The Shelf vs INF Influencer Agency

Why brands compare influencer campaign partners

Choosing the right partner for influencer work can feel risky. You are trusting an outside team with your brand voice, your budget, and your relationship with creators.

Many marketers weigh agencies like The Shelf and INF because both promise full service help, but with very different flavors and strengths.

Table of Contents

• What these agencies are known for
• The Shelf agency overview
• INF agency overview
• How their approaches differ
• Pricing and engagement style
• Strengths and limitations
• Who each agency fits best
• When a platform makes more sense
• FAQs
• Conclusion
• Disclaimer

What these agencies are known for

The shortened keyword phrase for this topic is influencer marketing agencies. Both teams fall into that category, but they are not identical in how they operate or who they best serve.

Each offers campaign strategy, creator sourcing, content coordination, and reporting, yet their histories and styles lead them to different sweet spots for clients.

The Shelf agency overview

The Shelf is usually recognized for polished, visually driven campaigns that feel very crafted. They lean into creative storytelling and detailed briefs, often building out multi channel concepts around influencers.

Brands often notice their case studies, which showcase elaborate content and strong aesthetic direction across social platforms.

Services The Shelf typically provides

Like most influencer marketing agencies, this team tends to cover the whole cycle rather than offering just one piece of the puzzle.

• Campaign strategy and creative angles for social channels
• Influencer discovery and vetting across major platforms
• Contracting, negotiation, and coordination with creators
• Content calendar planning and timeline management
• Usage rights and whitelisting setup where relevant
• Campaign reporting with performance metrics and insights

They usually act as a “done for you” extension of the brand’s marketing team, rather than a light touch consultant.

How The Shelf tends to run campaigns

Campaign work here often starts with a big creative concept. The team will translate brand goals into storylines, themes, or visual hooks before they look for creators.

Influencer selection then happens against those concepts, prioritizing fit, content style, and audience match over just follower totals.

Once the roster is chosen, the agency typically builds structured briefs, manages content approvals, coordinates posting windows, and handles creator questions.

Creator relationships and network style

The Shelf works with creators across lifestyle, beauty, fashion, parenting, and many other categories. Rather than being limited to a preset “network,” they often search widely for fresh fits.

They may have recurring relationships with proven creators, but they are not positioned as a talent management company that exclusively represents a fixed roster.

Typical brands that lean toward The Shelf

From public information, the agency often attracts brands that care a lot about aesthetics, storytelling, and multi post experiences, not just one off shoutouts.

These can include lifestyle companies, retail and DTC brands, beauty and skincare names, and consumer products that want a strong look and feel on social.

INF agency overview

INF is another player in the influencer marketing agencies space, but with its own positioning. It is generally seen as a specialist in connecting brands and creators through structured, professionally managed relationships.

Instead of just one time campaigns, they often emphasize more ongoing work between brands and influencers when the fit is right.

Services INF typically offers

INF focuses on helping brands find and collaborate with creators while taking on the messy parts of coordination and logistics.

• Influencer sourcing across social channels for brand briefs
• Campaign planning and project management
• Contracting, negotiations, and payment handling
• Creative alignment between brand needs and creator styles
• Tracking performance and reporting campaign outcomes

They position themselves as a hands on partner for brands that want real relationships with creators but lack the capacity to manage everything in house.

INF’s campaign style in practice

INF campaigns tend to highlight a good match between brand and creator personality. Rather than forcing heavy scripts, they often lean into the creator’s own voice and tone.

This can result in content that feels more organic, though it still follows brand guidelines and key messages set during planning.

Many campaigns aim for measurable outcomes like engagement, reach, or conversions, rather than just vanity visibility.

How INF tends to work with creators

INF commonly builds a curated group of influencers they know well, so brand briefs can be matched more quickly. That can speed up activation and reduce back and forth.

They are not a massive open marketplace; instead, they stay closer to a managed network model, nurturing trusted long term relationships with creators.

Brands that often suit INF

INF tends to fit brands that want efficient, well managed collaborations and may be open to smaller but more engaged creators alongside larger names.

This can include consumer brands, tech products, lifestyle businesses, and services that value credibility and trust over purely flashy visuals.

How their approaches differ

While both are influencer marketing agencies working with brands and creators, their overall feel is different once you look closely.

Creative direction versus relationship focus

The Shelf often leads with a highly visual, concept heavy creative approach, then fills those ideas with tailored influencer choices.

INF tends to emphasize practical relationship building, matching brands and creators in ways that keep content feeling authentic and less scripted.

Scale and campaign structure

The Shelf frequently showcases larger, multi influencer campaigns that roll out across several channels with strong visual themes.

INF may support campaigns ranging from small test pushes with a few creators to broader efforts, but often keeps the structure more straightforward and flexible.

Experience for brand teams

Working with The Shelf can feel like hiring a creative studio combined with campaign management. There may be more time spent on concept decks, mood boards, and detailed planning.

INF usually feels more like a streamlined matchmaker and project manager for brand and creator partnerships, with less emphasis on complex production.

Pricing and engagement style

Both agencies typically price work on custom terms rather than fixed public packages. Costs depend heavily on campaign size, influencer tiers, and timelines.

How agencies usually charge for influencer work

Influencer marketing agencies commonly combine management fees with creator costs. The management fee covers strategy, sourcing, coordination, and reporting.

Creator costs include influencer fees, content production, and sometimes usage rights or whitelisting fees for paid ads.

Pricing patterns you can expect

• Minimum campaign budgets, especially when multiple creators are involved
• Custom quotes based on goals, audience size, and deliverables
• Retainer style partnerships for brands running campaigns all year
• Extra costs when content is repurposed for ads or other channels

Both teams are more likely to work with brands ready to commit meaningful budgets, rather than very small, test only spends.

Engagement styles and flexibility

The Shelf may be better suited to planned, set piece campaigns with defined start and end dates and more creative development work upfront.

INF can be a match for brands looking to test different creators or build ongoing relationships without reinventing the entire creative concept each time.

Strengths and limitations

No influencer marketing partner is perfect for every situation. Understanding what each agency is great at, and where they might not fit, helps set expectations.

Where The Shelf tends to shine

• Strong visual and creative direction for social content
• Multi influencer campaigns with cohesive storytelling
• Helping brands that want bold, highly designed concepts
• Producing content that works well for repurposing in ads

Some brands worry that heavy creative direction might reduce spontaneity, so alignment on tone is important early on.

Where The Shelf may be less ideal

• Very small budgets or light test campaigns
• Brands that want looser, creator led content with minimal briefs
• Teams needing ultra fast last minute activations without planning

Where INF often stands out

• Building practical, long term influencer relationships
• Pairing brands with creators whose voices feel natural
• Managing many moving pieces behind the scenes for brands
• Supporting brands that want authentic feeling content at scale

INF’s focus on fit and ongoing partnerships can be attractive to brands seeking stable, repeat collaborators rather than one off posts.

Where INF may not fit as well

• Brands wanting large, highly stylized creative campaigns
• Marketers seeking heavy brand side control over every detail
• Very early stage companies with tiny influencer budgets

Who each agency fits best

The right partner depends far more on your needs, timelines, and budget than on any single case study. Here is a simple way to think about fit.

Brands likely to prefer The Shelf

• Consumer brands wanting strong visual storytelling on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
• Companies planning major launches, seasonal pushes, or brand awareness campaigns
• Teams that like polished concepts, mood boards, and robust creative support
• Marketers ready to repurpose influencer content into ads and paid media

Brands likely to prefer INF

• Brands that value ongoing, authentic creator relationships over big set piece moments
• Marketing teams seeking clear, practical support handling creators and logistics
• Companies testing mixed rosters of micro and mid tier influencers
• Brands that care deeply about trust, credibility, and genuine audience fit

When a platform makes more sense

Full service agencies can be powerful, but they are not always the right choice. Some teams prefer more control and a lighter spend on management fees.

Why some brands look at platforms instead

If you have in house marketers who can brief creators and review content, you may not need an agency handling every task.

In those cases, a software platform for discovery, outreach, and tracking allows you to run campaigns yourself while keeping costs focused on creators.

Where a tool like Flinque fits in

Flinque is an example of a platform based alternative. It gives brands a way to search for creators, manage outreach, organize campaigns, and track performance without committing to a full service retainer.

This can be useful if you want to build internal influencer expertise and only pay for software access, not agency time.

Situations that favor platforms over agencies

• You already have a social or creator marketing hire on your team
• You want to experiment with many smaller test campaigns
• Your budget is limited and needs to go mostly to creators
• You prefer to own creator relationships directly, not through an agency

FAQs

How do I choose between these influencer marketing agencies?

Start with your goals, budget, and preferred working style. If you want big, polished creative, one agency may fit better. If you value ongoing creator relationships and flexible campaigns, the other might be stronger.

Do both agencies work with small businesses?

Both can work with smaller brands, but they usually expect meaningful budgets. If your spend is very limited, a platform or in house outreach might be more realistic.

Can I use my own creators with these agencies?

Many influencer marketing agencies can plug in creators you already know while also finding new partners. Ask upfront whether they are open to hybrid rosters that include your existing relationships.

How long does it take to launch a campaign?

Expect several weeks from brief to live content, sometimes longer for bigger concepts. Creator selection, contracts, and content approvals all take time, especially for multi influencer efforts.

Should I hire an agency or build an in house team?

If you need speed and expertise now, an agency is often easier. If influencer work will be a constant priority and you have time to hire, training an internal team plus a platform may offer more control long term.

Conclusion

Deciding between these influencer marketing agencies comes down to how you like to work, how much creative help you need, and what level of budget you can commit.

If you want high concept, visually rich campaigns, you may lean toward a more creative heavy partner. If you care most about practical, ongoing creator relationships, a network oriented team may be better.

Brands with limited funds or higher in house capacity might skip full service agencies altogether and rely on platforms like Flinque while managing relationships themselves.

Clarify your non negotiables, talk openly with any agency you consider, and choose the partner that makes your goals, timelines, and budget feel realistic.

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.