In-housing: A visual guide to how brands are evolving

In-housing: A visual guide to how brands are evolving Digiday and Bannerflow surveyed 200 senior marketing decision makers from brands, in-housing agencies and consultancies in Europe. The survey aimed to discover the biggest triggers, benefits and barriers to in-housing marketing teams. Here are the findings... The state of in-housing In-housing hit headlines towards the end of 2018, as debates around digital skills in marketing teams and the future of agency relationships rumbled on. However, many brands are already well on their way to embracing new ways of working. have moved at 91% least part of their digital marketing in-house. Confidence levels 57% are high of brands describe themselves as innovators - first to the game 27% as early adopters 7% are not very confident 13% as late adopters 36% 3% are very confident as skeptical 57% of brands are fairly confident in taking the step in-house The in-house set up is varied 18% have their marketing team assisted by specialized external agencies 19% have a marketing team with full digital competency 61% of brands use a seperate in-house agency- set apart from the marketing team but working in cohesion with them Benefits and Barriers 87% There's a strong desire for increased transparency –in fact, 87% of respondents say they are concerned with the transparency level within media agencies. Respondents also have a keen eye on the potential cost-savings, but there are a few challenges on the route to achieving both. The biggest benefits of in-housing 1st Cost-saving 2nd Greater agility Increased 3rd transparency 4th Efficiency of production 5th Ability to optimize campaigns faster Greater control over 6th brand messaging Greater control 7th over creativity The biggest barriers of in-housing 56% Lack of existing talent and skills to build a competent in-house team 46% Lack of resources to build a competent in-house team 32% Lack of confidence in making the decision to in-house 32% Lack of support internally on the decision to in-house 17% Lack of knowledge around buying programmatically 13% Communicating the purpose of in-housing and gaining buy-in internally 11% Lack of appropriate ad tech tools A place for creativity Creativity is a crucial part of any marketing campaign, but as the profession becomes increasingly results-driven and aligned with overarching business goals, there is a need to have an eye on ROI. Creativity versus costs of brands think marketers place a 88% greater focus on return on investment/results over creativity – but also ranked 'cost-saving' as the biggest benefit to in-housing. Creativity blockers 51% Lack of time 44% High costs 41% Lack of skills and talent 38% Lack of vision /strategy 30% Pressure to deliver results 22% Lack of technology Tech boost of respondents believe that the availability of advertising technology and 96% tools has allowed more marketers to take marketing operations in-house. What's more marketers listed the lack of technology and the lack of appropriate ad tech tools as the least biggest barriers to creativity and in-housing. The future of in-housing Our research shows that despite the earlier data on brand confidence and brands seeing themselves as innovators, the numbers still show a need for support right now. A solo mission 58% of brands say they are confident they can run an in-house marketing team alone 35% say they will need occasional external support to run an in-house marketing team 7% say they will need constant external support to run an in-house marketing team Early and anxious Despite the high confidence levels and benefits to in-housing, the research reveals some apprehension to the permanence of in-housing. 7% of respondents think that in-housing is a passing trend 37% think it's the future As brands, agencies, consultancies and technology providers navigate this new creatively-led but results-driven ecosystem, these early concerns could stabilise. Digiday and Bannerflow surveyed 200 senior marketers and experts at brands, in-housing agencies and consultancies based in Europe. Survey responses were collected between the 7th and 28th of November, 2018. Bannerflow DIGIDAY