Why brands look at these influencer agencies side by side
When brands weigh up The Digital Dept vs House of Marketers, they are usually trying to answer one simple question: which partner can reliably turn creator content into sales and brand lift for their niche and budget.
Both are influencer marketing agencies, not software tools. They help brands plan campaigns, find creators, manage content, and report on results, but they do it in different ways and for different kinds of clients.
This is where the idea of a creative influencer campaigns partner becomes critical. You are not just choosing tactics; you are choosing people, process, communication style, and how deeply you want an outside team involved in your brand.
Below, you will see how each agency typically works, which brands they tend to fit best, how they handle creators, and what to expect around pricing and engagement.
What each agency is known for
Both agencies work in the same broad space, but their reputations tend to form around slightly different strengths. Knowing those reputations helps you judge early fit before speaking to sales teams.
The Digital Dept generally positions itself as a modern, social first partner. Think of a team that leans into creative strategy, content direction, and cross channel storytelling rather than just one platform.
House of Marketers is usually associated with high energy, TikTok native work and performance focused influencer activity. Their narrative is very tied to short form video and growth for fast moving brands.
In practice, both can run campaigns across multiple platforms. The key question becomes: which flavour of creator marketing matches your brand’s tone, product type, and goals.
Inside The Digital Dept
Services typically offered
The Digital Dept is best understood as a full service influencer partner. Rather than only sourcing creators, they usually plug into broader social plans and brand storytelling.
Common services often include:
- Influencer strategy aligned with product launches or brand moments
- Creator discovery and vetting across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and more
- Creative direction, briefs, and content review
- Campaign management, timelines, and approvals
- Usage rights, whitelisting, and paid amplification support
- Reporting focused on both reach and brand outcomes
Brands that want a deeper layer of creative partnership tend to find this appealing, especially when internal teams are stretched thin.
How The Digital Dept runs campaigns
Their approach often starts with a clear narrative around your product, rather than just “we need influencers”. That can mean building a content framework before a single creator is hired.
A typical flow might look like this:
- Discovery call to align on goals, target audience, and channels
- Concept development and messaging angles
- Creator shortlisting and outreach
- Briefing and content production window
- Launch, monitoring, and adjustments mid campaign
- Reporting with highlights, learnings, and next steps
This style can feel very collaborative. For busy teams, it also means more work handled by the agency, but it does require trust and clear communication on both sides.
Creator relationships and talent pool
The Digital Dept usually works with a mix of talent sizes, from micro creators in niche communities to more established influencers. Rather than only chasing large follower counts, they often look at relevance and content fit.
Expect a combination of recurring relationships with favourite creators plus new voices brought in for specific campaigns. This balance gives brands both familiarity and freshness.
On the brand side, you may not interact with every creator directly. Instead, you work through an account team that handles outreach, negotiation, and coordination.
Typical client fit for The Digital Dept
This type of agency tends to suit brands that care about long term storytelling, not one off shoutouts. They are often a match for companies that already invest in design, content, and brand positioning.
Typical fits might include:
- Consumer brands wanting ongoing social storytelling
- Newer brands with strong visual identity, needing reach
- Companies launching into new markets or demographics
- Marketing teams that want a creative thought partner
If you want close support on concept and content, and your budget allows for more than just basic outreach, this path can feel very natural.
Inside House of Marketers
Services typically offered
House of Marketers presents itself as a social growth engine, strongly connected to TikTok and high impact creator content. Their services also span strategy to reporting but often with a stronger performance flavour.
You will usually see offerings such as:
- Influencer campaigns geared toward app installs, signups, or sales
- TikTok centric creative ideas and trend tapping
- Creator sourcing focused on personality driven short form video
- Campaign management and content scheduling
- Paid media support, including creator whitelisting
- Detailed performance metrics and optimizations
The tone is usually energetic and experiment ready, which can be attractive to brands eager to move fast on social trends.
How House of Marketers runs campaigns
Campaigns often start with goals framed in growth terms. That might be boosting a product launch, driving trial for a subscription, or scaling an app in a crowded category.
A typical approach might include:
- Clarifying conversion goals and key metrics
- Shaping creative angles suited to TikTok and Reels culture
- Testing multiple creator styles to see what lands
- Iterating quickly when a format performs strongly
- Layering paid spend behind best performing content
Brands with agile internal teams tend to enjoy this data backed, test and learn style. It can feel less traditional but often more experimental.
Creator relationships and talent pool
House of Marketers generally leans into creators who are comfortable on camera and used to fast moving trends. Think expressive storytelling, humour, and hooks in the first seconds.
There is often a mix of mid tier and large creators who can produce volume quickly, alongside smaller voices for niche audiences. Many of these creators are deeply rooted in TikTok culture.
This can be powerful for products that suit playful content, though more serious or regulated brands may need extra care in briefing and compliance.
Typical client fit for House of Marketers
This environment often fits brands that are growth driven and comfortable with rapid experimentation. If your product or app sells well when people see it in action, this style is promising.
Typical fits can include:
- Mobile apps and gaming companies
- Direct to consumer brands built for impulse friendly purchases
- Subscription services with clear hooks and offers
- Consumer products that shine in short form demos
If you are willing to lean into bold, platform native content and optimize with data, this kind of partner can feel like an extension of your growth team.
How these agencies truly differ
On paper, both agencies cover strategy, creators, and campaign management. The differences show up in their flavour of work, not just their service list.
One key difference is emphasis. The Digital Dept is often more brand story and aesthetic driven. House of Marketers usually feels more performance and trend driven, especially on TikTok.
Client experience can also vary. The Digital Dept may feel like a creative studio plugged into your marketing calendar. House of Marketers often feels like a social growth partner laser focused on metrics.
There is also a difference in risk tolerance. Some brands want safe, on brand content that could sit in their own feeds. Others are happy to push into edgier, trend led territory to win attention.
Your legal and compliance needs matter here. Regulated industries might lean more toward tightly managed storytelling, while lifestyle brands may chase viral moments more freely.
Pricing approach and how work is billed
Neither agency typically publishes simple package style pricing, because fees depend heavily on scope, geography, and creator choices. Instead, budgets are usually built around your goals and scale.
Most brands can expect a few core cost areas:
- Agency fees for strategy, project management, and reporting
- Creator fees for content production and distribution
- Paid amplification budgets, if ads are part of the plan
- Usage rights and whitelisting costs for repurposing content
Some clients work on campaign based projects, such as a three month launch. Others prefer ongoing retainers where the agency acts as a long term partner across multiple drops.
Your internal resources also matter. If you want the agency to handle nearly everything, from creative to creator management, fees will reflect that heavier workload.
In early conversations, it helps to share an honest budget range and desired outcomes. That lets each agency shape realistic proposals and avoids mismatched expectations later.
Real strengths and honest limitations
Every influencer agency comes with trade offs. Understanding those clearly matters more than chasing a perfect partner that does not exist.
Where The Digital Dept tends to shine
- Deep integration with your brand voice and visual identity
- Stronger focus on narrative, not just single posts
- Content that can often be repurposed across your channels
- A collaborative approach that many marketing teams enjoy
*One common concern is whether your brand will get enough performance focus in addition to beautiful content.* Clear KPIs and reporting expectations help address this.
Where The Digital Dept may feel less ideal
- Brands chasing ultra aggressive, short term performance might feel pace is steadier than they want.
- Very tight budgets can struggle to support both strong creative and enough creator volume.
- Highly experimental, trend only campaigns may not be their main focus.
Where House of Marketers tends to shine
- Comfort with fast paced, TikTok native content and trends
- Strong fit for apps, direct to consumer brands, and growth teams
- Testing multiple creator styles to find winning formats
- Clear lean toward performance metrics and optimizations
*Another common concern is whether highly trend driven content will still feel on brand and safe long term.* This comes down to briefing, guardrails, and approval processes.
Where House of Marketers may feel less ideal
- Brands with conservative tone may find some ideas too playful or fast moving.
- Teams wanting slow, craft heavy content may prefer a studio feel.
- Products that require deep education might need more long form formats.
Who each agency suits best
Thinking about “fit” is more helpful than trying to decide which agency is simply better. The right choice depends on your stage, goals, and appetite for experimentation.
When The Digital Dept is likely a strong fit
- Brand teams that care deeply about visual coherence and storytelling
- Products that benefit from thoughtful content rather than quick trends
- Companies planning seasonal or multi wave launches
- Teams wanting regular meetings, strategy sessions, and shared planning
If you imagine your influencer work blending seamlessly into your brand campaigns, this agency profile often lines up well.
When House of Marketers is likely a strong fit
- Growth teams focused on TikTok and short form video
- Apps, gaming, and direct response brands wanting clear performance
- Companies ready to test multiple creative angles quickly
- Teams comfortable with fast feedback loops and rapid iterations
If you want creator content that feels native to fast moving platforms and you are ready to optimize with data, this style is promising.
Questions to ask yourself before choosing
- Is my priority brand love, performance numbers, or a mix of both?
- How comfortable am I with trend led, sometimes unpredictable content?
- Do I want a long term partner or campaign by campaign support?
- What budget can I realistically commit for at least one quarter?
Your honest answers will usually point you toward one style of agency more than the other.
When a platform like Flinque makes more sense
Not every brand needs a full service influencer agency from day one. Some teams prefer more control and are happy to manage creators in house, as long as they have good tools.
This is where a platform based option such as Flinque can be useful. Instead of handing everything to an agency, you use software to discover creators, run outreach, and track campaigns yourself.
A self managed approach can make sense when:
- You have a lean but motivated internal marketing team.
- Your budget is modest, and agency retainers feel heavy.
- You want to build direct relationships with creators long term.
- You are comfortable learning best practices through experimentation.
However, running influencer work in house does require time, organization, and some understanding of contracts and regulations. If you lack capacity, an agency still has strong value.
FAQs
Do I need an influencer agency or can I just work with creators directly?
You can absolutely work with creators directly. Agencies mainly help with strategy, sourcing, negotiation, logistics, and reporting. If you have time and experience in house, a platform or manual outreach can work. If not, an agency reduces risk and complexity.
How long should I work with an agency before judging results?
Most brands should plan at least one to three months of activity before drawing strong conclusions. Short tests can show early signals, but patterns around content types, creators, and platforms take multiple cycles to understand.
Are these agencies only focused on TikTok?
While one is strongly associated with TikTok, both tend to work across multiple platforms, including Instagram and YouTube. The mix they recommend usually depends on your audience, product type, and where your buyers already spend their time.
Can I reuse influencer content in my own ads and website?
Often yes, but only if your contract includes the right usage terms. You must agree on where, how long, and in which formats you may reuse content. This usually involves extra fees, so clarify that during negotiation.
What budget range should I have in mind for serious influencer work?
Influencer spend varies widely by region, creator size, and campaign scope. Instead of chasing averages, decide how much revenue or awareness you hope to gain, then set a budget that feels meaningful enough to test properly.
Conclusion
Choosing between these two influencer partners is really about matching your goals, brand style, and internal capacity with the right outside team.
If you want carefully crafted storytelling and deep alignment with your brand identity, a more narrative driven agency will likely feel like home. You will trade some speed for polish and coherence.
If your focus is growth, testing, and riding social trends, a performance leaning, TikTok oriented team may serve you better. Here, you trade some control for agility and experimentation.
For brands with hands on marketing teams and tighter budgets, a platform like Flinque can be a smart middle path. You get structure without committing to full service retainers.
In the end, look at real case studies, talk with the teams, and ask clear questions about process, reporting, and communication. The right partner is the one whose way of working you trust enough to invest in for more than a single campaign.
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 06,2026
