Cameo, the service that enables regular people to commission short recordings from a range of actors and well-known personalities, has acquired Represent, a celebrity merch platform formerly owned by Custom Ink.

The acquisition will “expand and diversify Cameo’s existing talent pool, introduce fun new ways for talent and fans to connect, establish new revenue opportunities for talent on the platform, and provide the entire Cameo community with a new way to fundraise,” according to a Cameo blog post detailing the news. It’s also further proof of the increasing power of merch and the marriage of digital and tangible marketing.

Arnold Schwarzenegger wears a custom tee from his Represent merch line. (photo courtesy of Cameo)

“The new capabilities greatly expand Cameo’s value proposition to fans and talent alike,” said Steven Galanis, Cameo’s co-founder and CEO.

Daniel Rosenberg, president and chief operating officer of Represent, will continue to lead day-to-day operations at Represent, and Bobby Maylack, formerly the chief marketing officer at Represent, has been named chief creative officer at Cameo.

Rosenberg said the partnership is an alignment of vision and passion. “Day one, this combined entity will allow our wide range of talent to seamlessly create and sell products their fans will love,” he added.

Cameo said it expects to begin integrating Represent’s merch capabilities into the service in 2022, when it will become a “native part of Cameo for fans and talent alike.” Custom Ink, Represent’s former parent company, will continue to handle production, fulfillment and logistics of the merch. (Custom Ink’s founder Marc Katz was recently named to Counselor’s Power 50 list, thanks to the company’s ability to scale fulfillment and deft pivoting during the pandemic.)

The 4-year-old Cameo has a talent roster of more than 40,000 actors, online personalities, comedians, musicians, athletes and more, and the app has facilitated more than 3 million personalized celebrity videos. Represent, which was launched in 2014, has shipped out more than 4 million products to customers in more than 165 countries and created more than $170 million in brand value. The company has created merch lines for celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Custom Ink had acquired Represent in 2016.

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