In-House or External Agency?
“You’re the expert in your business. Blue Duck Agency is the expert at empowering your team to achieve more.”
A recent survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) revealed that 82% of ANA members now have an in-house agency, a significant increase from 58% in 2013*. This shift highlights the investment companies are making in building internal resources.
But why are so many brands turning to in-house agency models? It all comes down to control, transparency, and ownership.
Key Drivers Behind the Move to In-House Agencies
As brands build their in-house teams, several benefits stand out:
Enhanced Brand Control and Knowledge: In-house teams provide brands with deeper control over their market presence. Immersed in the brand’s culture, these teams offer consistency across channels and campaigns, ensuring that the brand voice resonates clearly with audiences.
Cost Efficiency and Transparency: Cost-saving continues to be a primary factor. Managing campaigns internally often allows for better budget oversight, offering brands transparency in how marketing dollars support strategic goals.
Data Ownership: With rising data privacy concerns, companies are choosing to manage customer data directly. In-house teams enable full ownership of first-party data, giving brands control over how this data is used for personalized marketing efforts.
The Limitations of an In-House-Only Approach
While the in-house model offers advantages, there are also challenges:
Narrowed Expertise: It’s difficult (and expensive) to staff marketing teams to cover every skill set, particularly for specialized areas like advanced data analytics, cutting-edge channel trends or high-touch campaign optimization. Balancing in-house strengths with outside expertise can bridge these gaps.
Talent & Capacity Constraints: Having readily available internal resources for all marketing needs can be demanding, especially during peak times. This, combined with recruiting and retaining talent to meet every need is a continual challenge, potentially leading to workflow bottlenecks.
Risk of Groupthink: In-house teams, while cohesive, can lack the fresh perspectives that external agencies bring and instead fall into the “this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality. This can limit innovative approaches and risk-taking in creative strategy, leading to an insular outlook.
The Solution: Use the Best of Both Worlds
Don’t choose one or the other – leverage both, in the right way. Pairing an in-house team with an expert external agency can address these gaps and elevate your marketing efforts. But it’s not just choosing any agency. It’s all about the right type of agency that is structured to work within the combination internal-external agency model. You want an agency that offers something incremental to your in-house team, making more niche-based agencies a better fit to augment your team.
Here’s why it works:
Access to Specialized Skills: External agencies provide niche expertise in areas like advanced data analytics and acquisition strategies. Blue Duck Agency, for example, brings years of experience in maximizing Acquisition Email and other targeted digital channels. Building and maintaining these types of specialized skills in-house is a huge strain on resources, taking time away from critical tasks to hit your goals. Having the support of an outside agency allows you to plug these specialties into your marketing strategies without shifting focus away from critical tasks.
Capacity for Big Ideas and Large Campaigns: Agencies excel at scaling for significant, high-impact campaigns. With a fresh creative perspective, they add value to initiatives where in-house teams might lack bandwidth or specific experience. For example, Blue Duck Agency specializes in creating high-quality video assets for use in various campaigns and channels. We add important video resources to in-house teams and do so at efficient cost.
Scalability: With high-volume or seasonal campaigns, agencies can offer scalable support without the need for permanent hires. This flexibility lets brands adjust support as demand shifts, enabling efficient resource management. At Blue Duck Agency, our team is structured to quickly pivot based on ever changing client priorities. We know that marketing plans change across the year, and our team is strategically resourced to manage ever-shifting plans and act as an extension of your in-house team.
Outsourcing the Execution: Outside agencies free up valuable time by handling the execution, leaving room for internal teams to focus on strategy. With an outside agency handling the time-consuming program management and execution tasks, internal teams have more time to think, plan, strategize and innovate towards company goals, getting the most out of team resources.
How does Blue Duck Agency fit into this model?
Blue Duck Agency stands out as a trusted partner for in-house teams, bringing specialized skills and a commitment to excellence. Here’s what we bring to the table:
Expertise in the Membership/Subscription Space: With over 20 years of experience, we deliver high-value members, focused on quality. Our holistic approach covers acquisition, win-back, cross-sell/upsell, and loyalty programs, ensuring comprehensive customer journey support.
Targeted, Results-Based Marketing: Our focus on data-driven strategies means we leverage unique data sources that complement your first-party data. In a crowded digital environment, we pinpoint where and when to engage for the highest return.
Proven Expertise in Key Channels: Channels like Acquisition Email require a nuanced approach, and we excel here with extensive experience and a strong track record of success.
Speed and Flexibility: Our structure allows us to pivot quickly and adapt to both internal and market changes. We’re equipped to handle last-minute requests with ease, and our commitment to “over-service” ensures you always feel supported.
Ready to see how Blue Duck Agency can help your in-house team achieve more?
Contact us to set up a consultation and learn how our expertise can empower your brand to reach new heights.
* The Continued Rise of the In-House Agency: 2023 Edition, Association of National Advertisers