The In-House vs External Agency Debate: Are You In Or Out?

If you’ve been in the game as long as we have, you’ll be familiar with the perennial debate over the in-house vs creative agency model. Well, it’s one that isn’t going away.

On the one hand, ISBA findings from 2023 show that 90% of UK marketers were either using or seriously considering in-housing, and 58% believed that it’s not going anywhere. On the other hand, The Drum reports that over a third of CMOs find in-housing an “operational nightmare”.  We get it, running an agency can be tough.

A timely debate

One of the major pulls of in-house agencies is the prospect of saving time, money and creating greater efficiencies. But is it really better for your bottom line? And will you really save time in the long-run?

You don’t need to look for long online to see there’s endless discussions about whether cost savings go much further than just beyond the first year.

Similarly, in our ever-changing, fast-paced industry there’s always demand for quicker, faster, speedier turnarounds. The common misconception is that IHAs have the edge in that regard – but when internal priorities clash, it’s often a case that IHAs find themselves up against the same ‘client’ challenges as agencies.

And whilst bigger creative agencies may have bigger teams, don’t be fooled into thinking bigger means faster. In our experience, bigger means layer upon layer upon layer to wade through. Understandably all that results in frustration with your big network agency.

The objective vs subjective debate

According to the most recent Up To The Light report, “95% of clients with an in-house creative resource still see the value in using external agencies for particular challenges.” These are the transformational changes where agencies can deliver a fresh objective perspective on strategic insights and creativity. Working on one brand can easily lead to one point of view.

We recommend engaging with an agency during the early strategic planning stages of new projects. This really is where you’re going to see the value of everything they have to offer – whatever your brand or business challenge, chances are the right agency partner will have seen it before, many times over. It’s precisely this lens, this knowledge and this access to an experienced multi-specialist team that’ll turn the dial on your well-intentioned internal efforts – making your next marketing challenge, product launch or campaign a measurable success.

The talent debate

“Building an in-house creative agency from scratch can feel a bit like entering an empty room for the first time and not knowing where the light switch is.” says Zach Kitschke, CMO at Canva.

Finding, hiring and keeping creative talent isn’t easy. Creative souls are inherently restless – which is where the variety of agency life feeds them. It has long been argued that the in-house life is ‘cushier’ – but in recent years, the allure of work/life balance has drawn many an agency stalwart to go in-house. Large network agencies are notorious for relentlessly driving their talent to work long hours, so it’s no wonder many are jumping ship to IHAs. That said, everything is a compromise and time will tell if the life of a single-brand creative is fulfilling enough creatively to keep and retain the best creatives in-house.

Let’s get more creative with this debate

It is widely believed that agencies still have the upper hand when it comes to creativity. 39% of chief marketers said in-house marketing teams lacked inspiration and 95% of clients think great creativity has the power to differentiate their brand.

Harvard Business School states that “One of the main hindrances to a business’s growth is cognitive fixedness, or the idea that there’s only one way to interpret or approach a situation or challenge. Cognitive fixedness is an easy trap for in-house teams to fall into – it can be tempting to approach every situation similar to how you have in the past.”  

Sometimes it works. Take Specsavers in-house creative team for example, it now includes top creatives from the likes of The&Partnership, adam&eveDDB and VCCP, who are all working on the brand’s award-winning work. Whilst Specsavers’ move in-house has been a big success, it comes with a hefty price tag (conceptual creatives don’t come cheap) and isn’t often a recurrent theme across the industry. Just think about the Kendall Jenner TV spot for Pepsi from their IHA in 2017. That blew up for all the wrong reasons.

Michael Hyatt says: “Most of us have experienced wow moments. We just haven’t taken time to think deeply about them.” This is where it pays to pay an agency.

Creativity gives you the space to work smarter instead of harder and agencies often have a wider experience to draw upon. They’ve worked with multiple brands across multiple markets and can bring all that knowledge and learnings to every client. Let them spend the time thinking, rather than doing. This might sound counter-productive, but trust the process and you’ll see the real value of your agency partner.

The political debate

A short point, but an important one. We’re talking internal politics. In this year’s Up To The Light report, one of the most common benefits cited by participants for using an external agency is that an agency ‘will challenge more’.

A third party has permission to challenge, share their experience and consult objectively – even when it might not be what senior stakeholders want to hear. With that in mind, the right agency partner can be additive to shaping the change you and your team believe is best for the brand. Lean on their bipartisan expertise, diplomacy and authority.

Takeaways you’d find hard to debate

The blurring of talent and cross-pollination between in-house and external agencies can only be a good thing for the industry as a whole. The more we appreciate the challenges and pressures on both sides, the more effectively we can work together for the good of the brands we’re building.

Henry Ford once famously said “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

Perhaps, it’s time for an agency that’ll mix things up? Well, at saintnicks, we don’t just see ourselves as an integrated agency, first and foremost we see ourselves as partners. So, whether its brand building, brand awareness, fan engagement, email automation, ATL campaigns or click-worthy content, get in touch with our Strategy Director, Mark Brighton about how we can fit into your team and take your brand further.