Why brands weigh up influencer agency options
When brands compare Stargazer vs Pulse Advertising, they are really asking a simple question: which influencer partner will actually move the needle for my business without wasting time or money?
You want clear answers on scope, reliability, and what working together really feels like day to day.
Table of Contents
- Understanding your influencer marketing agency choice
- What each agency is mainly known for
- Stargazer: services and client fit
- Pulse Advertising: services and client fit
- How these agencies differ in practice
- Pricing and engagement style
- Strengths and limitations you should weigh
- Who each agency suits best
- When a platform like Flinque makes more sense
- FAQs
- Conclusion
- Disclaimer
Understanding your influencer marketing agency choice
The core decision is not about names or logos. It is about choosing an influencer marketing agency partner that fits your growth stage, budget, and internal team capacity.
Both groups help brands work with creators, but they differ in style, regions, and the kind of campaigns they usually run.
As you read, keep three things in mind: what success looks like for you, the timelines you need, and how hands-on you want to be.
What each agency is mainly known for
While each team offers a wide mix of services, they do have reputations for certain strengths and typical use cases.
What people usually associate with Stargazer
Stargazer is often linked with performance-focused influencer work, especially for brands that care about measurable signups, installs, or sales.
They typically highlight content creators on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, often with a strong direct response angle for user acquisition.
What people usually associate with Pulse Advertising
Pulse Advertising is widely seen as a creative and brand-led influencer partner, often working with bigger consumer brands and lifestyle names.
They are known for multi-market campaigns, polished content, and close ties to social platforms and talent networks across different regions.
Stargazer: services and client fit
Stargazer positions itself as a specialist in data-driven creator programs, blending influencer storytelling with performance marketing goals.
Core services you can expect
Services can shift over time, but brands usually look at this agency for full campaign handling and measurable outcomes.
- Influencer discovery and vetting across major social platforms
- Creative brief development and scripting support
- Negotiation, contracts, and influencer payment handling
- Performance tracking focused on conversions or installs
- Content usage rights and whitelisting where applicable
For many advertisers, the appeal lies in having one team handle both creative and growth metrics, not just awareness.
How they tend to run campaigns
Their process usually starts from numbers: target audience, acquisition goals, and target cost per action, then backtracks to creators.
Expect a structured testing approach, where different creators, hooks, and formats are tried, then optimized around the best performers.
They often repurpose influencer content into paid social ads across platforms like Meta, YouTube, or TikTok, when rights allow.
Creator relationships and style
Because the focus often leans performance, they tend to favor creators who are comfortable selling, recommending products, or driving clear calls to action.
Many campaigns lean into authentic product demos, storytelling, or long-form videos that can drive trackable clicks or codes.
Payment structures are usually a mix of flat fees, packages, and sometimes performance bonuses, depending on each creator.
Typical client profile for Stargazer
This agency often fits brands that already understand digital advertising and want influencer work to plug into existing growth plans.
- Mobile apps needing installs and signups
- Subscription services and SaaS products
- Direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands
- Gaming and entertainment companies
It tends to appeal to marketing teams that care less about celebrity names and more about cost per acquisition and lifetime value.
Pulse Advertising: services and client fit
Pulse Advertising is widely known as a global influencer and social agency with strong creative and brand-building credentials.
Core services you can expect
Their offering is usually broader than pure influencer outreach, often blending social and creator work together.
- Influencer strategy and creative concepts across markets
- Talent casting, negotiation, and long-term ambassador deals
- Social media campaigns, sometimes including paid media support
- Event-based and experiential influencer programs
- Cross-channel content production for different social platforms
Many large brands look to them when they want a cohesive global presence rather than one-off activations.
How they tend to run campaigns
Projects often begin with a brand story and desired perception, not just immediate sales numbers.
They might develop a central creative idea, then adapt it for different countries, platforms, and creator tiers.
You can usually expect mood boards, content guidelines, and detailed brand safety checks before anything goes live.
Creator relationships and style
Pulse Advertising often works with a broad range of influencers, from micro creators to high-profile talent, depending on brief and budget.
They tend to emphasize polished visuals, on-brand messaging, and long-term relationships, especially for fashion, beauty, or lifestyle labels.
Contracts often include multi-channel usage rights, campaign timelines, and place strong weight on reputation protection.
Typical client profile for Pulse Advertising
This group often aligns with larger brands and those that place brand image above short-term tracking.
- Global consumer and lifestyle brands
- Fashion and beauty companies
- Premium automotive, travel, or hospitality players
- Enterprise brands needing multi-country coordination
Marketing leaders who want consistency across regions, languages, and platforms often gravitate toward this type of agency.
How these agencies differ in practice
On the surface, both help brands hire creators and run campaigns. In practice, their styles and focus can feel quite different.
Mindset: performance versus brand building
Stargazer typically leans more into performance marketing, with attention on conversions and measurable returns.
Pulse often leans into brand storytelling, perception shifts, and long-term positioning, though they still monitor results.
Your choice may come down to whether you want immediate, trackable wins or a broader brand lift across markets.
Scale and geographic reach
Pulse frequently spotlights international reach and multi-market rollouts, which can matter for global firms.
Stargazer is often associated with specific regions and verticals like apps, gaming, or ecommerce, where depth matters more than global coverage.
If you need tight coordination across many countries, that can tilt you toward a more globally structured shop.
Campaign style and content look
Performance-focused campaigns can feel more direct and product-centered, often favoring storytelling with clear calls to action.
Brand-led activity tends to look more cinematic or lifestyle driven, designed to live on feeds alongside high-end editorial content.
Think about how polished or raw you want your content to be, and what your audience expects to see from you.
Pricing and engagement style
Neither group usually works on flat public packages. Pricing tends to depend on scope, regions, and creator tiers.
How influencer agencies normally charge
Most influencer marketing agencies use a mix of brand budgets and service fees, not fixed subscriptions.
- Minimum campaign budgets to cover planning and talent
- Agency management fees or retainers
- Influencer fees based on audience size and deliverables
- Production and editing costs where custom content is needed
Expect a custom quote after a discovery call and initial brief, rather than off-the-shelf plans.
What can make one more expensive than another
Costs can climb when you add multiple countries, celebrity-level creators, or heavy content production.
Brand-led creative with complex shoots and events is usually more expensive than simple product reviews filmed by creators at home.
Performance-focused campaigns can still be pricey, but sometimes lean more on mid-tier creators at scale than a few big names.
Engagement models you might see
You might work on a single campaign, a test project, or a longer-term retainer that covers multiple launches.
Retainers can bring more stability and priority service, but they also lock in budget, which may be tough for early-stage teams.
Always ask what happens after the first campaign and how results will shape future budgets and strategies.
Strengths and limitations you should weigh
Every influencer partner has trade-offs. What feels like a strength for one brand may feel like a drawback for another.
Where Stargazer tends to shine
- Clear focus on measurable conversions and acquisition goals
- Deep comfort with direct response creative and testing
- Ability to reuse creator content in paid ads where allowed
- Strong fit for app launches and ecommerce pushes
Many performance-driven brands worry that influencer work is “too fluffy”; this type of agency tries to counter that fear.
Where Stargazer might feel less ideal
- May feel too performance-focused if you want pure brand storytelling
- Less suited to complex offline events or large experiential projects
- Creative style can skew direct and sales-driven, which not all brands prefer
Where Pulse Advertising tends to shine
- Strong global presence and multi-market coordination
- High production values and polished creative
- Good fit for premium or image-driven brands
- Experience working with a wide range of influencer tiers
Marketing teams that report to brand or communications leadership often value this level of polish and consistency.
Where Pulse Advertising might feel less ideal
- May prioritize brand stories over short-term performance metrics
- Global structures can add complexity and time to approvals
- Best suited to brands with healthy budgets and longer timelines
Who each agency suits best
Your decision should match budgets, goals, and how mature your brand already is in digital and creator marketing.
When Stargazer is likely a better fit
- Growth teams where acquisition targets are non-negotiable
- Brands already running paid social who want creator content that also works as ads
- App-first or ecommerce businesses needing direct, trackable results
- Marketers comfortable judging success through dashboards, not just buzz
When Pulse Advertising is likely a better fit
- International brands planning rollouts across several markets
- Premium or lifestyle labels wanting highly curated visuals
- Companies focused on reputation, brand equity, and storytelling
- Marketing leaders who want a partner across social and influencer, not just one channel
When a platform like Flinque makes more sense
Not every brand is ready for full service agency retainers. Some teams want control and flexibility over smaller budgets.
Why some brands choose platforms
Software platforms like Flinque let in-house teams discover creators, manage outreach, and run campaigns themselves.
This works best if you already have a scrappy marketing crew, but lack tools and data to scale influencer work efficiently.
You trade agency hand-holding for lower ongoing fees and tighter control over creator relationships.
Situations where platforms shine
- Early-stage brands testing influencer marketing for the first time
- In-house teams comfortable talking directly with creators
- Companies that want to own long-term creator relationships
- Brands that prefer flexible monthly spending over large campaign commitments
If your main worry is budget rather than time or expertise, platforms can offer a middle ground between doing nothing and hiring a full agency.
FAQs
How do I know if I need a full service influencer marketing agency?
If you lack time, in-house experience, or systems to find and manage creators at scale, a full service partner often makes sense, especially for bigger launches or multi-country campaigns.
Can I work with both a creative agency and an influencer agency?
Yes. Many brands use a creative agency for big ideas and positioning, then bring an influencer specialist to handle creator casting, outreach, and day-to-day coordination.
How long does it take to see results from influencer campaigns?
Simple campaigns can show early signs within weeks, but larger, multi-wave efforts often need several months of testing, optimization, and creative refinement to really prove value.
Should I focus on big influencers or many small ones?
Big influencers bring reach and prestige, while smaller creators often bring higher engagement and lower costs. Most brands see the best results from a mix, guided by budget and goals.
What should I ask agencies before signing?
Ask about typical client budgets, reporting style, creator selection criteria, examples from your industry, and how they handle contracts, rights, and brand safety issues.
Conclusion
Choosing between influencer partners is really about matching style and structure with your own business reality.
If measurable growth and acquisition sit at the center of your plan, a performance-focused partner may serve you better.
If global reach, polished creative, and long-term brand building matter more, a brand-led influencer team can be the right choice.
And if you want control with lower long-term costs, exploring a platform like Flinque can provide a flexible starting point.
Clarify your objectives, budget range, and desired involvement level, then speak openly with potential partners about how they work.
Disclaimer
All information on this page is collected from publicly available sources, third party search engines, AI powered tools and general online research. We do not claim ownership of any external data and accuracy may vary. This content is for informational purposes only.
Jan 09,2026
