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Not sure whether an agency or in-house team would be best suited for handling your brand’s media planning and buying? Here are three things you should consider when plotting your next move.
If you’re in a position to be able to afford the wage bill for an in-house marketing team (or on-site agency, if you’re really big) that boasts the required range of skills, fantastic. Not only is your recruitment policy a thing of beauty; it’s clear your brand is already doing something right with its media strategy.
For many brands, however, such an outlay can be prohibitive. Employing a single marketing expert is one thing; assembling a symbiotic team of talented professionals is quite another. Add the costs of cutting-edge media optimisation tools – not to mention the training required to harness their full potential – and it quickly becomes clear why many brands opt for flexible, commission-centred agency contracts.
Naturally, whoever you employ as part of an in-house marketing team will have been selected on merit. Perhaps it’s the candidate’s enthusiasm for the brand, their grasp of PPC, or their experience in working with high-growth brands. Whatever it is, they’ve obviously hit the right notes.
However, whilst that is all well and good, agencies devote their time to learning and mastering the entire symphony. Data? Technology? Creativity? Consumer behaviours? Understanding the importance of each individual instrument is vital.
Pinpointing the right solutions and negotiating the best deals is what agencies have done for years. Consequently, the pool of knowledge, insights and experience – not to mention the long-standing relationships with both media owners and specialist partners – means that clients are far less likely to miss out on exciting opportunities that offer greater value for money.
Sure, an in-house marketing team will be imbued with the company culture and values, but any committed agency would make it their mission to do the same. Motivation is the key word here. You can arrange lots of team activities, a great bonus scheme and buy enough indoor games to fill a pub – but there’s a reason why staff turnover appears to be much higher among in-house teams when compared with agencies.
Being employed at an agency confirms the validity of the old proverb: ‘variety is the spice of life’. Working as partners with different brands across a range of sectors each day ensures the mind stay sharp, attitudes open, and spirits high.
Indeed, science tells us that meeting new people has an invigorating effect. It exposes us to different ways of thinking; a cross-section of diverse challenges and ideas that keep us on our toes, forever curious. This can only benefit clients.