Bob Liodice, CEO de ANA
The number of marketers with in-house agencies has grown substantially over the past five years among members of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), according to a new ANA study. The study, “The Continued Rise of the In-House Agency,” revealed that 78 percent of ANA members reported having some form of an in-house agency in 2018, compared to 58 percent in 2013 and 42 percent in 2008, the last two times the survey was conducted. For 44 percent of respondents, their in-house agency was established within the past five years. In addition, 90 percent of 2018 respondents said the workload of their in-house agency has increased in the past year, including 65 percent who said the workload has increased “a lot.” The survey revealed that in-house agencies provide a range of services, including strategy, creative for both traditional and digital media, and media planning and buying. Services that have grown significantly over the past five years include creative strategy, media strategy, social media (both creative and media), and programmatic media buying. “This report makes clear that the work being done by in-house agencies is no longer confined to ‘low-hanging fruit’ such as collateral/promotional materials and internal videos,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “Traditional agencies are becoming increasingly challenged as marketers move more work in-house while encouraging their external agencies to provide differentiated services and increased value. We expect the current trends to continue, with accelerated client movement to in-house agencies.” Respondents said that cost efficiencies were the primary benefit of moving agency services in-house, followed by better knowledge of brands, speed and nimbleness, and institutional knowledge. Respondents overwhelmingly (79 percent) expressed high levels of satisfaction with the work of in-house resources, with 37 percent indicating they were “completely satisfied” with the work being done by these teams. While marketers are turning increasingly inward — respondents said more than half of the total amount of work (58 percent) is done in-house — the survey nonetheless also showed that 90 percent of respondents still work with external agencies.