How We Score Influencer Marketing Agencies.

Every agency receives a score from 0 to 100, calculated as the sum of four equally weighted dimensions.

Each dimension is scored independently against fixed criteria, not relative to other agencies. A score reflects what the agency has actually done, not where it sits in a ranking.

This dimension evaluates whether an agency produces work that stands out. We assess campaign originality, the range of content formats executed, the quality of brand storytelling in published case studies, and whether the agency has earned creative awards from independent bodies.

This dimension evaluates the measurable outcomes an agency has delivered for the brands it works with. It is the single largest driver of overall score because it is the hardest to fake: you either have results or you do not.

We verify results because the alternative — self-reported claims without accountability — is exactly what makes existing directories unreliable.

Client-verified case studies carry higher weight. When an agency submits a case study, they can request verification by sharing a unique link with the client named in the study. If the client confirms the campaign details and results through that link, the case study receives a Client Verified badge and is weighted more heavily in the Client Impact dimension.

We weight verifiable, named results more heavily than self-reported aggregate claims. An agency that can point to a specific campaign for a named client and show what it delivered will outscore an agency that claims large numbers without context.

This dimension evaluates external validation. An agency's own marketing is not evidence. Recognition from independent third parties is.

This dimension evaluates business scale and stability. A good agency is not always a big agency, but scale is a meaningful signal of the ability to deliver consistently across multiple clients and markets.

Every agency in the directory passes through a multi-stage verification process before being scored.

1. 01
   Data collection

   We collect and structure data from publicly available sources including the agency's website, published case studies, award databases, trade press archives, platform partner directories, and public business records.
2. 02
   Case study verification

   Every case study in the directory can be independently verified by the client named in it. When an agency submits a case study, we generate a unique verification link. The agency shares this link with their client. The client reviews the campaign details and confirms the results. Verified case studies are marked with a Client Verified badge and weighted more heavily in scoring. This is the single strongest trust signal in the system.
3. 03
   Cross-referencing

   We cross-reference claimed awards, partnerships, and client relationships against independent records. A claimed Cannes Lions win is checked against the Cannes Lions archive. A claimed TikTok Marketing Partner status is checked against TikTok's partner directory. Nothing is taken at face value.
4. 04
   Ongoing updates

   Scores are not static. They are recalculated when new data becomes available. Agencies that publish new case studies, earn new awards, or win new partnerships will see their scores updated in the next monthly refresh. Case study recency weighting means scores naturally reflect current capability rather than historical performance.

The fastest way to move up is to improve the underlying data. The path to a higher score is the same as the path to being a better agency.

It is as important to be clear about what is excluded as what is included.

• Pricing
  We do not score agencies on how much they charge. Price is not quality.
• Client testimonials in isolation
  Quotes without verifiable results do not move scores. Client-verified case studies with specific outcomes do.
• Agency follower counts
  An agency's own social following has no bearing on its ability to run campaigns for clients.
• Length of time on this directory
  New entries are scored on the same scale as long-standing ones.
• Paid placements
  No agency can pay to appear in the directory, to improve its score, or to influence where it ranks. This is the founding principle of the Influencer Power Index.

The Influencer Power Index scores agencies on what is publicly observable, voluntarily disclosed, and independently verifiable. We believe this produces the most trustworthy agency ranking available in the market today. We also believe in being honest about where the framework has natural boundaries.

Creative Quality is inherently subjective. Two experienced practitioners can look at the same campaign and disagree on whether it is genuinely original or simply well-executed. We currently assess creativity through observable signals: award recognition, format range, and the strategic depth visible in published case studies. We recognise this is an approximation. We are developing an expert-driven evaluation system that will introduce structured peer review from senior practitioners, adding human judgment at scale to complement the data-driven approach. Until that system is live, awards remain the strongest independent proxy for creative excellence.

Not every agency has the budget to pursue award submissions, and we recognise that choosing to invest in team development, training, or operational capacity rather than award entries is a legitimate business decision that does not reflect the quality of work delivered. Awards are one signal within one of four equally weighted dimensions. An agency that has never entered an award but has a strong portfolio of verified case studies will still score well on Client Impact, which carries the same 25-point weight as Creative Quality. The framework is designed so no single signal type can make or break a score.

The framework rewards agencies that invest in making their work visible. An agency that runs exceptional campaigns but never publishes case studies, never pursues awards, and never updates its website will be underrepresented. We recognise that not every client wants their campaigns published, and that NDA constraints are a reality in many verticals, particularly luxury, enterprise, and regulated industries.

This is why we built the client verification system. Agencies can submit case studies confidentially through our platform. The work does not go public. The client receives a unique verification link, confirms the results privately, and the case study carries full weight in the scoring algorithm with a Client Verified badge. The work stays behind the curtain. The verified performance data does not. Many agencies have already used this path for exactly this reason.

Business scale indicators favour larger agencies. A 12-person boutique delivering outstanding results for three clients will score lower on Revenue & Growth than a 500-person network agency. We encourage buyers evaluating specialist agencies to weight Creative Quality and Client Impact as the primary indicators of delivery capability.

Our data sources for Industry Recognition currently skew toward Western institutions: Cannes Lions, Shorty Awards, Adweek, Campaign. Agencies with strong recognition in non-Western markets through local awards, local trade press, and regional platform partnerships may be underrepresented in this dimension. We are actively expanding our coverage to include a broader set of international award bodies and publications.

No scoring system is complete. Ours is transparent, independent, and improving with every cycle.