one of the leading solutions on the global market in less than two years. With offices in Paris, London and New York, Sociabble helps companies to transform employees into ambassadors on social media. This investment will reinforce the platform’s international stature, most notably in the USA.

Damdy is one of the highest performing brand content management solutions on Azure, the Microsoft cloud, of which the company is a global partner. Over 100 large groups, including L’Oréal and EDF, manage videos and photos online on Damdy platforms, which will also benefit from the investment to drive international growth.

For Julien Keignart, Head of Investments at CM-CIC Capital Privé, “Brainsonic is one of the few French digital agencies of a notable size that remain independent. We were convinced by the quality of management, which has led to the establishment of an offer that combines different products and services, and that covers the entire scope of content marketing – from content creation all the way through to amplification on social media. We’re very excited about the development of the SAAS solutions, Damdy and Sociabble, both of which respond to corporate enterprises’ growing need to communicate more effectively. Brainsonic embodies our idea of a long-term partnership with talented teams. We’re delighted to join Ardian Croissance in this adventure.”

Moving forward, the digital agency will be directed by associate and co-founder Guillaume Mikowski, and Director of Operations Christophe Berly. CEO Jean-Louis Bénard will remain president of the group, with a focus on software activity and international development.

For Jean-Louis Bénard, “this investment will enable the group to boost development and to take important steps. We have ambitious projects that will establish Brainsonic as a leading name on a global scale”.

The company is currently recruiting around 30 talented individuals across disciplines in France, the UK and the USA.