Clients doing it in-house

One of the big trends at the moment is client companies building their own in-house agencies, or at least taking on things they previously outsourced.

Mark Pritchard, CMO for P&G recently mapped out their plans for a DIY agency approach at Cannes. In particular, he points to digital media wastage as the main problem.

He claims… “We’re reinventing media from mass blast to mass one-to-one, we’re getting advertising from less push to more pull, we’re reinventing agency partnerships from less outsourcing to more of our people’s hands on the keyboard.”
(read more here)

This is a phenomenon that’s been growing for a while now with more and more design studios, social media, and digital marketing teams emerging in-house.

Having seen quite a few of these in action, there is no right answer. Some clients are saving costs and delivering effective work. But others are struggling for quality in what they do, and lack creative impact and strategic insight – satisfying themselves without the benefit of professional expertise.

A while ago I wrote an agency selection best practice guide for the 3Cs and ANZA called “Navigating the agency selection process” (have a look here). In it there is a section that maps out different agency/outsource models and their implications, including in-house alternatives. I recommend you have a read if you’re contemplating going in-house. And if you’re not sure, get in touch for a chat (lew.bentley@headlight.co.nz)