OLIVER’s Marketing and the Future of In-Housing event

In-Housing at AAR

In-housing is a growing part of the marketing mix and an area that AAR wanted to ensure we had covered. We addressed this by hiring Alex Steele a year ago as our in-housing consultant. Having worked at BBH, McCannErickson, JWT as well as inhouse, Alex understands both perspectives so can give informed advice.

Our offering to Clients is to help them set up or optimise their in-house agency and advise them on how their in-house teams can collaborate with their agency partners as part of their marketing ecosystem.

This is also an area of opportunity for agencies - particularly creative and media agencies - to work effectively with in-house teams to support their mutual Client. There are some examples of agencies doing that successfully in the conference write ups below.

If that is something AAR can help you with, please get in touch with Alex at:

asteele@aargroup.co.uk. ●

OLIVER’s Marketing and the Future of In-Housing event

By Alex Steele

This event was held over 2 days in September 2022. Day One was in the US and Day Two in London, with all content accessible from both continents. AAR attended the UK event in person, along with a vibrant mix of CMOs and in-house agency practitioners. There were several great presentations and on-stage conversations throughout the day. Here are the edited highlights.

The morning started strongly with a broad perspective from Simon Martin and Rachel Hatton of Oliver. They discussed the hot topics around creativity in-house, attracting, retaining and growing talent, and how inhousing can make the ‘Cheap Quick Good’ triangle a reality, but that creativity is still king and that creative agencies still have an important role to play.

It was good to get under the bonnet of the Barclays and Barclaycard’s in-house team with Paul Alexander, particularly the importance of having comms planners as part of the team; something we are seeing more and more. Paul also talked through how their hybrid model works with external agencies, an in-sourced agency and in-house team.

The panel with Julia Arenson from Specsavers, Dino Myers Lamptey from the Barber Shop, and James Cross, who was at the BBC at the time but has since founded Meanwhile, was especially insightful. As two of the best examples of in-house agencies, it was fascinating to hear the reasons why BBC Creative and Specsavers are seen as ‘best in class’. Part of the formula is their creative ambition, that they judge work as agencies judge work, and judge themselves against external agencies by entering mainstream awards schemes. Additionally, being a national treasure or purpose driven brand helps. That combination helps recruitment, keeps creatives stimulated, and is a selffulfilling prophecy.

While in-housing continues to rise, it is still a big decision for any CMO. It is also a path well-travelled, and the event provided insights into the factors to consider to navigate the journey successfully. It was also clear that external agencies have a vital role to play in the ecosystem, there is room for both and, when they work together effectively, hybrid teams can deliver great creative and commercial results. ●