Connecting the Dots to Boost In-House Agency ROI

This article written by Brian Radin, President, SpotlightXR was originally published on ANA Forward

The Growing In-Housing Movement: Harnessing the Power of Creative Storytelling

As brands increasingly take creative functions in-house, they gain greater control over their storytelling, boost efficiencies, costs, and accelerate their time-to-market. This approach provides a cohesive platform for developing creative concepts that can scale across channels, whether it’s brand marketing, social media, or e-commerce.

Navigating New Challenges

However, this shift isn’t without its challenges. While brands harness the economies of scale and streamlined logistics of the in-house model, they also open Pandora’s box of complexities. Scaling from basic in-house agencies to full-fledged production studios, like Nike and Walmart, exposes brands to logistical challenges and regulatory issues similar to those of TV and Film studios. External expertise in business affairs, , talent agreements, payroll, taxes and vendor payment solutions is critical to ensure in-house agencies and production groups operate efficiently, effectively, and lawfully.

The ANA’s In-Housing Conference provides a unique forum where agency and brand leaders can share challenges and opportunities while addressing present and future in-housing solutions.

Key Challenges in 2024 and Beyond

In 2024 and beyond, leaders face challenges that will redefine their creative objectives, which must align with consumer needs, inclusion, sustainability, and privacy requirements. Key focus areas include:

• AI-Powered Insights: Brands are leveraging AI to gain real-time insights and make smarter workflow decisions.
• Unified Data and Workflow Management: Consolidating data, workflows, and reconciliation helps leading brands maximize productivity in challenging economic conditions.
• Agile Content Control: Flexibility in managing creative assets is crucial to stay relevant in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
• Creative as a KPI: Treating creative impact as a KPI ensures brands connect effectively with their audience while minimizing waste.
• AI Tools for Compliance: AI solutions help brands remain on-message, in the right tone, and ensure accessibility.
• Outsourced Financial and Regulatory Services: Partnering for financial and legal services, such as union agreements, talent contracts, labor relations, insurance, incentives, vendor payments, and reconciliation, ensures compliance, while enabling in-house studios to focus on creativity. Also, these services become critical as production scales in complexity as does risk.

Aligning with Partners for Success

Shifting to In-House production makes it essential to work with the right outsourcing partners who allow brands to focus on creating, distributing, and optimizing creative content for global audiences. XR provides a comprehensive suite of services to streamline production and distribution while also offering Creative Intelligence to assess the quality and effectiveness of creative output.

In sum, the In-Housing movement unlocks opportunities for brands to take charge of their content, finances and production. However, by strategically partnering with outsourcing firms, such as XR, brands can streamline operations and fully realize the potential of their in-house efforts.