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In-Housing At Scale: The Age of The Rebalance (featured interview)
Campaign
Brands must master the hybrid model and AI integration or their rapidly expanding in-house creative teams may collapse under the weight of demand
By Cecilia Garzella
For much of the past two decades, in-housing was frequently framed as a trade-off: lower costs at the expense of creative excellence. Internal teams were often cast as executors and order takers — running the tactical day-to-day marketing tasks, like banner ads, emails and always-on work — while agencies handled big…Brands must master the hybrid model and AI integration or their rapidly expanding in-house creative teams may collapse under the weight of demand
By Cecilia Garzella
For much of the past two decades, in-housing was frequently framed as a trade-off: lower costs at the expense of creative excellence. Internal teams were often cast as executors and order takers — running the tactical day-to-day marketing tasks, like banner ads, emails and always-on work — while agencies handled big ideas and brand-defining moments.
Today, that stigma has outlived its relevance. “The in-house alternative is no longer viewed as the bottom of the barrel,” says Peter Viento, director and head of creative global marketing at Citi.
Across all verticals, brands large and small are building successful internal creative — and, to a lesser extent, media — capabilities to move faster, stay closer to the business and respond more directly to customers. Cost still matters, but it’s no longer the sole or even primary driver. Stronger leadership, clearer mandates and better technology have expanded both what in-house teams handle and what they’re accountable for.
“There’s an old saying that in-housing is where creative goes to die,” says Kristine Kobe, EVP and global client lead at Monks on the General Motors account, who has years of experience building in-house teams including helping to establish Molson Coors’ internal creative agency. “I am 100% against that. I don’t believe that. I would say my track record proves that in-housing is where creative goes to thrive and grow, and with the right AI partner that can enable that kind of speed to market, the possibilities are endless.”
As agencies consolidate and pressure on marketing performance intensifies, in-housing has become table stakes. The debate is no longer about whether creative and media should live in-house, but how brands structure internal teams alongside external partners so they can operate under pressure and grow at scale.
Other authorsSee publication -
Four pillars to empower your in-house agency. Learn what it takes to be a creative powerhouse.
Aquent Studios
See publicationKey Takeaways:
-The four pillars that lead in-house creative agencies are identity, process, structure, and positioning.
Identity involves recognizing unique competence, defining the agency's identity, becoming the preferred choice, and communicating the identity.
-Process focuses on streamlined operations, fostering creativity, managing workflow, and balancing precision and freedom.
-Structure looks at team composition, skills and talent, external partnerships, and aligning…Key Takeaways:
-The four pillars that lead in-house creative agencies are identity, process, structure, and positioning.
Identity involves recognizing unique competence, defining the agency's identity, becoming the preferred choice, and communicating the identity.
-Process focuses on streamlined operations, fostering creativity, managing workflow, and balancing precision and freedom.
-Structure looks at team composition, skills and talent, external partnerships, and aligning capabilities with identity.
-Positioning involves mastering perception through client interactions, work presentations, and brand communication to establish the agency as a strategic partner. -
4 Ways to Elevate In-House Creative Agencies
Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
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Bringing Together the Best Creative Talent Worldwide
Design Rush
See publicationImagine having a global pool of creatives at your fingertips and the opportunity to create a tailor-made team of professionals for any client brought together virtually from all over the world. Aquent Studios, the global co-creation agency and part of global work solutions company Aquent, has made this a reality, for clients and digital nomads alike.
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How Brands Can Find the Right Talent to Revolutionize Their Mobile Presence
Mobile Marketer
See publicationAuthor of contributed article published in:
Mobile Marketer: The News Leader in Mobile Marketing, Media and Commerce
12/2012: Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising
Projects
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Keynote speaker: ANA AFM conference: From vendor chaos to creative engine: How ServiceNow consolidated 100+ partners into one AI-native content studio
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Most enterprise marketing teams are drowning in vendor complexity—hundreds of creative partners producing inconsistent work across regions with zero accountability. ServiceNow's Marketing Procurement and Brand Operations teams took a different approach: they didn't just consolidate vendors, they built an entirely new operating model. In this session, hear how they transformed fragmented creative production into a single embedded studio powered by AI, delivering higher quality work at global…
Most enterprise marketing teams are drowning in vendor complexity—hundreds of creative partners producing inconsistent work across regions with zero accountability. ServiceNow's Marketing Procurement and Brand Operations teams took a different approach: they didn't just consolidate vendors, they built an entirely new operating model. In this session, hear how they transformed fragmented creative production into a single embedded studio powered by AI, delivering higher quality work at global speed. Speakers will share how they structured the partnership to separate creative vision (owned internally) from scaled execution (delivered by the studio), how AI fits into the workflow without compromising brand standards, and what it takes to get Marketing, Creative, and Procurement aligned around one model.
Other creators -
Featured Speaker: ProcureCon Marketing: AI Acquisition Without Regret: Avoiding Pitfalls in Marketing Tech Procurement
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AI Acquisition Without Regret: Avoiding Pitfalls in Marketing Tech Procurement Transformation and Disruption may seem like overhyped terms, but 2025 may just be the most transformative and disruptive year for marketers yet. AI is at the forefront of that revolution and marketing procurement needs to know the best approaches on future-proofing their organizations. Learn from experts on the best practices for acquiring AI services. Get answers to your questions like what does proof of concept…
AI Acquisition Without Regret: Avoiding Pitfalls in Marketing Tech Procurement Transformation and Disruption may seem like overhyped terms, but 2025 may just be the most transformative and disruptive year for marketers yet. AI is at the forefront of that revolution and marketing procurement needs to know the best approaches on future-proofing their organizations. Learn from experts on the best practices for acquiring AI services. Get answers to your questions like what does proof of concept look like? When to review and double down? And how many MSA’s do you need to get more tech stack? The landscape is changing rapidly, and you need these tools to move forward in your organization. ● Understand when and how to review, scale, or pivot AI investments ● Learn how to evaluate long-term value versus short-term hype in AI solutions ● Recognize what green and red flags to look out for in your AI partnerships
Other creators -
Featured Speaker: Association of National Advertisers (ANA) In-House Agency Conference
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Featured speaker at ANA's annual In-House Agency Conference. Speech title: "Harnessing Generative AI Through Strategic Agency Partnerships: A Blueprint for In-House Creative Leaders"
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Featured Speaker: Henry Stewart Creative Operations Conference - LA
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Featured speaker at Henry Stewart Creative Operations Conference in Los Angeles. Session title: From Tactical to Transformational: The Four Cornerstones of World-Class In-House Agencies
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Featured Speaker: Association of National Advertisers (ANA) In-House Agency Conference
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Featured speaker at ANA's annual In-House Agency Conference. Speech title: "The Importance of Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable (Creative Transformations)"
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Featured Speaker: Association of National Advertisers (ANA) In-House Agency Conference
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Featured speaker at ANA's annual In-House Agency Conference. Speech title: "4 Imperatives That Transformational In-House Agencies Get Right Every Time"
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