Celebrity brand endorsement is nothing new, and when done right, it can lead to benefits that extend far beyond an increase in sales – just ask Nike!
So, we’ve put together our guide to the best influencer marketing agencies in the UK. The reason is that social media has fueled a new breed of influencers and content creators into the stratosphere, reaching an eye-popping number of people through social media and providing brands with a unique marketing opportunity.
However, influencer marketing is about much more than brand endorsement. Authentic content that resonates with audiences is key, and if you get it wrong, social media provides the perfect platform for everyone to let you know!
An intimate knowledge of the influencer and user-generated content space is required, as is a deep understanding of the audience you are trying to connect with. Which is where influencer marketing agencies come in.
Creativity, insight, and authenticity are familiar watchwords, but it’s no surprise that specific agency specialities have also emerged.
Social Chameleon – Number One Influencer Marketing Agency (all-rounder)
We are proud to look at things a little differently at Social Chameleon, with a deep understanding of search-first social media, where non-traditional search engines such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube reign supreme.
Influencer and user-generated videos are king on these platforms, so we have dedicated ourselves to working with exactly the right people, to create authentic and resonating content that builds communities and achieves tangible results.
We were awarded the titles of Social Media Agency of the Year in 2022 and the 2023 Digital Agency of the Year at the UK Agency Awards. While we appreciate and are humbled by every accolade we receive, that’s not why we do what we do.
We see ourselves as a vehicle for positive transformation, we fight for the underdog, and we are proud of our positive working culture. As our name suggests, we are adaptable, and we offer expertise that goes far beyond traditional social media marketing.
Buttermilk – Best for Large-Scale Influencer Campaigns
It’s hard to ignore the agency that won Best Social Influencer Campaign and Best Use of TikTok at the 2023 Global Social Media Awards. So, take a bow Buttermilk and their #MyBeautyCape campaign, for Elizabeth Arden.
Creating an authentic and compelling tone of voice across content created by over 100 influencers is no mean feat, and is a testament to the work that Buttermilk does behind the scenes, identifying and building relationships with the very best social media creators.
We Are Social – Best for Cross-Sector Expertise
Global social media powerhouses We Are Social has an almost unrivalled creative collective to call upon, with a team of 1,300 people in 19 offices across four continents.
This has allowed them to understand social behaviours within online communities, cultures and subcultures worldwide, cultivate expertise in every sector you can think of, and create genius campaigns such as the match made in heaven between McCain and the drag queen “Baga Chipz”!
Coolr – Best for Memorable Moments
Water cooler moments used to predominantly involve television or sport, but these days, you’re just as likely to be discussing the latest viral video or social media post with your colleagues at the beginning of a Teams call (other video call services are available), or while you’re making your morning coffee at the office!
It’s those types of moments that inspired the Coolr name, and their campaigns for Burger King, Pepsi, and Samsung, in particular, have not only stopped scrollers in their tracks but also provided excellent results and a stack of awards.
Antler Social – Best TikTok Specialist
Entering a hugely competitive market is not an easy task, and Antler Social deserves a huge amount of credit for thriving since its 2023 launch, being named Best Start-Up Agency at the 2023 UK Social Media Awards
Antler is a “TikTok First Agency”, meaning they have an intimate knowledge of a platform whose video style is unlike any other. It’s also a sensible move, as TikTok is now a serious threat to Google when it comes to being the search engine of choice for young people.
Billion Dollar Boy – Best Influencer Marketing Tool
Billion Dollar Boy’s intriguing name was inspired by Co-Founder Ed East’s love of Pharrell Williams and his “Billionaire Boys Club fashion label. With a team of 150 influencer marketers across five offices, they are one of the biggest agencies on our list.
They’re one of the most forward-thinking too, having created their own influencer marketing tool, for campaign management, content tracking, and reporting.
Brandnation – Best for Connecting with Content Creators
When it comes to finding the right influencer for a particular project, having that killer combination of a bulging contacts book and an ear to the ground is crucial. However, Brandnation goes a step further by actively inviting influencers to connect with them.
Additionally, when considering an influencer for any future campaign, Brandnation analyses them and their audience to ensure they are the perfect fit.
Bumbl – Northern Powerhouse
We think it’s important to recognise agencies outside the London creative bubble, and Newcastle Upon Tyne-based Bumbl are one of the very best, winning Small Agency of the Year at the 2023 Global Social Media Awards.
What also makes Bumbl worthy of recognition is its work to benefit the local community, such as its award-winning activation for the Newcastle Building Society.
Purple Goat – Best for Highlighting Disability Issues
What first caught our eye when we checked out Purple Goat’s home page, other than a goat wearing boxing gloves of course, was their claim to be “The Inclusive Marketing Agency”.
What this means in practice is that Purple Goat looks to highlight the human issues facing disabled people and put them at the centre of their marketing campaigns. A great example of this was the award-winning influencer-led campaign for Currys, showcasing their services and products that can benefit disabled consumers.
Socially Powerful – Best for International Purpose-Driven Projects
Purpose-driven marketing is on the rise, as brands look to make a difference in the world, alongside their business goals, and just like us, Socially Powerful has its own purpose-led arm called Socially Powerful For Good.
This led to one of the most committed campaigns we have ever encountered, as Socially Powerful embarked on an 18-month influencer journey for the Body Shop, helping the brand to champion women’s empowerment in the Middle East, while simultaneously boosting sales.
Social For Good – Best for Eco-Friendly Influencers
Influencers with a social conscience are the perfect partners for purpose-driven agencies, who share their belief that social media can be a powerful catalyst for meaningful change.
One such agency is Social For Good, who have partnered with a number of eco-influencers to create a host of successful campaigns for charities, not-for-profits, and purpose driven brands.
Disrupt – Insight From Top Down
Very few influencer agencies have actually been founded by an influencer, which is the case with Disrupt, which was the brainchild of Made in Chelsea alumni Stevie Johnson.
His intimate knowledge of the space means he knows first-hand how important authenticity and cultural relevance is to a successful influencer marketing campaign.
Viral Nation – Best for Influencer Representation
Another leader in the influencer marketing space is Viral Nation, who can boast a team of over 400 people, with deep roots in the creator space.
They are also the number one talent agency for today’s digital doyens, with over 800 creators on the books, enabling Viral Nation to provide a truly 360 degree branding experience for their clients.
That Lot – Best for Bringing the Fun
Any agency that an Alan Partridge alumni co-founded is going to go straight on our radar, and actor, director, writer, and social media expert David Schneider has helped to give a unique spin to the work delivered by That Lot.
They have delivered a host of authentic, funny, and sometimes cheeky influencer content for clients such as eBay, Paddy Power & Nespresso, making them one of the most creative agencies on our list
Influencer – Pioneers of Influencer Marketing
It’s a lofty statement to claim that you were the originators of influencer marketing. However, managing to nab the name Influencer for your agency before anyone else did, having been founded all the way back in 2017, is compelling evidence!
Influencer is also a global company with a global network of creators, spanning many of the the major niches, such as beauty, sport, fashion, gaming and gastronomy.
Social Shepherd – Best for Influencer Marketing Podcasts
In addition to being a top influencer marketing agency, Social Shepherd also leads the way when it comes to insights relating to our industry.
They produce a weekly newsletter, a blog, and a regular podcast, with eight episodes devoted explicitly to influencer marketing.
The Good Egg – Gen Z Experts
Based in London but with a global reach, The Good Egg is an unashamedly Gen Z-led agency with a host of campaigns under their belt that have featured over 500 influencers.
From encouraging tourists to visit Oman, to partnering with some of the biggest names on YouTube to promote revolutionary projectors, They can boast a host of “eggcellent” campaigns across multiple sectors.
Bulla Co – Peer-to-Peer Specialists
Another agency predominantly staffed by the audience it is looking to engage with is Bulla Co, but their quest for effective consumer insights doesn’t end there, as they actually speak with the audiences they are targeting, through weekly focus groups.
This means they can partner with creators that are relatable to the audiences they are trying to connect with.
The 10 Group – Best for Influencer Activation
London-based integrated digital and communications agency The 10 Group has been making a big splash in the influencer marketing space, thanks to a host of eye-catching activations with big-name brands such as luxury watch makers IWC Schaffhausen and Marks & Spencer.
Their integrated approach sets them apart from many others in the influencer marketing space, producing coverage for their clients that extends beyond social media.
The Space Between – Experts in Sporting Influencer Activations
Sporting stars are highly sought after when it comes to brand partnerships, as they offer a unique combination of star quality, influence, and reach.
The Space Between is a sports marketing agency with an impressive client list of challenger brands that love their hybrid approach to answering briefs, which is retaining a core team but widening their net depending on the campaign they are working on.
Fanbytes – Best for Influencer Data
Fanbytes is a tech-powered social media and influencer marketing agency, who achieved such a high level of success following their launch in 2017 that in 2022, they were acquired by Brainlabs, one of the largest independent digital media agencies in the world.
Fanbytes’ expertise in the influencer space was a huge draw, as was “Bytesights”, a huge dataset of over three million influencers, directly connected to TikTok and a valuable tool not only to uncover what Gen Z are thinking, but to see where clients and potential clients are being talked about.
HypeFactory – Best for Gaming Marketing
The worldwide video game industry is worth more than the film and music industry combined, and is expected to surpass the 500 billion dollar mark as early as 2025. What used to be seen as antisocial has now become the opposite, with gaming-centric video platform Twitch becoming the 37th-most-visited web site in the world at the tail end of 2023.
Gaming is gold, and HypeFactory is one of the best agencies when it comes to influencer gaming campaigns, with multiple activations under their belt, including RAID: Shadow Legends, featuring influencer royalty MrBeast
Disobey – Experts in Growing Gaming Brands
With a name that conveys industry disruption, we were drawn to Disobey immediately, and when we dug deeper, we found another agency with deep roots and expertise in the gaming industry.
They know how to connect with audiences, whether they are on TikTok or Twitch, and they’ve racked up over 100 million impressions from content created by over 2,000 influencers.
Blink Management – Best for Mumfluencers
Some of the most relatable content on social media is created by parents, with the term “Mumfluencer” being coined to sum up this type of content creator. Blink Management was formerly known as Mumfluencer, which tells you all you need to know about their expertise.
We should also say that Dads get their chance to shine too, and Blink’s content for brands such as Asda, Boots, and Sky has proved that there’s much more to this type of marketing than moaning about your kids!
Kairos Media – Best for Gaming Crossovers
Another expert in the gaming sphere is Kairos Media, who have helped brands such as JBL and KFC make a noise in an unfamiliar space, while at the same time aiding established players such as Rovio, the creator of Angry Birds, stay at the forefront of the mobile gaming business.
We also have to mention a non-gaming campaign, purely because it involved the Kings of social media, the Sidemen, who were recruited to work alongside Revolut, and succeeded in reaching a demographic you wouldn’t normally expect to be heavily interested in finance!
Folk Social – Best Luxury Influencer Agency
Creating compelling influencer social content for the luxury sector is a difficult task, as you need to strike exactly the right tone.
It’s a line that Folk Social traverses expertly, with campaigns for brands such as Hermes, Paco Rabanne, and Pretty Green, the latter of which was so successful, it caused their e-commerce site to crash due to the increased traffic!
The Fifth – Best for UGC Content
It’s time to plead the fifth, which seems apt given that The Fifth has an office in LA to go with its London base! Their name is actually a reference to the so-called “Fifth Estate”, which is a socio-cultural reference to people that publish on non-mainstream media outlets, including, you’ve guessed it, social media.
We were particularly impressed with the Fifth’s expertise in the UGC field, which is user-generated content featured on a brand’s channels rather than influencers posting on their social media outlets.
The Tree – Recognised as an Elite Agency
It’s no surprise that growth is at the heart of an agency called The Tree, who works with consumer and corporate brands to achieve real-world outcomes.
Working with progressive brands, no matter their size, is the aim for The Tree, which have also been listed in the Top 10 Elite Agency List by the Drum.
Digital Natives – Influencer Strategy Across the Board
It’s not enough to be on social media, you have to be social. That’s the philosophy of Digital Natives, and it’s certainly one we can get on board with!
The key to their influencer marketing strategy is that influencer activation permeates everything they do, whether it be community engagement, creative campaigns, or their “Social Intelligence” strategy, which combines Workshops, Playbooks, Audits, and Consultancy.
Noise Media – Best for Startups
A key element of effective influencer marketing is building and growing an online community, which Noise Media’s founders know very well, having built one of the largest online student communities ever, with over 1 million followers.
It’s that talent for building something from nothing that has attracted a host of startups to work with Noise Media.
