In-housing continues to be a significant area of interest for advertisers. In our recent report, we revealed that nearly half (49%) of UK marketers plan to move more of their digital marketing in-house in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. An in-housing programme can bring a number of benefits, but there can also be some unexpected challenges.
Over a third of our survey respondents identified finding talent as one of the key barriers to in-housing their digital media. Generally, this focus is at a macro level – particularly in finding social, search or programmatic experts. But at a more micro level, most advertisers don’t preempt the challenges involved with replacing the niche skills and knowledge that they can currently access via their agency – creating the part people problem.
Accessing niche resources when in-housing digital media
One of the benefits of working with an agency is access to a depth of specialist knowledge. If you need some advice on how best to reflect a new tagging protocol, or to build a script, connect a tool, make a connection with a publisher or troubleshoot set-up, there is someone within the agency who probably knows an answer. Typically these questions would be answered by a variety of people, each with a number of clients. So how can advertisers replicate this in their in-house set-up if there isn’t sufficient scale to have multiple specialist roles?
1. Find the unicorn
There are many digital marketers with a broad skillset, so it is possible to find someone who fulfils the 10% of advertising operations, 15% advanced analytics and 75% PPC resource you previously had access to.
✓ No duplication of resource; structure has the number of people/expertise required
✓ Integrated specialist and activation capabilities
Х Limited people in market with exactly the blend of skills required
Х Can therefore mean longer recruitment lead times and higher costs
2. Adapt your marketing operations to the relevant team
Some brands will adapt their marketing organisations to fit the resources available; for example, choosing one demand-side platform over another because it’s easier to staff. Or moving all martech/adtech technical knowledge out of the marketing team and into the technology function.
✓ Pragmatic approach to resource limitations
✓ Recruitment and cost timelines therefore easier to meet
Х Can be detrimental to performance (e.g. if using a less appropriate tool due to staffing concerns)
Х Missed opportunity to set marketing operations up for success, locking into a suboptimal model
3. Outsource niche digital specialisms
Recruit experts into the marketing function bolstered by dial-up/dial down access to specialists as they’re required for specific challenges.
✓ Maintains the benefits of working with an agency whilst keeping ownership fully in house
✓ In-house operation focuses on core competencies (easier to recruit and manage)
Х Requires a flexible partner and the vast majority of agencies are not set up to offer this model (Croud’s in-housing solutions are established to meet this need)
Croud’s in-housing solutions were established to meet the needs of in-house marketers and solve challenges like the part people problem. To get access to a personalised roadmap towards in-housing your digital media, take our In-housing readiness assessment today!
