SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BEN, the entertainment AI company that places brands into influencer, streaming, TV, music, and film content, today announced the acquisition of TubeBuddy, the largest platform to help YouTube creators optimize their audience and channel growth. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TubeBuddy will become a division of BEN Group and Rob Gabel, founder and former CEO of Tubular Labs, will join as General Manager of the new division.
Since its inception in 2014, TubeBuddy has quickly become the largest platform for YouTube channel management, optimization, and audience growth, helping millions of creators with a wide range of tools including keyword research, thumbnail generation, A/B testing, bulk processing, and advanced analytics. TubeBuddy has seen meteoric growth (+90% YOY) within the YouTube community, working with over five million influencers, including PrestonPlayz, Chad Wild Clay and VyQwaint, What’s Inside?, Evan Carmichael, Eh Bee Family, and Lizzy Capri. With TubeBuddy, creators are empowered to scale their channels and audiences using data, ultimately leaving them with more time to focus on content ideation and creation.
For creators like Preston Arsement of the popular YouTube channel PrestonPlayz, the news is very exciting. Back at Vidsummit 2019, Preston had actually asked CEO Ricky Ray Butler when BEN was planning to expand AI tools to the creator community. When learning of the transaction, he states, "Most people don't realize how much success in our industry is driven by analytics, testing, and data. The partnership of TubeBuddy and BEN will undoubtedly be a huge game changer for our industry by empowering creators with even more powerful and sophisticated tools."
The deal complements BEN’s focus on bringing brands into the world of influencer marketing by identifying, vetting, and facilitating authentic content partnerships. With its acquisition of TubeBuddy, BEN will now extend its resources directly to the creator community, helping them to grow and monetize their content initiatives, as well. The acquisition will enable BEN to bring its proprietary AI and deep learning neural networks to content creators on the TubeBuddy platform, further expanding upon the arsenal of predictive analytic tools that creators can leverage. In the future, BEN hopes to create a platform in which creators can access a full suite of customized, automated tools for expanding their businesses.
“This is a pivotal moment for BEN as a company. TubeBuddy is a pioneer in the creator and influencer community, and one of the fastest growing brands to help YouTube creators level up their content initiatives,” said Ricky Ray Butler, CEO of BEN. “At BEN, we have focused on using AI to empower the next era of artists and content creators, and we’re excited to apply our technology at scale to help millions of TubeBuddy creators grow and monetize their businesses.”
The TubeBuddy staff will be integrated as part of the broader BEN team and its founders will continue as strategic advisors to the combined company. The TubeBuddy brand and platform will remain intact as well.
Gabel, a pioneer in the influencer marketing space, will head up the new TubeBuddy division. Prior to joining BEN, Gabel founded Tubular Labs, the leading social video measurement company. In his new role, Gabel will be focused on integrating and scaling the TubeBuddy platform and expanding the tools available to creators on the platform.
About BEN Group
BEN Group Inc. is an entertainment AI company that places brands into influencer, streaming, TV, music, and film content with guaranteed ROI. BEN Group consists of the world’s largest influencer marketing business, the world’s largest product placement agency, and Greenlight, a global rights and licensing business.
With its proprietary AI and platform, BEN is the first and only company using machine learning and deep learning neural networks to identify high-impact opportunities for authentic, non-disruptive product placement and influencer marketing. BEN combines its AI with 40+ years of experience and a team of industry experts to connect brands with the right audiences and content opportunities in meaningful ways. BEN works with the world’s top brands, including Microsoft, General Motors, Unilever, Tencent, and General Mills.
