Rise in in-house agencies–A shift in agency landscape

Abstract 

The creative advertising market has witnessed a rise in buyers largely engaging with independent agencies, continued demand for boutique creative agencies and a wide number of acquisitions and mergers in the recent years. All these point in a single direction—where buyers these days are looking for more customization and are very particular about their brand communication. This level of specification has led to the adoption and use of in-house teams, which shaped out to be one of the largest trends in 2016. The steep rise in the number companies that work with in-house teams are more than that of external marketing agencies. This is mainly because companies are largely bringing in parts of advertising work in-house as they are interested in transparency and prefer having an upper hand in terms of control over the project.  
 

Introduction 

In recent times, brands have been involved in a number of activities revolving around creative and digital work done in-house instead of outsourcing them. The number of cases increased by almost 14 percent over the previous year. This trend was kindled by various aspects, such as cost savings, optimum utilization, tangible efficiencies and close partnerships with clients, among others. Leading brands are hiring top and experienced talent from the creative arena in their in-house teams. This trend has given an interesting twist in the market, wherein traditional agencies are no longer just competing with their peers, but also the client’s in-house agencies. A creative can make a statement only with the help of exceptional skills and content, and continuous pushing of the creative boundaries. In turn, this is placing pressure on the in-house teams to manage marketing content.