In-house v Outside

A new article about Career Builder just came out from AdAge. For those of you who don't know, I had done a media plan for CBCampus for a class project and presented to the client. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot too. We were talking to someone from CareerBuilder and she told us they had ended their relationship with Weiden and Kennedy. Shocking seeing as how great their campaign was last year, beating out Monster in accordance to Antony Young, CEO of Optimedia USA. Anyhow, the AdAge article talks a little about how Career Builder has decided to go in-house, as well as some pros and cons for each.

Five reasons to establish an in-house agency
1. TO CUT COSTS Lots of companies use an in-house facility to handle functions such as collateral development and video production as a way to save. Long gone are the days of the typesetting machine, and thanks to technology many other capabilities from direct mail to website development may be executed by the marketer. And who knows? If you're really good, you might find yourself sitting on a new revenue stream, like Condé Nast and other publishers that have designed print executions and more for big retailers.
2. TO ALIGN YOUR BRAND MESSAGE Global brands that work with several marketing partners in far-flung places run the risk of a fractured brand message. Hyundai's desire for a consistent brand image worldwide and control to remain with its South Korean parent is what drove the carmaker to recently ditch its highly regarded U.S. agency -- Goodby, Silverstein & Partners -- and churn all work out of its in-house creative shop dubbed Innocean.
3. IT FURTHERS SPEED TO MARKET Nobody understands the marketer's business better than the marketer itself. Try as they might, ad agencies often aren't as familiar with the ins and outs of complex businesses like airlines, banks and health insurance. Not to mention that in a crisis, an in-house shop can turn on a dime to respond with communications.
4. IT KEEPS THE MARKETING FUNCTION TIED TO THE C-SUITE Working via an in-house agency could mean more involvement in the marketing process from the highest levels of the company. Forrester Research data show that nearly 60% of in-house shops report directly to the company's CEO or CMO.
5. IT LOWERS TURNOVER Ad agencies are known to have revolving doors that can take a toll on the client-agency relationship. In contrast, in-house agencies are known for keeping their departments stable; the average annual turnover rate of staff at an-agency is less than 5%, according to Forrester.

Five reasons to use outside agencies
1. TO CUT COSTS If you don't already have a strong in-house capability, setting out to build one from scratch could mean steep overhead costs that -- particularly during these tough times -- could unnecessarily strain on your company's resources.
2. TO TAP THEIR EXPERTISE Agencies have a leg up by being out in the marketplace and in touch with a rapidly changing business environment. "For a marketer to be on top of that as well as innovation within their own marketing departments means they have to be a jack of all trades," said Lisa Colantuono, managing partner at consultancy AAR Partners. For example, fewer than 10% of in-house agencies have social media or ethnic marketing capabilities, according to Forrester.
3. TO GET AN OUTSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE Having an outside agency can prevent your company from being too insular, and can also be motivating. Nancy Hill, president-CEO of the 4A's, puts it likes this: "An agency works with a marketer much like a trainer works with an athlete, pushing her to perform better. It's true you could do it alone, but your results will vary."
4. TO GET ACCESS TO TOP TALENT Any recruiter will tell you that getting top creative types to focus solely on one client's business is a hard sell; they desire the variety of daily challenges offered by the opportunity to craft campaigns for a big retailer one day and a pharmaceutical giant the next.
5. IT CAN BE FUN Many marketers will say that their interactions with outside agencies are the most fun part of their work day. You may have to stomach a big ego or two, but the chance to work with an award-winning creative director is an exciting one for many.