Why Indie Influencer Agencies Are Beating the Networks at Their Own Game

The influencer marketing industry has grown up and in doing so, it has exposed the cracks of the holding company model. As networks acquire influencer shops like Goat and more recently, agencies like Captiv8, their scale-driven approach often strips out what actually makes influencer work work: speed, trust and cultural fluency.

Indie agencies, on the other hand, don’t just move faster, they move smarter. We’ve briefed influencers at 8pm the night before a shoot based on a growing trend that we were reacting to. Which then catapults the brand into relevant and cultural moments. That instinct and immediacy is baked into everything we do.

And unlike network giants engaging talent through vast databases, we build real relationships. Whether we’re tapping into long-term partners or hand-picking new creators, we’re focused on fit, not volume. We treat every campaign like it mattersbecause to the people behind the content, it does.

Talent First, Always

Our approach has always been talent-first. We’ve grown up alongside influencers like Freddie Long, Amy Owen and celebrity-turned-influencer Tamzin Outhwaite. These are more than just partnerships, they’re friendships rooted in shared career growth.

That trust pays off. When we need a quick amend or reshoot, it’s no drama. And when influencers are struggling with other campaigns, they come to us. One recently confided in us that they were burnt out on a major network-led job: late payments, endless approvals and zero support. Sometimes they regret taking certain jobs.

Influencer marketing isn’t just about creating an asset, it’s about amplifying humans. And humans don’t thrive in rigid, over-engineered systems. Influencers are independent by nature, and that’s what makes them magnetic. Indie agencies speak their language.

Scaling Without Selling Out

One of the biggest questions in influencer marketing right now is: how do you scale without losing what makes it work?

For us, it’s simple – you stay close to the talent. Whether it’s coffee catch-ups, drinks after shoots or hosting creators at events, we’re constantly listening to the people we work with. And that insight fuels our work.

We’ve even built an exclusive talent management arm within TSA (at the request of a handful of influencers we’ve engaged based on how we treat and work with them), not as a silo-ed division but as an extension of the work we do every day. It means our expertise isn’t theoretical, it’s lived and it keeps us sharp, grounded and real.

No Rush, Just Relevance

We don’t force fits. Sometimes, creators try a product first with no strings attached. If it doesn’t feel right, we move on. We’re not in the business of pushing square pegs into round briefs.

That patience enables to us build campaigns that land more effectively and last longer. Lazy influencer strategies don’t fail for lack of speed, they fail for lack of intent.

The Cost of Connection

Indies also typically carry far lower overheads, which translates to more competitive pricing. At a time when CMOs are expected to do more with less, independents offer a pricing model that’s fairer and more sustainable. You're not paying for multiple layers of management. You’re paying for people who actually do the work.

Teams at independent agencies tend to be more stable with less turnover, so clients see more consistency as influencers don’t have to reintroduce themselves every six months. There’s value in continuity, and it shows in the work.

Growth Without Dilution

The inevitable question is whether independents can maintain this intimacy as they scale.

We believe they can, so long as leadership stays engaged and the right structures are in place. Our team is rooted in experience and empathy, with many of us having done the hands-on work ourselves. That informs how we build processes that scale. As we grow, we’re focused on embedding those values into a fast-tracked development structure, so the next generation of leaders can emerge quickly and confidently, without losing the proximity and purpose that made us attractive in the first place.

Service culture, then, becomes not just a byproduct of indie culture, but its superpower.

In a marketing world obsessed with scalability, independence might just be the biggest flex of all. Because in influencer marketing, where authenticity, creativity, and speed matter most, the agencies that win are the ones still close to the action, still on the ground, still listening.