Introduction
August United and MG Empower are both managed agencies, so a comparison here is about scope and location rather than a tool you operate. August United is an influencer-only agency in Tempe, Arizona that handles strategy and activation from end to end. MG Empower is a full-service integrated agency in London that pairs influencer work with social, experiential, strategy and creative. Both deliver campaigns for you.
This page walks through what each agency does, where it sits and who it has worked with, drawing only on publicly stated detail. Worth flagging up front: August United was acquired by McKinney in 2023, so it now runs inside a larger group. Neither agency publishes a creator database size or a public rate card, because both sell managed services rather than self-serve access. Treat every figure as reported and confirm it directly. We close on where Flinque fits as the self-serve software alternative.
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August United vs MG Empower at a glance
Two managed agencies side by side, with the self-serve alternative in the third column.
| Feature | August United | MG Empower | Flinque |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Managed agency, done for you | Managed agency, done for you | Self-serve software, no demo |
| Type | Influencer-only, end to end | Full-service, integrated | Self-serve discovery and vetting |
| HQ | Tempe, Arizona (part of McKinney) | London, United Kingdom | Reported 25+ countries covered |
| Focus | End-to-end influencer strategy | Influencer plus social and experiential | Creator discovery and vetting |
| Notable clients | Microsoft, Samsung, Nestlé, PetSmart | Bumble, Chopard, Deliveroo, TikTok | Used by teams of all sizes |
| Database and pricing | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed | Reported 10M+ creators, flat Free to $150/mo |
| Best for | Brands wanting end-to-end delivery | Brands wanting integrated campaigns | Teams wanting verified creators and a visible price |
Client names are as publicly stated by each agency and figures are reported, so confirm directly.
What August United is
August United is an influencer-only agency headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Rather than sell software, it builds and runs influencer programs from strategy through activation, so a brand leans on its team for the whole cycle. Its publicly listed clients skew to large names including Microsoft, Samsung, Nestlé, Sam's Club, PetSmart and P.F. Chang's.
There is one ownership detail to keep in mind. In 2023 August United was acquired by the agency McKinney, so today it operates as part of that larger group rather than on its own. As with any agency it keeps database size and pricing private, so you scope and price a program in conversation. That is a fit for brands that want a team to carry delivery. It is a poor fit for anyone who wants to search creators themselves.
An influencer-only agency in Tempe now inside McKinney, running programs from strategy to activation.
What MG Empower is
MG Empower is a full-service integrated agency based in London. It goes wider than influencer alone, combining creator campaigns with social, experiential, strategy and creative, so it pitches itself as a single partner across a launch. Reported clients include Bumble, Chopard, Deliveroo and TikTok itself, which is to say ByteDance, pointing at lifestyle, luxury and tech brands.
Because it is full-service, MG Empower sells breadth rather than a single channel, so a brand can hand it the strategy, the creators and the activation together. Like every agency here it does not publish a database size or a rate card, so scope and cost are set privately. That suits a brand wanting one integrated team across a campaign. It is not built for an in-house team that wants to run discovery on its own.
A full-service integrated agency in London spanning influencer, social, experiential and creative.
Head to head
The split here is specialism against breadth. August United is influencer-only and end-to-end from Arizona, now backed by McKinney. MG Empower is full-service from London, pairing influencer work with experiential, social and creative under one roof. If you want a focused influencer partner, August United is the tighter fit. If you want one team to run an integrated launch across several disciplines, MG Empower makes more sense. Both are managed services, so neither gives you software to run the work yourself.
Where each one leaves a gap
The trade-offs are clear.
- August United publishes no database size, feature list or pricing, so there is nothing concrete to weigh before a sales conversation. You commit on reputation and client history rather than a spec.
- Following its 2023 acquisition by McKinney, August United sits within a larger group, which can add resource but also a bigger-agency process. Ask who owns your account day to day.
- As an influencer-only managed service it means fees and a scoping process, not a login. Great if you want delivery handled, limiting if you want to operate campaigns yourself.
- MG Empower is full-service, so influencer marketing is one of several things it sells rather than its only craft. A brand that wants a pure influencer specialist may find the focus more diluted than a single-channel shop.
- It publishes no database size or pricing either, so you cannot compare it on numbers before engaging. The detail comes only in a scoping conversation.
- As a managed agency it runs campaigns for you, so it gives an in-house team no tool to search and vet creators directly. Teams that want that control need software instead.
Where Flinque fits
Flinque is the self-serve software alternative to both agencies. Rather than briefing a team, you run discovery and vetting yourself across a reported 10 million-plus verified creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, reaching a reported 25-plus countries. Each profile comes with a reported 200 data points and fake-follower detection, so you filter with 12 filters across creator and audience data.
If a done-for-you partner is what you want, August United suits a focused influencer program while MG Empower suits an integrated multi-channel launch. But if you would rather find verified creators yourself across four platforms with pricing you can see and no demo or annual lock-in, that is where Flinque fits, at a flat Free of $0, Starter at $49 a month or Enterprise at $150 a month.