Carusele
Carusele is a data-driven influencer marketing agency that runs full-service and in-house support campaigns for enterprise consumer brands and retailers, combining a 7,500+ creator network with proprietary measurement algorithms. Founded in 2015 as a spin-out from Ignite Social Media, the firm is headquartered in Cary, NC.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCary, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Carusele does
Carusele, LLC is a privately held, data-driven influencer marketing agency founded in 2015 in Cary, North Carolina as a spin-out from sister agency Ignite Social Media. The company serves enterprise consumer brands, retailers, and — to a lesser extent — marketing agencies, offering full-service campaign management alongside flexible in-house support engagements, with campaign budgets ranging from under $25,000 to $500,000+ on multi-year contracts. Its service delivery combines human curation of a self-reported network of over 7,500 content producers with paid media amplification and daily optimization, and it markets five trademarked proprietary systems — qStack™, Content Performance Index™, Engaged Audience Profiles™, TrueViews Algorithm™, and iStack™ — to differentiate on measurement and targeting. The agency is led by founder/CEO Jim Tobin (also founder of Ignite Social Media) and President Deidre Bounds, operates two offices (Cary, NC and Birmingham, MI), is GDPR-compliant, and has accumulated 40+ industry awards including the 2017 Shorty Awards Small Agency of the Year and a 21st Annual Webby Awards honor. Carusele discloses no external venture or private equity funding beyond two 2015 seed rounds totaling approximately $750,000.
Carusele firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carusele
- Legal name
- Carusele, LLC
- Website
- https://carusele.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Carusele is a data-driven influencer marketing agency that runs full-service and in-house support campaigns for enterprise consumer brands and retailers, combining a 7,500+ creator network with proprietary measurement algorithms. Founded in 2015 as a spin-out from Ignite Social Media, the firm is headquartered in Cary, NC.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carusele industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Influencer Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Media Buying Agencies (54183)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Influencer Strategy & Campaign Management (MPAAAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Campaign Management & Workflow Software (Briefing/Approvals) (MPACAGAE)
Keywords
Where Carusele is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cary
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Carusele business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Full-Service Influencer Marketing Campaigns: Comprehensive campaign management with package-level pricing, guaranteed results, experienced team support, and streamlined client approval processes. Revenue generated through agency fees for end-to-end campaign execution including influencer selection, content creation oversight, paid media amplification, and ongoing optimization.
- In-House Support / A La Carte Services: Flexible support options designed for in-house brand teams executing their own influencer marketing. Provides expert guidance and consulting without full campaign management, allowing brands to benefit from Carusele's expertise while handling some execution internally.
- Managed Services / Ongoing Programs: Ongoing/recurring program management with continuous optimization. The company emphasizes that ongoing programs are 'vastly more efficient than one-off campaigns' and guarantees specific volumes of web traffic for clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise-level campaigns with guaranteed results |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Carusele product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carusele is a data-driven influencer marketing agency that plans, executes, and optimizes influencer marketing campaigns for consumer brands, retailers, and agencies. Its offering combines full-service campaign management (influencer selection, content oversight, paid media amplification, and real-time optimization) with proprietary analytics tools (qStack, Content Performance Index, Engaged Audience Profiles, TrueViews Algorithm, iStack) and a curated network of 7,500+ content producers. It also provides à la carte in-house support options for brand teams running their own campaigns.
Product overview
Carusele is a data-driven influencer marketing agency offering a comprehensive platform of services built around proprietary technology systems. The core offering combines full-service influencer marketing campaigns with a suite of proprietary tools including the qStack™ rating system for influencer selection, Content Performance Index™ for real-time content performance analysis, Engaged Audience Profiles™ for lookalike audience targeting, iStack™ for influencer ranking, and the TrueViews Algorithm for predictive campaign reach estimation. Services are delivered through both full-service managed campaigns (with guaranteed results and package pricing) and in-house support options for brands managing campaigns internally. The agency also provides content resources including a capabilities deck and The Spin newsletter, and maintains a network of over 7,500 content producers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Full-Service Influencer Marketing Campaigns End-to-end influencer marketing campaign management for consumer brands, retailers, and agencies, including strategy development, influencer selection, content oversight, paid media amplification, and real-time optimization, delivered with guaranteed results and package-level pricing.
- In-House Support / A La Carte Services Flexible à la carte expert support for in-house brand teams running their own influencer marketing campaigns, combining Carusele's proprietary expertise and measurement capabilities with the brand's internal execution.
Quantifiable outcome
- Ongoing programs increase efficiency by more than 50% for clients compared to one-off campaigns
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use Carusele
Customer profileNamed customers30 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Carusele technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Carusele partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Ignite Social MediacoreIgnite Social Media (2016 Social Media Agency of the Year Worldwide) spun out Carusele in 2015. They share data and resources, with TrueViews Algorithm leveraging 'reams of data from our sister company Ignite Social Media.' Ignite also helps recruit TikTok creators for Carusele campaigns through their TikTok Live Creator Network.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Carusele competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CreatorIQ: Enterprise influencer marketing platform used by large brands and agencies for campaign management, measurement, and creator data. Comparable as a technology-led influencer marketing solution targeting overlapping enterprise customers.
- Aspire (formerly AspireIQ): Influencer marketing platform and services company serving mid-market and enterprise consumer brands. Comparable in serving CPG/retail verticals with a hybrid SaaS-plus-services approach and a creator marketplace.
- Linqia: Full-service influencer marketing agency serving enterprise brands with outcome-driven campaign management and proprietary measurement. Closely comparable to Carusele's full-service, guaranteed-results positioning for consumer brands and retailers.
- IZEA Worldwide: Public influencer marketing company operating a creator marketplace plus managed services for enterprise brands. Direct competitor in the same buyer set, with disclosed financials offering useful benchmarking.
- Grin: Influencer marketing platform for consumer brands focused on creator relationship management and commerce-oriented campaigns. Comparable buyer (CPG/retail) and overlap with Carusele's performance-focused positioning.
- Open Influence: Global influencer marketing agency and platform with technology-driven campaign execution for enterprise brands. Overlaps with Carusele's data-and-services approach across CPG, beauty, and retail.
- Influencer.com (formerly Hyphen): Influencer marketing agency and platform serving global enterprise brands with managed services plus proprietary technology. Direct peer combining creator sourcing, campaign management, and analytics.
- Obviously: Full-service influencer marketing agency focused on CPG, beauty, and consumer brands with global creator activation. Highly comparable service-based model targeting similar enterprise buyer profiles.
Others
- Ignite Social Media: Sister agency of Carusele (spun out from Ignite in 2015), focused on social media management and paid social with the TikTok Live Creator Network. Operationally linked, sharing data and creator resources, but distinct in service offering.
Broad incumbents
- Omnicom Group (influencer/advertising holding companies such as Omnicom, IPG Mediabrands, Publicis): Global advertising holding companies with influencer marketing capabilities embedded in full-service media and creative agencies. Compete for the same enterprise marketing budgets and influencer RFPs but with broader service portfolios and vastly larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Carusele social profiles
Digital presenceCarusele compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Carusele financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carusele leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Carusele funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carusele M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carusele
What does Carusele do?
Carusele is a data-driven influencer marketing agency that plans, executes, and optimizes influencer marketing campaigns for consumer brands, retailers, and agencies. Its offering combines full-service campaign management (influencer selection, content oversight, paid media amplification, and real-time optimization) with proprietary analytics tools (qStack, Content Performance Index, Engaged Audience Profiles, TrueViews Algorithm, iStack) and a curated network of 7,500+ content producers. It also provides à la carte in-house support options for brand teams running their own campaigns.
Is Carusele a public or private company?
Carusele is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Carusele founded?
Carusele was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Carusele based?
Carusele is headquartered in Cary, United States, in the North America region.
How does Carusele make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Full-Service Influencer Marketing Campaigns are the primary driver. The others are in-House Support / A La Carte Services and managed Services / Ongoing Programs.
Who are Carusele's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CreatorIQ, Aspire (formerly AspireIQ), Linqia, IZEA Worldwide, Grin, Open Influence, Influencer.com (formerly Hyphen) and Obviously. Ignite Social Media is listed as an others. Omnicom Group (influencer/advertising holding companies such as Omnicom, IPG Mediabrands, Publicis) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Carusele have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carusele.
What industry is Carusele in?
Carusele's product category is Influencer Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAHAA, Influencer Strategy & Campaign Management, with a secondary code of MPACAGAE, Campaign Management & Workflow Software (Briefing/Approvals). Its NAICS code is 54183 and its SIC code is 7311.