Disrupt vs HelloSociety: Only One Is Live
One of these is a working London agency with a checkable client list. The other belongs to influencer marketing's first chapter and closed years ago. The comparison is really a warning about how out-of-date a search result can be.
Which one is right for you
Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.
Choose Disrupt if
- You want a live agency you can brief this week
- You want performance work with cultural relevance
- Your campaign is UK or international
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
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
Disrupt vs HelloSociety vs Flinque
Fourteen factors across all three, with HelloSociety shown in the past tense because it no longer trades. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.
| Factor | Disrupt | HelloSociety | Best valueFlinque |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Live and taking work | Wound down around 2019 to 2020 | Live, self-serve |
| Best for | UK and international consumer brands | Nothing, it no longer operates | Teams running discovery in-house |
| Type | Full-service agency | Social influencer network, now closed | Self-serve software |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | Santa Monica, California | Remote, serving 25+ countries |
| Ownership | Independent | Absorbed by the New York Times in 2016 | Independent |
| Stated approach | Performance-driven, culturally relevant | Early Pinterest and Instagram network | Discovery and vetting |
| Reported clients | Vinted, Wizz Air, Netflix and LG | Minimal public data | Self-serve, no client gate |
| Can you hire it | Yes | No, it stopped operating | Yes, self-serve |
| Era | Current | Pre-2020 | Current |
| Creator pool | Agency relationships | Former network, now gone | 10M+ verified creators |
| Published pricing | None | None | Free $0, Starter $49, Enterprise $150 |
| Self-serve search | No | No | Yes |
| Free tier | No | No | Yes, no card |
| Data per creator | Not published | Not published | 200 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'.
What each agency actually does
What is Disrupt
Disrupt Marketing works out of London on performance-driven influencer campaigns that lean, by its own account, on cultural relevance. On a page like this one the positioning matters less than the fact that you can check it. Reported clients include Vinted, Wizz Air, Netflix, LG and The FA, all firms whose marketing is out in public, which is a very different starting point from a name you can only find in old articles.
That spread across resale, budget travel, streaming, electronics and sport suggests genuine range rather than a single category habit. Performance and cultural relevance do pull in slightly different directions, so it is worth asking which the agency optimises toward when they conflict. The larger point remains that Disrupt is a live business taking briefs, which is the one thing the other name on this page cannot offer.
What Disrupt does well
- Trading today, which HelloSociety is not
- Reported clients are named and checkable
- London base covers UK and international campaigns
- Spread of reported clients suggests real range
Where it falls short
- Performance and cultural relevance can pull apart
- No published pricing to benchmark against
- Broad range means no deep category specialism
- No self-serve search for brands wanting to look themselves
What is HelloSociety
HelloSociety belongs to the first wave of influencer agencies. Working from Santa Monica, it ran a curated network of creators on Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube back when Pinterest was a serious marketing channel and the whole field was improvised. For a few years it was a name worth knowing, which is exactly why it still turns up when brands search for agencies today.
It does not do any of this any more. The New York Times bought HelloSociety in 2016 and folded it in. It ceased to operate as a standalone agency around 2019 to 2020. Nobody there will answer a brief. The reason this matters on a comparison page is that its absence is invisible from a search result: the profile looks as active as any live agency's, so only the date on the underlying coverage gives the game away.
What HelloSociety did well
- Was a curated early network on three platforms
- Made Pinterest a genuine channel when few did
- Acquired by the New York Times in 2016
- A recognisable name in the early influencer era
Where it falls short
- Ceased operating as a standalone agency around 2019 to 2020
- Nobody there will answer a brief
- Its search profile hides that it has closed
- Not a live option, so it needs replacing on any list
Disrupt vs HelloSociety head to head
There is nothing to weigh, because only one side is trading. If HelloSociety was on your list as an early Pinterest and Instagram network, Disrupt covers those platforms as part of a broader live offering and can actually be hired. If it was there for a specific historical reason, that reason has aged out. The honest framing is that this is not a choice between two agencies, it is a live agency next to an archived one.
The transferable lesson is about verification. A name from the category's first chapter carries more written history than most current shops, which makes a defunct agency look current in search. Flinque takes that uncertainty out of the discovery step: 10M+ verified creators across 4 platforms, 200 reported data points each, at $0 to start and $49 a month after, with a shortlist you build and keep.
Which should you actually pick
Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.
HelloSociety came up in your search
Remove it and check the dates on everything else. A name absent from the market since around 2020 does not belong on a current list.
→ Replace HelloSocietyYou want a live UK agency
You need someone in London who can brief this week and show you recognisable work. Disrupt is trading and its clients are checkable.
→ Pick DisruptYou wanted the early-network model
That model and that network are gone. Whatever HelloSociety once offered has to come from a live agency now, not its archive.
→ Neither is liveYou want to stop chasing dead names
Search returns stale agencies as if current. Flinque indexes 10M+ verified creators with a fake-follower score on each, free to start with no card.
→ Pick 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.
Influencer Discovery Platforms That We Made Easy and Affordable
Find Influencers for $49 a Month: Flinque vs Modash and HypeAuditor (2026)
Common questions about Disrupt and HelloSociety
Is HelloSociety still operating?
What was HelloSociety in its prime?
What is Disrupt?
Can Disrupt replace HelloSociety?
Why does a closed agency still rank in search?
What does culturally relevant mean for Disrupt?
How much does Disrupt cost?
Is there a software alternative?
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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