Obviously vs HelloSociety: What Happened to HelloSociety
One of these is not a live option. The agency was wound up in September 2019, three years after its sale to the Times. Obviously is the side you can actually brief.
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Which one is right for you
Three buyers, three picks. Find the column that sounds like your team.
Choose Obviously if
- You want enterprise and Fortune 500 scale
- You want WPP ownership and reporting tech
- You run complex, regulated campaigns
Consider HelloSociety if
- You are researching the field's history
- You want context on early pioneers
- You have confirmed its current status
Choose Flinque if
- You want verified creators and fake-follower checks with no sales call
- You want flat published pricing you can start free
- You want a tool you can use today, not a retainer
Obviously vs HelloSociety vs Flinque
The factors below are set out for both. Only Obviously is a live option. There is no HelloSociety to hire; it closed in 2019. Flinque is the flat-price software option on the right.
| Factor | Obviously | HelloSociety | Best valueFlinque |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Enterprise and Fortune 500 brands | Not available, closed 2019 | Teams running discovery in-house |
| Agency type | WPP-owned enterprise agency | Early pioneer, no longer active | Self-serve software, not an agency |
| Engagement model | Custom, enterprise scope | Not an active option | Flat monthly subscription |
| Typical minimum | Undisclosed | Not applicable | Free, then $49/mo |
| Published pricing | No | None | $0 to $150/mo, public |
| Creator network | Curated for complex programs | Pinterest-era analytics roots | 10M+ verified, 200 data points each |
| Platforms covered | All platforms, enterprise | Historical, Pinterest-first | Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X |
| Services | Strategy, reporting, experiential | No active service | Discovery, vetting and audience data |
| Campaign management | fully managed | No longer taking business | You run it, software assists |
| Content and usage rights | Proprietary reporting tech | Analytics pioneer pedigree | You negotiate directly with creators |
| Paid amplification | Rare depth in regulated industries | Once under The New York Times | Run your own whitelisting |
| Measurement and reporting | New York, founded 2014 | Not available | Audience and fake-follower data built in |
| Team and locations | After scoping and strategy | Santa Monica, until 2019 | Software with support included |
| Time to launch | Best for enterprise scale | Best for industry context only | 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 Obviously
Obviously operates at the high end of the market with the ownership to back it. Started in 2014 in New York by Mae Karwowski with Maxime Domain, then operating from San Francisco and Paris too, it made its name on the biggest, most intricate influencer programs before WPP bought it and slotted it into the holding company's global network. Enterprise depth is its edge: it takes Fortune 500-scale campaigns from end to end, carries its own reporting technology and holds uncommon experience in regulated sectors where compliance weighs as heavily as reach. Its full stack covers strategy through experiential, made for brands whose programs are too large or too delicate for a lighter shop. That enterprise-grade, WPP-backed model is its signature. Against HelloSociety, which is no longer an active option, Obviously is the live enterprise choice.
Pricing is custom and unpublished, scoped per program, as enterprise agencies price. What you are buying is top-of-market scale with holding-company muscle: Fortune 500-grade execution, proprietary reporting tech, depth in regulated industries and a full stack from strategy to experiential, all under WPP ownership. For a large brand whose program is big or sensitive enough to need that, the depth is the draw. The tradeoffs follow. It is built for enterprise budgets, so a smaller brand wanting a quick test gets an oversized partner. There is no self-serve tier here. It is a managed agency rather than a tool you run yourself. For a brand that wants verified creators on a flat price it can start today, a software tool runs a different play.
What Obviously does well
- Made for enterprise and Fortune 500 scale
- Under WPP, with its own reporting tech
- Uncommon depth in regulated sectors
- A full stack from strategy to experiential
Where it falls short
- Built for enterprise budgets, not quick tests
- Oversized for a smaller brand
- No self-serve tier, fully managed
- Custom pricing, scoping call required
What HelloSociety was
Acquisition by The New York Times Company closed in March 2016; closure as a separate business followed in September 2019. Today HelloSociety is a retired brand: the domain is parked: a status check reads it as alive but there is no site behind it.
T Brand Studio is where the operation went inside the Times. Its network was reported at more than 1,500 influencers at the 2016 acquisition. It was founded in 2012 and ran a curated influencer network rather than an open marketplace.
This is a genuine closure rather than a rename: there is no successor brand to point a reader at. No live business has taken the name on.
What HelloSociety was known for
- Work that fitted a publisher's standards
- More than 1,500 influencers at the 2016 sale
- A curated influencer network
- A hand-picked rather than open network
Why it is not a live option
- No first-party page survives
- There is no team to brief
- The domain serves an under-construction placeholder
- Dissolved as a standalone agency in September 2019
Head to head
These two are not weighed against each other on the usual terms. A reader arriving on this name should know HelloSociety is a historical brand. This is easy to verify: nothing first-party survives and the domain serves a hosting placeholder. The New York Times Company acquired it in a deal that completed on 11 March 2016 and dissolved it as a standalone agency in September 2019. Obviously is therefore the only live half of this and the rest of the page is the record on HelloSociety.
Which should you actually pick
Forget the pitch decks for a second. Match the partner to the situation you are in.
You need enterprise scale now
You want a top-of-market agency to run a big or regulated program end to end, with WPP backing. Obviously is built for that.
→ Pick ObviouslyYou are researching the field's history
You want context on the early pioneers that shaped influencer marketing. Set against Obviously, HelloSociety has nothing current to offer on this point. But confirm its status before treating it as a live vendor.
→ Note HelloSociety's historyYou want a tool you can use today
No enterprise retainer, no defunct vendor. You want 10M+ verified creators across four platforms with a fake-follower check on each. Start free on Flinque and upgrade at $49 only if you keep using it.
→ Pick FlinqueYou want verified creators without overhead
This point cannot be answered for HelloSociety, which does not trade. Flinque's 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
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Common questions about Obviously and HelloSociety
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