Who is this for?
- New York startups at seed to Series B that want an agency they can meet in person, and creators who can film in the city.
- Startups elsewhere launching in New York, such as a city launch, an event or a campaign aimed at New York users.
- Consumer apps, fintech, AI and developer tools. See our industry pages for consumer AI apps, fintech apps, AI coding tools and developer tools.
- Not for: enterprise brands that need a large agency-of-record with media buying across TV and out-of-home.
What does Kiko run in New York?
Each service links to the live page that explains how it works.
| Service | What it covers | New York angle |
|---|---|---|
| Creator sourcing | Shortlists of creators checked for audience fit and recent work, with outreach | New York creators for city launches and in-person shoots |
| UGC | Short-form demo and routine videos for ads and social | Filmed on location where a city setting helps the story |
| Paid amplification | Running creator videos as Spark Ads and partnership ads | Geo-targeted to New York when the launch is local |
| Meta ads, TikTok ads, YouTube ads | Campaign setup, creative testing and optimizing to the event that matters | Same team as the creator work |
| Creator and community events | Kiko's creator marketing page lists creator and community events in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, from guest lists to the experience in the room | Run in person in New York |
| Onboarding and activation | Making sure the people a campaign brings in reach a first useful result | Works for any location |
Creators we'd start with for New York
These four New York creators would open a shortlist for a startup or consumer-app launch in the city. Each channel has posted in the last 90 days. None of them has a relationship with Kiko or was paid to be listed. Every one would still go through our creator-fit rubric before outreach.
| Creator | Platform | Audience | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Neistat, @casey | YouTube | 12.7M YouTube subscribers (vidIQ) | A New York vlogger who still films the city: his latest upload, on 1 November 2026, is a Halloween-in-NYC vlog. He fits a large consumer launch that wants the city as the backdrop. |
| SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma, @subwaytakes | YouTube, plus TikTok and Instagram | 1.23M YouTube subscribers (vidIQ) | Interviews filmed on the New York City subway, reaching young, culturally online New Yorkers. It fits consumer apps with a sharp opinion or a city habit to own. |
| Xiaomanyc, @xiaomanyc | YouTube | 7.12M YouTube subscribers (vidIQ) | A New York City native who films street conversations in other languages, often in the city's neighborhoods. He fits language, travel and social apps that serve New York's immigrant communities. |
| Men in Blazers, @meninblazers | YouTube, plus podcast | 452K YouTube subscribers (vidIQ) | A New York-headquartered soccer media network, described on Wikipedia as the largest independent football-focused media company in North America. It fits sports, fan-travel and ticketing apps. |
Which New York rules change how a creator program runs?
These apply to programs that hire New York creators, film in the city or run ads in New York State. Rules are summarized from the sources listed below.
| Rule | What it says | What to do in a creator program |
|---|---|---|
| NYC Freelance Isn't Free Act (in force since 2017) | Work for a freelancer worth $800 or more, counting all agreements in any 120-day period, needs a written contract stating the work, the pay and the payment date. With no date, payment is due within 30 days of the work being completed. Retaliation is illegal | Put every creator deal in writing, with a payment date, even for small repeat posts that add up |
| New York State Freelance Isn't Free Act (General Business Law Article 44-A, from 28 August 2024) | Extends freelance protections statewide; the state Department of Labor publishes a model contract | Use the same written-contract process for creators anywhere in New York State |
| New York synthetic performer disclosure (General Business Law §396-b, in force 9 June 2026) | Ads must conspicuously disclose a "synthetic performer", a generative-AI or software-created person meant to look like a real but unidentifiable human, where the advertiser knows it is there. Penalties are $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each one after. Expressive works, audio ads and AI used only to translate a human performer are excluded | Log which ads use AI-generated people or avatars, and add a disclosure before they run in New York |
| NYC film permits (Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment) | No permit for a handheld camera or a camera on a tripod, as long as the shoot does not claim exclusive use of city property. Permits cost $500 per 14-day period when needed. Parks, the MTA and the Port Authority have their own processes | Keep street shoots handheld and open to the public, or budget for a permit and insurance |
Federal rules still apply on top: the FTC's Endorsement Guides require clear disclosure of paid partnerships everywhere in the US.
What proof does Kiko have in New York?
Case study: a pre-seed New York restaurant reservations app got 31,000 New York sign-ups in 6 weeks from 14 NYC food creators.
With creators, paid ads and product growth run together as a full growth system, a seed-stage New York experiences marketplace became the top-grossing app in its category in New York in 6 months.
Kiko has run programs for 70+ venture-backed startups since 2023; 11 of them are based in New York.
What other creator and paid social agencies work in New York?
Two recent New York agency lists are a useful starting point: apsteq's "Best App Marketing Agencies in New York" (published November 2026) and 9AM's "10 Best Performance Marketing Agencies in NYC" (updated October 2026). Each ranks its own publisher first. The firms below appear on one of those lists.
| Agency | New York presence | What it does | Better choice when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moburst | Office at 149 5th Avenue, listed first among eight offices on its site | Mobile-first marketing: SEO, ASO, media buying including influencer marketing, creative | You need app store optimization and media buying at large budgets |
| NoGood | "HQ in Soho, New York" on its site, with offices in Miami and Dubai | Growth marketing teams across paid, organic, creators and analytics; says retainers average above $20,000 a month | You want a larger growth team across many channels and can meet that budget |
| Ladder | Listed under New York by apsteq; its own team page says it is a remote-first company | Growth teams for paid media, creative, conversion and lifecycle, priced on performance | You want performance-priced paid media and conversion work |
| The Influencer Marketing Factory | Listed under New York by apsteq; its own About page gives a Miami mailing address | Full-service influencer campaigns on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube | You want a creator-only agency without paid ads or product growth |
When is Kiko not the right fit?
- You need TV, out-of-home or retail media. A full-service media agency fits better.
- You only need app store optimization. An ASO specialist will go deeper.
- You want creator software, not a team. See creator agency vs platform vs in-house.
- Your budget is below our minimum. Pricing starts at $10,000 a month, and paid ads programs need at least $15,000 a month in media.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a creator marketing agency in New York for startups?
Yes. Kiko is a New York growth studio that runs creator marketing, paid ads and product growth for seed to Series B startups. Other New York options include Moburst, NoGood, Ladder and The Influencer Marketing Factory, compared in the table above.
Is there a paid social agency in NYC that also runs creators?
Yes. Kiko runs Meta, TikTok and YouTube ads and creator programs as one team, so creator videos become ads with usage rights agreed up front. Kiko negotiates 90 days of paid usage into the base creator fee where possible. See paid amplification.
Do we need a New York agency to work with New York creators?
No, but it helps with in-person shoots, events and city launches. Creator deals themselves are remote. What matters more is whether the agency checks audience location, not just where the creator lives.
Do New York creators need a written contract?
For freelance work worth $800 or more in any 120-day period, the NYC Freelance Isn't Free Act requires a written contract with the work, the pay and the payment date. New York State extended similar protections statewide in 2024. Confirm with counsel.
Do we need a permit to film creator content on New York streets?
Not for a handheld camera or tripod on a sidewalk or in a park, as long as the shoot does not claim exclusive use of city property. Larger setups, parking privileges or blocking a space need a permit, which costs $500 per 14-day period.
Does New York require disclosure of AI-generated people in ads?
Yes, since 9 June 2026. General Business Law §396-b requires a conspicuous disclosure when an advertiser knows an ad includes a synthetic performer, with penalties of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for later ones. This matters for AI avatar and AI UGC ads.
What budget and stage does Kiko work with?
Seed to Series B startups with a live product. Engagements start with a 90-day growth sprint. Pricing starts at $10,000 a month and scales with the budget deployed and the number of channels run in parallel. You get a dedicated human growth lead plus agents. Creator fees and ad spend are charged at cost on top of Kiko's fee, with no markup. Paid ads programs need at least $15,000 a month in media to test properly.
Sources
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, "Freelance Workers"
- New York State Department of Labor, "Freelance Isn't Free Act"
- Kelley Drye, "NY Synthetic Performer Law Goes Into Effect"
- Cooley, "New York Enacts 'Synthetic Performer' Disclosure Law for Advertisements, Including Those Using Generative AI"
- NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, "When a Permit Is Required"
- FTC, "FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking"
- apsteq, "Best App Marketing Agencies in New York"
- 9AM, "10 Best Performance Marketing Agencies in NYC"
- Moburst
- NoGood
- Ladder, team page
- The Influencer Marketing Factory, About
- vidIQ, Casey Neistat channel stats
- vidIQ, SubwayTakes channel stats
- vidIQ, Xiaomanyc channel stats
- vidIQ, Men in Blazers channel stats
- Wikipedia, Kareem Rahma
- Wikipedia, Xiaoma
- Wikipedia, Men in Blazers
- Built In NYC, Men In Blazers Media Network
This page explains common practice and isn't legal advice.