AAA Agency vs IMA: Which to Pick in 2026
A specialist against a giant. AAA Agency runs gaming campaigns and little else. IMA is Europe's largest influencer agency, now folded into Monks under S4 Capital. Focus versus breadth. Here is which fits, plus a software route.
Which one is right for you
Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.
Choose AAA Agency if
- You sell games, apps or entertainment
- You want a gaming-native campaign team
- You have a project budget from $25,000 up
Choose IMA if
- You want Europe's largest influencer agency
- You want global creative and production attached
- You run multi-market campaigns at scale
Choose Flinque if
- You want to find and vet creators yourself with no sales call
- You want flat published pricing you can start free
- You want to run discovery in-house, not hire an agency
AAA Agency vs IMA vs Flinque
Fourteen factors across all three, from agency type to real minimums. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.
| Factor | AAA Agency | IMA | Best valueFlinque |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Gaming and entertainment brands | Brands wanting Europe's largest influencer agency | Teams running discovery in-house |
| Agency type | Niche gaming campaign agency | Full-service agency, part of Monks | Self-serve software, not an agency |
| Engagement model | Managed campaigns, project based | Managed campaigns, retainer or project | Flat monthly subscription |
| Typical minimum | From $25,000 per project | Undisclosed, enterprise level | Free, then $49/mo |
| Published pricing | No | No | $0 to $150/mo, public |
| Creator network | Gaming creators, streamers and vloggers | Network of around 40,000 influencers | 10M+ verified, 200 data points each |
| Platforms covered | YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram | Multi-platform, global | Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X |
| Services | Influencer campaigns and special projects | Influencer strategy plus global production | Discovery, vetting and audience data |
| Campaign management | full-cycle managed | fully managed | You run it, software assists |
| Content and usage rights | Agreed per campaign | Per campaign | You negotiate directly with creators |
| Paid amplification | Part of custom campaigns | Part of integrated campaigns | Run your own whitelisting |
| Measurement and reporting | Post-campaign reach and engagement | Daily dashboards and reporting | Audience and fake-follower data built in |
| Team and locations | Serbia, founded 2016 | Amsterdam, founded 2010 | Software with support included |
| Time to launch | After scoping and briefing | After scoping | Shortlist in minutes on the free plan |
How we compared: Engagement models and minimums come from each agency's own site plus public reporting and client reviews, cross-checked and dated June 2026. Where an agency hides its pricing we say undisclosed rather than guess a number. The verdicts are ours, not the agencies'.
What each agency actually does
What is AAA Agency
AAA Agency is the narrow specialist. Based in Serbia and spun out of an older holding company in 2016, it works almost entirely in gaming and entertainment, pulling in streamers, vloggers and gaming content creators rather than chasing every vertical. Its client list reads like a games-industry directory: Wargaming and NCSoft sit beside Lilith Games, Plarium and Long Tale Games. AAA counts north of 100 campaigns and says its 2023 gaming work reached around 11 million people.
Work splits between standard influencer campaigns and larger special projects, both fully managed from brief through report. Pricing is private, though third-party listings put the typical project minimum near $25,000. The trade is depth for breadth. AAA knows gaming cold. It is not the agency for a beauty launch or a mass-market push. IMA sits at the opposite end of that axis, as the next section shows. A brand that would rather run its own creator search has a third route.
What AAA Agency does well
- Tight specialism in gaming
- Full-cycle managed campaigns
- Named games-industry clients
- A published project minimum to budget against
Where it falls short
- Narrow vertical, gaming only
- No public rate card beyond listings
- Managed only, no self-serve discovery
- Not suited to mass-market pushes
What is IMA
IMA is the heavyweight on the other side. Founded in Amsterdam in 2010 by Emilie Tabor and Maddie Raedts, with Anneke Schogt joining as CEO in 2016, it grew into what it bills as Europe's largest full-service influencer agency, with around 85 specialists and a network it puts near 40,000 influencers. Brands like Pernod Ricard, Under Armour, Heineken, Beiersdorf and Booking.com have worked with it. The big structural fact: IMA merged into MediaMonks under Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital in 2019. That parent rebranded to Monks in 2024.
So a brand hiring IMA today is really tapping a large influencer practice inside a global digital group, with worldwide creative and production muscle to match its creator reach. The agency leans on daily dashboards to optimise campaigns. Pricing is not published and the model is managed work at scale. Against a focused shop like AAA, IMA is the broad, well-resourced option backed by a holding company. For brands that want to run discovery themselves rather than hire either, there is a third path.
What IMA does well
- Europe's largest influencer agency
- Network of around 40,000 influencers
- Global creative and production via Monks
- Data-led campaign optimisation
Where it falls short
- Now part of a large group, less boutique
- No public pricing
- Built for larger budgets
- Managed only, no self-serve search
Head to head
AAA Agency and IMA are a specialist and a giant. AAA runs gaming campaigns with a small focused team and a clear $25,000-ish entry point. IMA is Europe's largest influencer agency, now inside Monks under S4 Capital, with 40,000 creators and global production behind it. One goes deep on one vertical. The other goes broad with a holding company's resources. Your category and budget pick the winner.
Neither is the do-it-yourself route. Flinque is: 10M verified creators across four platforms, each with a fake-follower score, at one published price, where the brand runs the search itself. No gaming retainer and no enterprise scoping call.
Which should you actually pick
Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.
You want a gaming campaign
You sell a game or app and want a campaign aimed at players, run by a gaming-native team. AAA Agency works that lane.
→ Pick AAA AgencyYou want broad scale and production
You want Europe's largest influencer agency with global creative and production attached. IMA, now part of Monks, fits.
→ Pick IMAYou want to run discovery yourself
No retainer, no scoping call. You want to search 10M verified creators with a fake-follower check on each. Start free on Flinque and pay $49 only if you keep using it.
→ Pick FlinqueYou are new to influencer marketing
AAA starts around $25,000 and IMA works enterprise budgets. Flinque free plan lets you find and vet verified creators with no card, then scales at a flat $49 a month.
→ Start with FlinqueFlinque: verified discovery at a flat price
If both feel like too much retainer and too little control, Flinque does one job and does it well. Find and vet real creators yourself, fast, then run the campaign in-house. No pitch deck, no monthly retainer, no discovery call to learn the price.
- 10M+ verified creators
- 4 platforms: IG, YouTube, TikTok, X
- 200 data points per creator
- 12 search filters
- Fake-follower check on every profile
- Free, $49, $150, published
See Flinque in action
Short walkthroughs on pricing, discovery and vetting from the Flinque team.
What Are Influencer Networks? Why Most Brands Pick the Wrong Creators
Influencer Discovery Platforms That We Made Easy and Affordable
Common questions about AAA Agency and IMA
What is the difference between AAA Agency and IMA?
Is IMA still independent?
How much does AAA Agency cost?
Which is better for a gaming brand?
How big is IMA?
Do they publish pricing?
Can either help me find creators myself?
Is there a software alternative to both?
Written & reviewed by Flinque Research Team
Influencer Marketing Research · View team →
Our research team specialises in influencer marketing strategy, creator analytics and platform comparisons. Details on this page were verified against agency sites, public reporting and client review platforms in June 2026.
Disclaimer: Information here is collected from publicly available sources, third-party review sites and vendor pages. Pricing and features change, so confirm current details with each provider before buying. This content is for informational purposes only.
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