Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

In-house Agency

Posted by terri on 8/22/2007 at 10:07 AM ET 125 Points
I manage an in-house agency in a large company. I have only been here about 2 months. I came here from a traditional agency - I didn't realize how different the two are. Anyone know of good resources for in-house agencies? Just looking for tips, advice, blogs, books, etc.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by ilan on 8/22/2007 at 11:07 AM Accepted
    I'm not aware of books, blogs etc. on your specific issue, but I can tell you from my experience.
    I did work for the traditional multinational agencies, and sometimes we had to face the in-house agency.
    We at the "big agencies" had a clear arrogance about us, and we always tended to look at the "in-house" people as second class pros.
    They looked at us the same way, thinking that we are just a bunch of arrogant bustards, and always tried to take away projects from us.
    The in-house people were always relegated to perform the menial marketing jobs, announcements, bulletins, etc, but never the big TV campaigns.
    So they developed a bit of a chip on the shoulder.
    Recently, in-house agencies are much more sophisticated.
    First, they hire from the ranks of the big boys, and second, they simply do a better job.
    But, each company develops its own culture, and they are very different!
    I know people who work for some very big Consumer Goods corporations, and they are smart, sophisticated, and have everything it takes to succeed in the business. But the main limitation is that they always work for ONE client. The culture that comes out of that situation is limiting, and the scope of experience is minimized.
    Its always good to have someone's opinion from the outside, in breeding is not always healthy.
  • Posted by terri on 8/22/2007 at 11:13 AM Author
    ilan - Thanks for your insight. I hadn't thought of it that way. You hit the nail on the head as far as the attitudes I got from the "real-agency" community when I told them I was going to the dark side. Appreciate your comments.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/22/2007 at 11:51 AM Member
    You might want to check out:

    Madscam (by George Parker)

    It's written for the small business person looking to do advertising, but it has a lot of insights about the in-house/agency mentalities.
  • Posted on 8/22/2007 at 7:29 PM Member
    We have a few clients with in-house agencies. They hire us as consultants, and we subcontract work for them so they get the benefit of outside thinking and still look "in-house" within their organizations.

    Added benefit for them: They bring a strategic perspective to their management because of our skills/starting point ... much more so than if they just went to a traditional agency. They look really smart to the folks within the company, not just implementers of someone else's strategy.
  • Posted on 8/23/2007 at 10:11 AM Member
    Hello,

    You might want to reach out to your local advertising club or some of the national ones such as www.aaaa.org.

    Good Luck
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