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Agency comparison · Updated August 13, 2026

August United vs HelloSociety: Only One Is Live

One of these is a working agency inside a holding group. The other was absorbed by the New York Times and wound down before the current platform era began. If both are on a shortlist, the shortlist is out of date.

Short answer: pick August United if you want a live agency with wide category experience. Pick HelloSociety only as a historical reference, because it stopped operating years ago. Or pick Flinque if you would rather find and vet creators yourself at a flat price you can start free.
See Flinque pricing
4.9/5 across 2,000+ reviews10M+ verified creatorsUsed by Vodafone, Hyatt and Abbott
The 5-second answer

Which one is right for you

Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.

Choose August United if

  • You want an agency that is actually taking work
  • You want experience across many consumer categories
  • You need strategy and activation handled end to end

Note on HelloSociety

  • It was acquired by the New York Times in 2016
  • It stopped operating independently around 2019 to 2020
  • It is no longer an option, so replace it on your list
Free, no card

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
Side by side

August United vs HelloSociety vs Flinque

Fourteen factors across all three, with HelloSociety in the past tense because it no longer trades. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.

FactorAugust UnitedHelloSocietyBest valueFlinque
StatusLive and taking workWound down around 2019 to 2020Live, self-serve
Best forBrands wanting proven category rangeNothing, it no longer operatesTeams running discovery in-house
TypeInfluencer-only, end to endSocial influencer network, now closedSelf-serve software
HeadquartersTempe, ArizonaSanta Monica, CaliforniaRemote, serving 25+ countries
OwnershipPart of McKinney since 2023Absorbed by the New York Times in 2016Independent
Core focusInfluencer strategy and activationInstagram, Pinterest and YouTube networkDiscovery and vetting
Reported clientsMicrosoft, Samsung and NestleMinimal public dataSelf-serve, no client gate
Can you hire itYesNo, it stopped operatingYes, self-serve
EraCurrentPre-2020Current
Creator poolAgency relationshipsFormer network, now gone10M+ verified creators
Published pricingNoneNoneFree $0, Starter $49, Enterprise $150
Self-serve searchNoNoYes
Free tierNoNoYes, no card
Data per creatorNot publishedNot published200 data points reported

How we compared: Engagement models and minimums come from each agency's own site and 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'.

The detail

What each agency actually does

What is August United

TempePart of McKinneyWide categoriesEnd to end

Out of Tempe in Arizona, August United runs influencer strategy and activation as a single end-to-end service. It has been part of McKinney since 2023, so it now runs inside a larger agency group rather than as a standalone shop. Its reported clients are Microsoft, Samsung, Nestle, Sam's Club, PetSmart and P.F. Chang's, which spans software, consumer electronics, packaged food, warehouse retail, pet supplies and casual dining. Six distinct categories is a genuine signal about the kind of pattern transfer an agency can offer.

The relevant point on this particular page is simpler than any of that. August United is live and taking briefs, which is the one thing the other name here cannot claim. If you are comparing the two because both appeared in the same search, the useful takeaway is that only one of them can actually be hired. It is this one. Ask directly who is committed to your account, since resourcing inside a group is decided above the agency.

What August United does well

  • Live and taking work, which HelloSociety is not
  • Reported clients span six consumer categories
  • End-to-end strategy and activation in one place
  • Group resources behind it since the McKinney deal

Where it falls short

  • Inside a group, so your account is ranked against others
  • Scaled for large brands, so heavy for a small brief
  • No published pricing to benchmark against
  • No self-serve search for brands wanting to look themselves

What is HelloSociety

Santa MonicaAbsorbed by NYTClosed pre-2020Historical

HelloSociety was an influencer-only agency in Santa Monica that ran a social influencer network across Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. In its day it was an early mover, building creator relationships before influencer marketing was a settled category. That history is the reason its name still surfaces, because a pioneer leaves a long trail of articles and references behind it.

The trail is misleading now. The New York Times acquired HelloSociety in 2016 and it stopped operating as an independent agency around 2019 to 2020. There is no team to brief and no network to book. If it reached your shortlist, that list was assembled from older material and needs revisiting, because a name that has not taken work in half a decade is not a live option however often it appears in search results.

What HelloSociety did well

  • Was an early influencer network across three platforms
  • Built creator relationships before the category matured
  • Acquired by the New York Times in 2016
  • Santa Monica base in the early influencer scene

Where it falls short

  • Stopped operating independently around 2019 to 2020
  • No team to brief and no network to book
  • Its public record long predates the current platform era
  • Not a live option, so it needs replacing on any list

August United vs HelloSociety head to head

There is no live comparison to make, so the useful question changes to what HelloSociety was covering on your list. If it was there as an early Pinterest and Instagram network, August United reaches those platforms and many more. It is a straight substitute with far wider category experience. If it was there for some specific historical reason, that reason has expired and any agency you consider now should be checked for a pulse before anything else.

The wider lesson is worth keeping. An agency that pioneered a category leaves more written about it than most live shops, which makes a stale name look current in a search. Flinque removes that risk from the step before hiring: 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms, 200 reported data points each, at $0 to start and $49 a month after, with a list you build and keep yourself.

By scenario

Which should you actually pick

Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.

You had HelloSociety on a shortlist

Strike it off and date-check the rest. A name that has not operated since around 2020 should not be on a current list at all.

→ Replace HelloSociety

You want wide category experience

You need an agency that has run software, food, retail and restaurants and can bring a mechanic from one to another. August United is built that way.

→ Pick August United

You want an early-network specialist

That era is over and the network is gone. Whatever HelloSociety offered has to be sourced from a live agency now, not from its archive.

→ Neither is live

You want to own the shortlist

Agencies close and get absorbed. A list you built yourself does not. Flinque indexes 10M+ verified creators with a fake-follower score on each, free to start.

→ Pick Flinque
A third option

Flinque: 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
Watch

See Flinque in action

Short walkthroughs on pricing, discovery and vetting from the Flinque team.

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FAQs

Common questions about August United and HelloSociety

Is HelloSociety still operating?
No. The New York Times acquired it in 2016 and it stopped operating as an independent agency around 2019 to 2020. There is no team to brief. It appears in searches because it was an early influencer network and left a long public record. A name that has not taken work in years is not a live option.
What did HelloSociety do?
Running an early social influencer network across Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube from Santa Monica, at a time when influencer marketing was still forming as a discipline. Being early was its distinction. That same early position is why its name persists in articles long after the agency itself wound down.
What is August United?
A Tempe, Arizona influencer agency running strategy and activation end to end, part of McKinney since 2023. Reported clients include Microsoft, Samsung, Nestle, Sam's Club, PetSmart and P.F. Chang's, spanning six consumer categories. Unlike HelloSociety it is live and taking briefs, which is the decisive difference here.
Can August United replace HelloSociety?
For platform reach, easily, since it covers Instagram and more with far wider category experience than an early network held. The honest framing is that there is nothing to replace in a like-for-like sense, because HelloSociety is not competing for work. You are simply choosing a live agency instead of an archived one.
Why does a closed agency still show up in searches?
Because pioneers leave a long trail. Early coverage, directory listings and references outlive the company, so a search returns a decorated profile with no signal that the business stopped operating years ago. The habit worth forming is checking when an agency last took work before it reaches a shortlist.
Does the McKinney ownership matter?
It changes where resourcing is decided. Since 2023 August United has sat inside a larger group, so senior time is allocated across the group rather than only its own accounts. That brings resources a standalone shop cannot fund. It also means asking which people are actually committed to your account.
How much does August United cost?
It does not publish pricing and quotes against a scope. An agency inside a holding group often carries a higher rate card because the overhead is larger, though that is a tendency rather than a rule. Ask what the smallest sensible engagement looks like if your budget is modest.
Is there a software alternative?
Yes. Flinque is self-serve software covering discovery and vetting, indexing 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms with 200 data points per creator reported on each profile. There is no demo and no annual lock-in. The Free Plan is $0, Starter is $49 a month and Enterprise is $150.

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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