The Shelf vs Incast

Why brands weigh up these two agencies

Brands often look at influencer marketing agencies when they want more predictable results from creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and beyond. Two names that come up frequently are The Shelf and Incast, each known for different strengths.

Marketers usually want to understand who will handle strategy, creator sourcing, content quality, and reporting. They also want to know how each team works day to day, and what kind of budget and commitment is realistic.

The primary SEO focus here is the phrase influencer agency comparison, because that captures what you are likely trying to figure out: which partner fits your brand and goals better.

What each agency is known for

Both The Shelf and Incast are full service influencer marketing agencies. They help brands plan campaigns, find creators, handle outreach, and manage content and reporting. But their reputations come from slightly different angles and histories.

The Shelf is often associated with creative, story driven campaigns. They lean into brand storytelling, visuals, and narrative hooks that feel more like mini brand worlds than one off posts.

Incast is more often linked with performance focused influencer work, especially across large volumes of creators and markets. They’re geared toward scale, reach, and measurable business outcomes.

Understanding these broad reputations up front helps you decide which philosophy feels closer to your own brand’s priorities: narrative and branding, or scale and performance.

The Shelf: services and style

The Shelf operates as a creative influencer marketing agency focused heavily on brand storytelling. They typically manage campaigns end to end, from early strategy through final reporting and insights.

Core services you can expect

While exact offerings can change, most brands approach The Shelf for a package that often includes:

• Strategy and campaign concepts
• Influencer discovery and vetting
• Creator outreach and negotiations
• Creative direction and briefs
• Content approvals and coordination
• Paid amplification planning
• Reporting and learnings after the campaign

They are not simply brokering posts. They aim to shape creative angles and themes that match your brand voice and target audience.

How they tend to run campaigns

Campaigns with The Shelf usually start with a creative concept. The team will translate your goals, such as awareness or traffic, into a central idea and key storylines for creators to follow.

Creators are picked for fit with that idea. Content often has a clear visual aesthetic, storytelling arc, or recurring motif. Think themed series, episodic content, or narratives that unfold over time.

The agency typically manages the back and forth with influencers. You see drafts, review content, and approve final posts, while they handle coordination and problems that pop up.

Creator relationships and style

The Shelf often emphasizes fit and storytelling skills when choosing influencers. They tend to partner with lifestyle, fashion, beauty, parenting, and niche creators who can build a narrative around products.

They may work repeatedly with favorite creators, but the impression is more curated than volume driven. Quality, alignment, and creativity are strong filters.

This can work well for brands that care deeply about aesthetics, tone, and brand safety. It may be slower or more selective than working with a purely performance driven roster.

Typical client fit

The Shelf tends to attract brands that want polished, creative campaigns. These are often:

• Consumer brands in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home, or parenting
• Companies wanting strong visual storytelling on Instagram and TikTok
• Brands comfortable with creative experimentation, not just simple promo posts

Clients usually have budgets that can support custom creative development, multiple creators, and often some paid media layered on top of organic posts.

Incast: services and style

Incast positions itself as an influencer marketing specialist with a strong emphasis on reach, performance, and cross platform execution. They are often involved in large, multi creator programs.

Core services you can expect

Service bundles vary, but brands typically look to Incast for:

• Influencer strategy across platforms
• Creator sourcing at scale
• Contracting and fee negotiation
• Campaign and content management
• Performance monitoring and optimization
• Reporting focused on metrics and ROI

Their value proposition tends to lean on reach and measurable outcomes, especially for brands that want large numbers of creators activated.

How they tend to run campaigns

Campaigns with Incast usually start with clear performance goals: impressions, clicks, app installs, or sales. They then design influencer waves to hit those numbers efficiently.

The team often runs campaigns across several platforms at once. For example, short form creators promoting on TikTok, with YouTube or Instagram Reels supporting for longer term impact.

With more scale, you can expect processes built around standardized briefs, clear deliverables, and structured reporting rather than deeply bespoke story worlds.

Creator relationships and style

Incast works with a wide range of creators, from nano influencers with tight communities to big personalities who can drive huge spikes in reach.

They are usually balancing audience size, engagement rate, audience location, and costs. The focus is on matching campaign goals to influencers who can deliver numbers reliably.

This can be especially helpful for product launches, app downloads, or eCommerce pushes where you want many creators posting within a short window.

Typical client fit

Incast tends to draw brands that want scale and clear performance tracking. These are often:

• Apps, digital services, and gaming brands
• eCommerce and DTC products looking for measurable sales
• Brands entering new markets who need fast reach

Clients typically have budgets that can support many creators, ongoing waves of content, and performance optimization across different platforms.

How the two agencies really differ

Thinking of the two as simply “creative” versus “performance” is helpful but not complete. Their differences show up in how they plan campaigns, how they collaborate with you, and how they define success.

Approach to creative and storytelling

The Shelf often leads with big ideas and narratives. They may invest more time up front in creative direction, mood boards, and detailed briefs that reflect your brand personality.

Incast usually builds creative around clear calls to action and performance goals. Concepts are designed to convert, and they may test multiple concepts to see which performs best.

Both care about content quality, but they tend to optimize for different outcomes: emotional resonance versus measurable performance.

Scale and structure of campaigns

With The Shelf, you might see fewer but more deeply integrated creators per campaign, each with richer storylines and more creative guidance.

With Incast, you might activate larger numbers of creators at once, especially for launches or seasonal pushes where broad reach matters most.

Your choice may depend on whether you want a handful of standout creators or a wide net of influencers driving volume.

Client experience and collaboration style

The Shelf tends to feel like a creative partner. You may have deeper discussions on brand positioning, tone, and visual style, plus more hands on creative reviews.

Incast may feel more like a performance partner. You will likely spend more time on budgets, goals, performance dashboards, and optimization decisions.

*A common concern is whether an agency will really “get” your brand voice or treat you like one of many similar campaigns.* The answer often depends on the fit between your expectations and their natural style.

Pricing and how you work together

Neither agency usually offers simple public price lists, because influencer costs depend heavily on your goals, creator mix, and content needs. Instead, you can expect custom quotes based on a discovery call.

Common pricing elements you will see

Both agencies typically factor in:

• Number and type of influencers involved
• Platform mix and content formats
• Usage rights and how long content can be used
• Campaign length and complexity
• Agency strategy and management time

You may see separate line items for creator fees, agency fees, and optional paid media to boost top performing content.

Project based work versus retainers

For a single launch or test, both agencies may propose a campaign based project fee. This covers planning, creator management, and reporting for that one time push.

For ongoing influencer activity, they may recommend a monthly or quarterly retainer. That retainer usually includes ongoing strategy, continuous creator sourcing, and rolling campaign management.

The choice depends on whether influencer marketing is central to your channel mix or more of an experiment.

What influences total cost the most

Biggest cost drivers are usually:

• Creator tier: nano and micro creators cost less; celebrities cost significantly more
• Content volume: number of posts, Stories, Reels, or YouTube videos per creator
• Rights and whitelisting: using content in paid ads or on your own channels
• Geographic reach: international campaigns often add complexity and cost

Always clarify which items are one off campaign costs and which repeat monthly if you sign a longer term agreement.

Strengths and limitations

Every agency has sweet spots and trade offs. Understanding these helps you choose confidently rather than hoping one partner can do everything for every stage.

Where The Shelf tends to shine

• Developing strong, cohesive campaign concepts
• Curating creators who match your visual style and brand voice
• Storytelling that goes beyond simple product placement
• Creating content that doubles as assets for your own channels

Potential limitations include slower scaling to very high creator volumes, and the possibility that pure performance metrics may not be their sole focus.

Where Incast tends to shine

• Activating many creators quickly across multiple platforms
• Targeting performance outcomes like signups or sales
• Standardizing processes for repeatable campaigns
• Supporting brands that want to test many creators and messages

Potential limitations include campaigns that feel more performance led than deeply narrative, and content that can look more standardized across creators.

Common concerns brands often raise

*The biggest shared worry is whether an agency’s work will translate into real business impact, not just pretty posts or vanity metrics.* That’s why you should push for past examples, case studies, and clarity on how success is defined.

Another concern is transparency: which influencers are proposed, how fees are allocated, and what happens if creators under deliver. Clear contracts and communication help here.

Who each agency is best for

Both partners can support different brand types, but certain patterns show up repeatedly. Thinking in use cases makes it easier to see where you might fit best.

When The Shelf is likely a strong match

• You want influencer campaigns that feel like mini brand worlds, not just one off reviews.
• Your brand identity and visual tone are very important to you.
• You care about content quality that can be reused in ads and on your own channels.
• You are launching or refreshing a brand and want a storytelling heavy approach.

When Incast is likely a strong match

• You want many creators posting in a coordinated push.
• Your KPIs lean toward installs, signups, new users, or sales.
• You are entering new markets and need broad awareness quickly.
• You are open to standardized templates if it improves performance and speed.

Questions to ask yourself before choosing

• Is my priority brand depth or reach and performance?
• Do I want a few standout partnerships or a wide network of creators?
• How much creative control do I expect to keep internally?
• What is my realistic budget and timeline for results?

Your honest answers often make the right partner almost obvious.

When a platform like Flinque makes more sense

Not every brand needs a full service influencer agency right away. If you have a smaller team or want to stay closer to execution, a platform based option might fit better.

What a platform alternative actually offers

Tools like Flinque give you software to discover creators, manage outreach, track deliverables, and measure performance without handing everything over to an external team.

You keep control over strategy and creator choices, while the platform helps with organization and data. Think of it as running influencer marketing in house with better tools.

Situations where a platform may be smarter

• You have a marketing team member dedicated to influencer work.
• Your budget is not yet large enough for ongoing agency retainers.
• You want to build direct relationships with creators for the long term.
• You prefer testing and learning internally before committing to big campaigns.

In these cases, starting on a platform and moving to an agency later can be a sensible path. You will approach agencies with data and experience already in hand.

FAQs

How do I decide which influencer agency to contact first?

Start with your main goals. If you want rich storytelling and brand building, reach out to the more creative focused partner first. If you need quick reach and measurable performance, talk to the more performance oriented agency.

Can I work with both agencies at the same time?

Yes, some brands use different partners for different regions or campaign types. If you do, be clear about territory, messaging, and ownership to avoid overlap and confusion between teams and creators.

Do these agencies only work with big brands?

They often highlight larger clients publicly, but many agencies also support growing brands if budgets match their minimums. The best way to know is to share your goals and rough budget range on an initial call.

How far in advance should I plan an influencer campaign?

Ideally, start at least six to ten weeks before you want content to go live. This gives time for strategy, creator selection, contracting, and content production without rushing creative quality.

What should I prepare before speaking with any influencer agency?

Have a clear sense of goals, target audience, key markets, budget range, timeline, and non negotiables for brand safety. Examples of content you already like are also helpful for guiding creative direction.

Conclusion: choosing what fits your brand

Choosing between these two influencer partners is less about who is “better” and more about who is better for you. Your brand stage, goals, and working style should lead the way.

If you value rich narratives and curated creators that match your brand’s world, a storytelling focused agency may suit you. If you need volume, reach, and measurable performance at scale, a performance oriented partner may fit better.

Be candid about your budget and expectations, ask for real examples, and look closely at how they define success. If you prefer to stay hands on, consider starting with a platform such as Flinque before committing to a full service agency.

In the end, the right choice is the partner that understands your audience, respects your brand, and can consistently turn influencer content into real business outcomes.

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.