The Digital Dept vs Incast

Why brands look at these two influencer agencies

When brands search for help with creator campaigns, they often end up choosing between different influencer agencies that sound similar on paper but feel very different in practice.

You might be weighing up The Digital Dept vs Incast because both promise reach, content, and measurable results with social creators.

The real question is simple: which partner will actually make your life easier, protect your budget, and move the needle for your brand?

Influencer agency overview

The shortened primary keyword for this topic is influencer marketing agencies. That phrase captures what you are really deciding between here: two service teams that plan and run creator campaigns for brands.

Both sides usually offer strategy, creator sourcing, content approvals, and reporting, but they package and prioritize these pieces differently.

To choose with confidence, you need to understand what each group actually does for you day to day, not just the buzzwords on their homepages.

What each agency is known for

Public information suggests that each agency has its own sweet spots, preferred markets, and work style. Understanding this helps you avoid a poor fit.

Reputation and general positioning

On one side, you have a creative-focused influencer partner that leans into storytelling, branded content, and tighter creator relationships over pure scale.

On the other, you see a networked shop that talks more about reach, multi-market work, and connecting brands with a broader pool of creators and talent managers.

Typical client expectations

Brands that approach these agencies are usually looking for one of three things. First, a team to fully run influencer work end to end. Second, help scaling from a few creators to ongoing programs. Third, support connecting social content to performance metrics.

Where they diverge is how much they emphasize creative craft, paid media, and international reach.

How one agency typically works

Let’s start with the agency that feels more creatively driven and brand focused. Think of this option as a compact team that cares a lot about narrative, content quality, and curated creator partnerships.

Services this kind of agency usually offers

While details vary by client, you can expect a package along these lines:

• Influencer strategy tied to your brand story and launch calendar
• Creator discovery with strong filtering for tone, values, and audience fit
• Briefing, content concepts, and usage planning
• Contracting, negotiations, and legal basics
• Campaign management across social channels
• Reporting, with focus on brand lift and content performance

The emphasis is less on massive talent rosters and more on finding the right people, then helping them create content that genuinely fits your product.

Approach to campaigns

This sort of team usually starts with your overall marketing plan and then slots creators into specific moments such as product drops, seasonal pushes, or tentpole events.

Campaigns are often crafted like mini brand stories. You might see multi-part content arcs, series formats on TikTok, and coordinated posting across a limited set of creators who align closely with your positioning.

Relationships with creators

These agencies often keep a smaller, more curated creator bench and maintain strong relationships with those individuals and their managers.

That can mean better communication, smoother approvals, and content that feels more authentic, because the creators are not just one-off names from a giant spreadsheet.

Typical client fit

The creative leaning style tends to resonate with:

• Emerging consumer brands that care deeply about how they show up online
• Beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and DTC brands that live on Instagram and TikTok
• Marketing teams that prefer quality over quantity and want tight creative control
• Founders who want a partner that behaves like an extension of their in-house team

If your main worry is brand safety, tone of voice, and content polish, this style may feel more comfortable than a pure volume play.

How the other agency typically works

The second agency you are considering tends to speak more about scale, global reach, and a wide network of creators across markets, languages, and platforms.

Services this kind of agency usually offers

You will often see a menu like this:

• Influencer strategy for single markets or multi-country rollouts
• Access to a large pool of creators across verticals and audience sizes
• Campaign planning around volume, reach, and conversion goals
• Talent sourcing, screening, contracting, and fee negotiations
• Always-on influencer programs and ambassador networks
• Reporting with emphasis on impressions, clicks, and conversions

The flavor is more “reach the masses with structure” than “tell one perfect story with a handful of creators.”

Approach to campaigns

This model tends to shine when you need many creators posting in a coordinated way, often across several countries or languages.

You might get standardized briefs, templates for content, and batch approvals to move dozens of collaborations at once instead of highly customized one-off executions.

Relationships with creators

With larger networks, relationships are often a mix of direct connections and database driven discovery.

That can help when you want variety and fresh faces. It can also mean each individual creator may feel a bit more interchangeable, depending on how the agency manages communications.

Typical client fit

This flavor of agency usually clicks with:

• Global or regional consumer brands that need multi-market coverage
• Apps, gaming, and ecommerce players chasing installs or sales at scale
• Brands with significant media budgets looking to add creators as a channel
• Marketing teams that value process, volume, and data over hand crafted content

If your board is asking for reach numbers and consistent reporting across markets, this style will likely feel reassuring.

How their approaches feel different

When you zoom out, you are not just picking an agency name. You are choosing between two different ways to run influencer marketing.

Creative depth versus reach

One side usually leans into deeper creative collaboration with a smaller group of creators. The other leans into structured workflows that make large scale collaborations doable.

Neither is inherently better. The right choice depends on whether your primary goal is brand storytelling or broad exposure and measurable performance.

Campaign pace and flexibility

Creative-heavy teams may move a bit slower at the start as they learn your voice and experiment with content formats.

Network-first teams may spin up campaigns faster once your objectives and guidelines are set, especially when repeating similar structures across creators or markets.

Level of brand involvement

A more boutique partner will often invite you into creative decisions, creator selection, and content feedback.

A scaled network partner might offer cleaner, more packaged experiences with fewer micro choices, but more structured timelines and templates.

Measures of success

Boutique shops tend to celebrate content quality, brand alignment, and long term community building.

Network driven agencies are more likely to put impressions, clicks, codes, and tracked revenue at the center of reporting, especially for larger advertisers.

Pricing approach and how you pay

Neither side works like a plug and play software plan. As service based partners, both typically build custom pricing based on your needs and budget.

Common pricing elements

You will usually see a mix of:

• Agency fees for strategy, management, and reporting
• Influencer fees, which go directly to creators or their managers
• Production costs if extra content or shoots are needed
• Paid amplification budgets, if you run ads from creator content
• Retainer or project-based structures depending on your timeline

Some brands keep both agency fees and creator payments under one contract, while others split them for accounting reasons.

How a boutique style partner may price

A more creative focused agency might prefer retainers or carefully scoped projects tied to launches and key moments.

Because they invest more time in concept and coordination per creator, you may work with fewer influencers but with higher touch support per collaboration.

How a network driven partner may price

A large network style shop may build fees around the number of creators, markets, and campaigns you want to run within a period.

You could see frameworks tied to minimum campaign budgets, especially on multi-country activations or always-on ambassador programs.

What affects total cost most

The biggest cost drivers are usually creator rates and volume.

Celebrity or macro influencers raise budgets quickly. Micro and mid-tier creators are more affordable but require more coordination if you want scale.

Agency management fees then sit on top, covering planning, oversight, and reporting.

Strengths and limitations

Every influencer agency has tradeoffs. Recognizing them early saves you from mismatched expectations later.

Where a creative boutique style shines

• Careful creator selection and strong brand voice alignment
• Content that feels native and less like obvious ads
• Closer collaboration with your internal team and other partners
• Better fit for early stage brands that want a clear visual and verbal identity

A common concern brands have is whether a smaller agency can handle rapid scaling once campaigns start to work.

Limitations of a boutique approach

• May not cover many markets or languages simultaneously
• Less suited to huge volumes of always-on influencer activity
• Processes can rely heavily on key team members, which may affect capacity

Where a network driven model shines

• Large pools of creators across categories and countries
• Faster scale for launches, app installs, or seasonal pushes
• Structured workflows and more standardized reporting formats
• Ability to test many creators quickly and double down on top performers

A frequent worry is whether content from many creators will start to feel repetitive or less authentic to each audience.

Limitations of a network driven model

• Individual creator fit and creative nuance can be harder to protect
• Some brands feel like “one of many” instead of a priority client
• More rigid processes may reduce room for experimentation and risk taking

Who each agency is best for

At this point, think less about names and more about which style matches your current stage and goals.

When a boutique creative partner is a better fit

• You are shaping or refreshing your brand identity in social channels.
• Your team wants high involvement in creator selection and content direction.
• You care more about community, engagement, and brand love than pure scale.
• You are launching new products and need storytelling, not just placements.

When a network style partner is a better fit

• You already have clear brand guidelines and messages to amplify.
• You need many creators posting within the same time window.
• You work across several countries or languages.
• Your leadership expects clear reach numbers and performance metrics.

When a platform option may be better

Not every brand needs or can afford a full service influencer agency. In some cases, a software platform like Flinque can be more practical.

What a platform based alternative offers

Platform solutions typically focus on:

• Searching and filtering creators based on audience and content
• Managing outreach, messaging, and basic workflows in one place
• Tracking content, links, and performance data across campaigns
• Reducing reliance on long term agency retainers

With options like Flinque, your internal team stays in control while the software helps with discovery and coordination.

When a platform makes more sense

• Your budget cannot comfortably cover agency retainers and creator fees.
• You already have social media staff willing to manage creator relationships.
• You want to build direct ties with influencers instead of going through intermediaries.
• You prefer experimenting in-house before committing to a full service partner.

FAQs

How do I decide which influencer agency style I need first?

Start with your main goal. If you want strong storytelling and brand building, lean toward a creative boutique style. If you need reach across many creators or countries, look for a network driven agency with proven experience at scale.

Can I work with both a boutique and a network agency at the same time?

Yes, some brands use a boutique partner for flagship launches and a network focused shop for always-on programs. Just make sure roles, territories, and reporting expectations are clearly split to avoid overlapping work and confused creators.

What should I ask during early calls with agencies?

Ask for recent case examples close to your industry, details on how they select creators, who manages your account day to day, how they measure success, and how they handle issues such as late posts, brand safety problems, or underperforming campaigns.

How long should I test an influencer agency before fully committing?

Many brands run a three to six month pilot. That window lets you see campaign planning, content quality, creator fit, communication style, and early results. After that, you can decide whether to extend, scale, or try a different partner or platform.

Is it cheaper to use a platform like Flinque instead of an agency?

In most cases, platforms cost less in service fees but require more internal time. Agencies cost more overall but handle planning, coordination, and problem solving. The better option depends on how much in-house capacity and influencer experience your team already has.

Conclusion

Choosing between different influencer marketing agencies is really about choosing how you want to work, not just who runs your campaigns.

If you value depth of storytelling, close creative control, and carefully chosen creators, a boutique style partner will likely serve you best in the near term.

If your priority is reaching many people across markets with clear performance data, a network driven agency is often the more natural fit.

For lean teams or brands still testing the channel, a platform-based option such as Flinque might provide the right balance of control and cost.

Map your goals, budget, and desired level of involvement, then speak openly with each potential partner about how they would handle your next 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.