Inside? Outside? Maybe both.

Five ways to synthesize in-house AND out-of-house resources for better results

Given sweeping changes in how organizations market to their target audiences—digital campaigns, social media, email marketing, web marketing, in-store promotions, traditional print, environmental, etc.—many have bolstered their internal creative teams or agencies. And it's no wonder: With more channels than ever before, the tactical to-do list is daunting.

According to a 2023 study by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), in-house agencies are the norm for a majority of marketers. “[External] agencies still play an important role for marketers, witnessed by the fact that 92% of respondents still use them,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice, “but the growth of in-house capabilities has clearly changed the client/agency relationship over the past 15 years.”

The desire for increased speed and cost control

The reasons are twofold—the first is driven by the speed of marketing, which increases the need to access content creators faster than ever. The second is perceived cost control and access to analytics that justify marketing efforts and help marketers turn on a dime based on insights collected from the data.

Throughout our 20+ years of experience working with leading brands that all have in-house agencies of varying degrees, we’ve found a few factors that drive the success of the in-house and out-of-house ecosystem.

1. Knowledge: Ensure your internal teams and agency partners understand both your brand and your business. For brand building, both teams need to understand how to create content and design that builds the brand with each touchpoint. Experience interpreting your brand guidelines, plus writing content that aligns with tone and voice, is critical. Add to this, a thorough understanding of your business—your target audiences, value propositions, as well as your industry and competition—all make for strategists and creatives that are ready to run.

2. Relationships: Your internal agency needs to know they have a partner they can lean on to elevate their efforts and help them shine, not steal their thunder. An agency partner willing to invest the time and energy into building a relationship with your internal team is buckled up, fired up, and truly in it with you.

3. Bandwidth: Marketing is like air traffic control: There are so many moving pieces and parts that need to take off and land with precision. While internal agencies might be able to handle most of the work most of the time, having a few external resources with bandwidth can help protect an internal team from surges and burnout, while getting to market in a timely manner. 

4. Expertise: To augment an internal team, agencies and those calling the shots on using them, must understand the expertise of each. One agency might excel at media planning while another at email marketing campaigns—make sure your roster of agencies updates you on their sweet spots often. Use them for this expertise when it’s needed, and you’ll have an external partner who is in the right seat with the right market expertise.

5. Cost: Sure, internal agencies might be a line item that's less than an external spend, but be careful. A lack of urgency or a "take a number and wait" approach means a partner doesn't share your priorities. And an agency's lack of perspective or missing expertise could mean your marketing misses the mark.

There are benefits to using a mix of internal and external resources

Sometimes an outside perspective allows you to push boundaries, or work with a different (non-competitive) client may inspire new approaches to your challenge. We have had many opportunities to share a wider range of experience and expertise in collaboration with internal teams, and we've found that it drives a deeper discussion and superior final results.

Learn how Lunne can be an extension of your internal team to elevate your marketing programs.