Ykone takes Tokyo and Milan through Lateam and Digital Dust deals

Ykone, the influencer marketing agency, revealed on Friday a minority investment in Lateam, a creative and social media firm based in Tokyo. It followed, earlier in the week, the acquisition of Digital Dust, a boutique digital agency in Milan. Neither deal carried disclosed financial terms.

Lateam was founded by Pablo Yano, who stays in place as chief executive officer. The business takes a new name, Ykone Tokyo, and will keep serving its existing clients while developing fresh ones through Ykone's global network.

Ykone said it intends to raise its holding in the Tokyo firm to a majority stake over the next couple of years. The expansion builds an agency footprint across Asia, where Ykone has run offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai since 2021 and in India since 2024.

That Indian presence came through acquiring a 70 percent stake in the local agency Barcode. Founder and chief executive Olivier Billon framed Japan as a market no international influencer agency had yet claimed, despite its standing as one of the strongest influence markets worldwide.

Ykone connects brands with influencers to strengthen their digital presence, and Billon tied the Tokyo move to culture as much as commerce. He described Japanese rigor, detail and creativity as aligned with the group's aim of building cultural moments through global vision and local execution.

In Milan, the purchase of Digital Dust was announced days earlier. Its founders, Federica Zucchi and Alessandra De Siena, and chief executive Matteo Zucchi, alongside the whole team, will remain on board. The agency has operated since 2013.

Digital Dust brings a client list spanning international names including Lancôme, L'Oréal, Cartier and Chopard, together with Italian houses Pomellato and Ginori 1735. Matteo Baldi, chief executive for Europe, said Milan is a global centre for fashion, design, beauty and culture.

Baldi called Digital Dust a natural strategic fit, pointing to its entrepreneurial spirit, local expertise and strong beauty credentials as deepening Ykone's platform in Italy. He said the group is equally committed to strengthening its leadership in the cities that shaped luxury.

Ykone is within One Group, a $200 million company created in January through the merger with Mirror Mirror, a creative production firm launched in 2019 by Juliette Lambert and Valentine Suc. The combined operation runs across 21 cities and employs 480 people.

The deals behind the growth

One Group has spent recent years assembling controlling and minority stakes across the marketing and talent sector. Last September it acquired Italia Eventi, an event organiser for luxury and lifestyle brands, later rebranded No Border.

In October last year it invested in Atlas Agency, a key Swiss player in premium talent management. That followed a majority stake in The Digital Prototype, or TDP, a Paris specialist in talent management, influencer marketing and content creation.

Earlier moves include Ykone's 70 percent stake in Barcode in 2024, and in 2021 a 51 percent interest in Milan-based digital communication agency MB New Media Agency, established by Baldi and running the Bold Management talent firm headed by Enrico De Finis.

A year later came the German agency Cover Communications, led by Anne Höweler. Across the run, the pattern is consistent: local founders and teams kept in place while the group adds reach and services through its wider network.

What this changes in Milan and Tokyo

We cover the Milan market closely, where agency consolidation has been one of its recurring themes. Platform6's purchase of show production firm Without Production and the city's steady run of flagship openings both signal the same pressure: established houses and agencies competing harder for the same clients.

Digital Dust's beauty-heavy roster, with Lancôme and L'Oréal at its centre, hands Ykone a direct line into a category that has been consolidating elsewhere in our coverage of luxury services. The founders' decision to stay suggests the acquisition was built on continuity rather than a clean break.

Ykone's profile on our company pages records it as a leading influencer marketing agency specialising in connecting brands with creators. Both deals strengthen that positioning, adding a first Japanese beachhead and a deeper Italian beauty bench to a network already spanning 21 cities.

The stated plan to lift the Lateam holding to full control in the coming two years is the clearest forward signal in either announcement. No closing dates or integration milestones beyond that have been given by Ykone, and neither deal's price has been disclosed.

Support the content you love — it’s free 🎉

Add Worthbury as a preferred source on Google. Our stories will be more likely to appear in Google’s Top Stories. It’s free and supports our team. Thank you!

Add as preferred source

You can remove us any time in Google’s source preferences.

This briefing is published daily using an AI-powered system crafted by Worthbury's team and finely tuned to meet our editorial standards. While we continuously test and review the output, mistakes can sometimes happen. Tell us if you spot one.

Images: Matteo Gerbaudo/Courtesy of Ykone; Olivier Billon, CEO Ykone and Pablo Yano, CEO Ykone Tokyo Courtesy of Ykone