Winner · The Influencer Marketing Factory

The Influencer Marketing Factory vs Influential

Item: Influential
Rating: 8.5
Author: Best Influencer Marketing Agencies

Index Score 9.6 vs 8.5 · Ranked #1 vs #5 · Reviewed 26 August 2026

Influential is what a $500 million holdco bet on influencer marketing looks like: 2013 founding, Ryan Detert still CEO, 3.5 million creators on the roster, and Epsilon data sitting behind the match. The comparison with The Influencer Marketing Factory is holding-company graph vs founder-led campaign team.

Las Vegas-founded creator network acquired by Publicis Groupe in 2024. Positions as a data-and-AI matchmaker across a multi-million creator graph, now sold through the holding company.

Side by side

Same eight fields on every page. Superscripts point at sources. Muted type means unverified.

9.6

Winner · #1

The Influencer Marketing Factory

8.5

#5 · High Performer

Influential

Founded

Founded in 2018 in Miami by Alessandro Bogliari and Nicla Bartoli, starting with $1,500.^{3, 4}

Founded

Founded in 2013 in Las Vegas by Ryan Detert, who remains CEO after the Publicis deal.^{1, 2}

Ownership

Independent and founder-led. No holding-company parent in the materials reviewed.³

Ownership

Acquired by Publicis Groupe in 2024. Press at the time put the deal around $500 million. Sits centrally in the Groupe, not as a standalone independent.^{1, 2}

Footprint

Headquarters in Miami, with offices in New York and Amsterdam. A team of 50+ across the US, Europe, and Asia, speaking more than 15 languages. Over 80% of the leadership team is female.^{2, 3}

Footprint

Las Vegas origins, now sold through Publicis’s global client graph. Public materials describe a network of more than 3.5 million creators, including a claimed 90% of those with 1 million-plus followers.^{1, 3}

Platform partners

TikTok Agency Marketing Partner and Enterprise Agency Partner. Meta Global Vendor. YouTube Global Marketing Partner.^{3, 9, 15}

Platform partners

Sells a technology-plus-services stack and, after 2025, sits alongside Publicis-owned Captiv8. Named TikTok / Meta / YouTube partner badges were not isolated on the Influential homepage reviewed.⁴Unverified in the materials reviewed.

Clients

Named work includes Dunkin’, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Hyundai, Kohler, Hisense, ASUS, Sallie Mae, FOREO, Airalo, and VisitKorea. Third-party profiles also list Google, Snapchat, Universal Music, and Bud Light.^{5, 6, 7}

Clients

Publicis says the asset is available to all Groupe clients. A current named brand roster was not published on the pages reviewed.¹Unverified in the materials reviewed.

Approach

Full-service on three platforms only — TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Positions as an extension of the client team (including Slack). Reporting framed around promo codes, tracking pixels, and revenue, not estimated media value.^{1, 4}

Approach

Data and AI matching of audiences to creators, with campaign deployment and optimization. The 2024 narrative is holdco-scale planning using Epsilon consumer data plus influencer delivery.^{1, 3}

Category voice

Publishes industry research and runs The Influence Factor podcast (2021–present). Public line: “We don’t just run the creator economy. We study it.”^{1, 8}

Category voice

Holdco-press voice: “world’s preeminent influencer marketing company and platform.” Category storytelling is acquisition news more than original research in the materials reviewed.¹

Pricing

Not publicly disclosed. Quoted per brief.Not publicly disclosed in the materials reviewed.

Pricing

Not publicly disclosed. Typically scoped through Publicis procurement after the 2024 deal.Unverified in the materials reviewed.

Winner when

The Influencer Marketing Factory is the better fit

You want a founder-led independent team that works as an extension of yours — Slack included — not a holding-company process.
The brief is TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and you want a shop that refuses to dilute across ten platforms.
You need revenue you can track (promo codes, pixels, full-funnel reporting), not a slide of estimated media value.
TikTok, Meta, and YouTube partner badges matter, without an enterprise AOR that takes a quarter to staff.
A 50-person, 15-language bench that can source in the US, Europe, and Asia is enough — you do not need a 750-person org chart.

Consider Influential when

The other shop still wins some briefs

You already buy media through Publicis and want influencer on the same roster and data graph.
The brief is reach into a very large creator database, including mega-follower names, more than a 50-person specialist bench.
Epsilon-style first-party data joining creator selection is the point of the pitch.
A holding-company process and a $500 million-class platform bet match how your procurement is set up.

Sources

Influential sources first. The Influencer Marketing Factory sources follow, because the left-hand column uses them.

Influential

1. Publicis Groupe, acquisition press release — 25 July 2024. Founded 2013, Ryan Detert remains CEO, 3.5M creators.
2. WSJ, Publicis bets on Influential — Deal reported around $500 million. Las Vegas, Detert.
3. Marketing Dive, Publicis acquires Influential — 3.5 million creators; 90% of 1M+ follower names claimed.
4. Influential site, Publicis announcement — Company confirmation of the Groupe deal. Reviewed August 2026.

The Influencer Marketing Factory

1. The Influencer Marketing Factory homepage — Positioning, services, $150M+ / 1,000+ / 3B+ stats, three-platform focus, Live Oak Bank quote. Logo mark taken from the site favicon. Reviewed August 2026.
2. The Influencer Marketing Factory about page — Team roster, Miami and New York offices, remote coverage.
3. The Influencer Marketing Factory procurement FAQ — Founding 2018, founders, offices including Amsterdam, 50+ team, 15+ languages, 80%+ female leadership, TikTok / Meta / YouTube partner status, Inc. 500, Financial Times, Inc. Female 250.
4. NetInfluencer interview with Alessandro Bogliari — Founding with $1,500 in 2018; three-platform strategy; “extension of your team.” February 2025.
5. The Influencer Marketing Factory works / case studies — Named campaigns including Dunkin’, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Hyundai, Kohler, Hisense, ASUS, Sallie Mae, FOREO, Airalo.
6. Forbes Agency Council profile — Client names including Sony Music, Google, Dunkin’, Universal Music, Snapchat, Warner Music Group, Bud Light.
7. Crunchbase company profile — Additional client listing. Not independently confirmed campaign-by-campaign.
8. The Influence Factor podcast — Podcast hosted by Alessandro Bogliari, active 2021–2026.
9. TikTok Agency Partner announcement — March 2025 post: official TikTok Agency Partner badge.
10. Awards archive on The Influencer Marketing Factory — Digital.com NYC 2021, The Drum USA 2020 finalist, InterCon Top 50 Tech 2019, Clutch 2019 top agencies.
11. Clutch Top 100 Fastest Growth Companies post — Ranked 3rd; 225.11% growth; Top B2B Company.
12. Clutch Top Advertising and Marketing Agency in Miami — 2019 Miami B2B award; also The Manifest and Visual Objects.
13. Featured on Clutch announcement — 2019 listing on Clutch, The Manifest, and Visual Objects.
14. Inc. 5000 company profile — 2023 Inc. 5000 honoree, No. 340. Founded 2018.
15. TikTok Marketing Partners directory — Official TikTok partner listing: badged TikTok Commerce Partner.
16. Clutch company profile — 4.2 / 5 overall from 5 verified reviews, last updated November 2025.