Audience research
Part of Researching influencer-agency buyers with permissioned interviews and evidence profiles
Researching rival influencer agencies without mistaking identity for capability
Research influencer-agency competitors through dated public evidence while keeping identity, service claims, rulings, rights and capability distinct.
Influencer agencies competitor research should produce dated questions for buyer due diligence, not a league table. Public pages can show how a supplier describes itself. They cannot reveal private creator mandates, complete client work, campaign results or market share.
What to take away
- Competitor research should produce dated questions for buyer due diligence, not a league table.
- Public pages show supplier claims but cannot reveal private mandates, complete client work or market share.
- Verify legal identity through Companies House but do not treat registration as proof of service quality.
- Attribute every service statement to its exact public wording, URL, date and page owner.
- Read ASA rulings narrowly as decisions on specific ads, not as scores for an agency.
Fix the research object
- Define one England buyer task, such as appointing a supplier to manage creator contracting and disclosure evidence for a stated campaign. Exclude talent representation, software-only services and paid-media buying unless the comparison explicitly covers them.
- Record the research date, legal entity, trading name, service page, intended client type and geography. Do not merge connected brands or offices without evidence.
- Keep advertisers, agencies, talent managers, creators, platforms and audience members in separate columns. A follower is not a buyer, and a creator relationship is not proof of advertiser authority.
Verify identity without upgrading it to capability
- Use Companies House company information to record incorporated identity, officers, filings and previous names where relevant. State that the register does not verify the marketed service, solvency beyond the filed record or quality.
- Ask which entity would contract, invoice, employ staff and engage subcontractors. An England office address is not evidence that every commission or audience is English.
Attribute every service statement
- Save the exact public wording, URL, date and page owner for service scope, creator access, sector experience or measurement. Label it "supplier claim" until independent records support it.
- Do not infer a creator roster from tagged content or social connections. A talent manager may act for a creator while a campaign agency acts for the advertiser.
- Treat testimonials and portfolio pages as selected supplier material. Do not invent client permission, results or current relationships.
The ASA and CAP influencer-marketing resource hub explains responsibilities across brands, influencers and agencies. It does not accredit providers or confirm that a published workflow was followed.
Read public decisions narrowly
- Search the ASA rulings database using declared names and dates. A ruling concerns identified advertising and circumstances; it is not a score for every service supplied by an agency.
- Preserve the advertiser, medium, issue, decision and publication date. Do not convert absence from a name search into a clean record.
- Keep ad recognition and claim evidence separate. CAP Code Section 2 covers recognition, while Section 3 addresses misleading claims and substantiation.
Respect data, platforms and rights
- Collect the minimum public information needed for the comparison. Do not scrape personal profiles, infer audience demographics or repurpose creator contact data for sales.
- The ICO's direct marketing guidance requires separate attention if competitor research later supplies contact details for promotion. Research purpose does not erase that boundary.
- Keep screenshots or extracts only where necessary and permissioned. GOV.UK copyright guidance explains that use of protected work needs ownership, permission or an applicable exception.
- Record the platform terms and access method in force on the observation date. A visible profile does not prove complete data access or permission for automated collection.
Turn observations into evidence requests
For each candidate, request contracting identity, creator or talent authority, advertiser approval route, claims evidence, disclosure records, account access, privacy roles, security controls, content rights, consideration ledger, conflicts, measurement definitions, incident handling and exit export. Keep unknowns blank.
Publish the source universe, inclusion rules, excluded categories, funding and limitations. Remove raw personal data when the retention purpose ends. Competitor research should stop if it depends on deceptive access, confidential information or an unsupported inference about capability.
Before you act
- Define one England buyer task and exclude unrelated services.
- Record research date, legal entity, trading name and service page.
- Save exact public wording, URL and date for each service claim.
- Search ASA rulings using declared names and dates.
- Collect only minimum public information needed for comparison.
- Request contracting identity, creator authority and disclosure records from candidates.
Common questions
What can public pages reveal about an influencer agency?
Public pages can show how a supplier describes itself, including service scope, creator access, sector experience or measurement. They cannot reveal private creator mandates, complete client work, campaign results or market share. Treat these statements as supplier claims until independent records support them.
How should I use Companies House in competitor research?
Use Companies House to record incorporated identity, officers, filings and previous names where relevant. State that the register does not verify the marketed service, solvency beyond the filed record or quality. Ask which entity would contract, invoice, employ staff and engage subcontractors.
What should I do with ASA rulings when researching agencies?
Search the ASA rulings database using declared names and dates. A ruling concerns identified advertising and circumstances; it is not a score for every service supplied by an agency. Preserve the advertiser, medium, issue, decision and publication date. Do not convert absence from a name search into a clean record.
