Comparison
Empire325 Marketing vs Single Grain
How Empire325 compares to Single Grain on capabilities, engagement model, pricing, and outcomes
TL;DR: Single Grain (Mid-sized digital marketing agency founded by Eric Siu.) and Empire325 Marketing both deliver enterprise digital services, but with materially different operating models. Empire325 ships the engineering work most performance agencies depend on partners for — modern data stacks, custom AI infrastructure, headless commerce — under one accountable team.
About Single Grain
Mid-sized digital marketing agency founded by Eric Siu.
Founded
2009
Size
100+
Pricing tier
Mid-market ($$$)
Best for
Established mid-market brands needing experienced performance marketing operators.
Side-by-side comparison
| Criteria | Empire325 Marketing | Single Grain |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement model | Senior practitioners embedded for full engagement | Project teams with handoffs between strategy/design/engineering |
| Time to first production milestone | 30-45 days | 3-6 months |
| Pricing tier | Mid-to-enterprise ($$ – $$$) | Mid-market ($$$) |
| Post-launch operational support | 90 days included on every engagement | Project handoff; ongoing support typically separate engagement |
| Measurement framework | Closed-loop revenue attribution + MMM + incrementality | Varies; often platform-reported metrics |
| AI engineering depth | Production AI agents, RAG, fine-tuning in-house | Limited in-house |
| Data infrastructure | Modern data stack (Snowflake/BigQuery/dbt) built in-house | Typically partnered out |
| Continuous optimization | Always-on weekly experiments + monthly reviews | Re-engagement required |
Why teams pick Empire325 over Single Grain
Empire325 ships the engineering work most performance agencies depend on partners for — modern data stacks, custom AI infrastructure, headless commerce — under one accountable team.
Senior practitioners
Every engagement is delivered by senior team members. No junior-resourcing dilution; no project managers managing project managers.
Engineering depth across the stack
Web development, AI agents, data infrastructure, and analytics all under one team. Eliminates the multi-vendor coordination tax.
Revenue-tied measurement
Every engagement ties to CFO-defensible KPIs. Marketing mix modeling, incrementality, and multi-touch attribution are built in, not retrofitted.
When Single Grain is the better fit
Established mid-market brands needing experienced performance marketing operators. If your engagement specifically needs the operating profile Single Grain excels at, they may be the right call. Empire325 is happy to help you evaluate the fit honestly — we'd rather decline a poorly-fitting engagement than ship outcomes that don't compound.
Common questions
What's the difference between Empire325 and Single Grain?
Empire325 ships the engineering work most performance agencies depend on partners for — modern data stacks, custom AI infrastructure, headless commerce — under one accountable team. Single Grain Performance marketing core; web engineering, custom AI agents, and data warehousing typically partnered out.
Is Empire325 cheaper than Single Grain?
Single Grain pricing tier is Mid-market ($$$). Empire325 typically delivers comparable or superior outcomes at 30-50% lower total cost of engagement, primarily because we eliminate the layered organization and handoff overhead that drives Single Grain's rate structure.
When should I pick Single Grain instead of Empire325?
Single Grain is best for: Established mid-market brands needing experienced performance marketing operators. If your engagement requires that specific profile, Single Grain may fit better. For most enterprise marketing transformations, Empire325 delivers faster with stronger measurement and continuous optimization.
Can Empire325 deliver at enterprise scale?
Yes. Empire325 partners with enterprise clients across SaaS, e-commerce, financial services, manufacturing, and asset management. The difference vs. Single Grain is operating model: senior practitioners delivering directly, embedded for the full engagement, with continuous optimization included.
How fast can Empire325 ship vs Single Grain?
Empire325 typically delivers first measurable production milestones within 30-45 days of contract signature. Single Grain engagements at comparable scope generally take 3-6 months due to procurement, ramp, and governance overhead.
Comparing Empire325 to Single Grain for a real engagement?
Schedule a 30-minute call. We'll give you an honest assessment of which firm fits your situation — even if that's Single Grain.
Schedule honest comparison call