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.

Creative Quality evaluates whether an agency produces work that stands out. This is not a measure of volume. It is a measure of originality, craft, and the ability to create campaigns that move the industry forward.

We assess campaign originality and whether the agency has developed approaches that have not been widely replicated. We evaluate the range of content formats the agency has executed, including short-form video, long-form content, live activations, branded series, and UGC frameworks. We look at the quality of brand storytelling in published case studies, assessing whether the agency explains the strategic thinking behind a campaign or simply presents a brief and a result. We also assess creative awards from independent bodies such as Cannes Lions, Shorty Awards, Webby Awards, and their regional equivalents. Awards are the single strongest signal in this dimension because they represent independent, expert evaluation of creative work.

Client Impact evaluates the measurable outcomes an agency has delivered for the brands it works with. This is the dimension that matters most to buyers because it directly answers the question: what will this agency deliver for me?

We assess the specificity and verifiability of published case studies. An agency that can point to a specific campaign for a named client and show what it delivered, with numbers tied to that campaign, will outscore an agency that claims large aggregate numbers without context. We evaluate the calibre and diversity of the client roster: the recognisability and scale of brands the agency works with, the number of industries represented, and whether the agency demonstrates depth across multiple verticals or concentration in one. We also assess the total number of documented case studies, as a larger body of work provides a more reliable picture of consistent delivery.

Case studies are weighted by recency. Recent campaigns carry more weight than older work, reflecting the reality that an agency's current team, methods, and creative capability are best demonstrated by what it has delivered in the last one to two years rather than what it delivered five years ago.

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

Industry Recognition evaluates external validation from sources the agency does not control. An agency's own marketing is not evidence. Recognition from independent third parties is.

We assess awards won, weighted by the prestige of the awarding body. Major international awards such as Cannes Lions, Shorty Awards, Webby Awards, and the Global Influencer Marketing Awards carry more weight than regional or category-specific recognition, though both contribute. We evaluate official platform partner status with Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snap, and Pinterest, as these partnerships require the agency to meet technical and performance thresholds set by the platforms themselves. We assess coverage in industry trade press including Adweek, Campaign, The Drum, and Digiday. We also look at speaking presence at major industry conferences such as Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, VidCon, and SXSW, as speaking invitations reflect peer recognition of expertise.

Revenue & Growth 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.

We assess team size and headcount trajectory, years in market, office locations and geographic reach, and public indicators of growth such as hiring activity, market expansion announcements, and revenue milestones where available. An agency with a large, established team operating across multiple markets scores higher in this dimension than an early-stage boutique in a single market. This reflects the lower execution risk for brands selecting a partner for complex, multi-market campaigns. We recognise that specialist boutique agencies may score lower on this dimension while delivering exceptional results on others, and the overall 100-point score accounts for this by design.

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

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.

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.

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.

Ongoing updates. Scores 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 path to a higher score is the same as the path to being a better agency.

Improve Creative Quality. Publish detailed case studies that show the creative thinking behind a campaign, not just the brief and the result. Submit work to creative awards. Awards are the single strongest signal in this dimension.

Improve Client Impact. Add case studies with named clients and specific, attributed results. A number tied to a named campaign beats a generic claim every time. Request client verification through our platform to earn the 'Client Verified' badge. Publish recent work, as campaigns from the last 12 months carry the most weight.

Improve Industry Recognition. Pursue awards relevant to your work. Apply for official platform partner status with the platforms you use most. Pitch trade press on campaign launches and results. Submit speakers to industry conferences.

Improve Revenue & Growth. Keep your team page current. Hidden headcount cannot be measured. Publish your office locations and the markets you serve. Make founding date and company history easy to find on your site.

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.

Social media follower counts of the agency itself. An agency's own following has no bearing on its ability to run campaigns for clients.

Length of time in 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.