Can creative production outsourcing help with creativity?

Could in-house production be getting in the way of creativity? In March 2022, EKCS asked delegates at Creative Operations London what their biggest challenges were for their team right now. In the ‘challenges for IHAs in a post-pandemic world’ survey, 27% of in-house agencies (IHAs) said ‘finding time for creative work.’ 

It was Albert Einstein who said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun." But these days, it’s all too easy to feel that there is little time to have fun, and even less time to be creative! The ability to think creatively is vital for in-house agencies and brands. Yet, so often it’s difficult, or even impossible, to harness our creativity when it is needed the most.

An EKCS poll conducted in April 2021 showed that one-fifth of IHA leaders still felt that they were mainly a production entity, running as a centralized production team over and above being creative-led. Does your artworker really want to resize print adverts or your web developer create multiple banners when they could be working on ideation and other creative elements?

Creating Time To Be Creative

Creative production outsourcing is all about enabling staff and your IHA to do more. IHAs consist of talented individuals who should always be leading creative strategy. There are so many challenges that hinder creative output when working in-house. But the key challenge is time, or lack of it. That’s why more and more IHAs are looking to outsource their creative production to an offshore partner.

What to outsource?

As American management consultant, Peter Drucker, wrote in the Harvard Business Review back in the 1980’s, “Do what you do best – and outsource the rest!” 

In-house agencies often outsource these seven areas to free up creative time. 

• Digital banners
• Artwork and retouching
• Content localisation (social, digital & video)
• Annual reports and PowerPoint 
• Video editing
• Post-production video editing and animation
• Web / Mobile App development