Now more than ever, in-house agencies and brands are being asked to do more with less. Brands around the world are assessing how they can make cost savings without compromising on creativity, quality, or productivity.
With inflation at record highs in many markets and talk of a global recession, in-house agencies are preparing for an economic downturn.
More than half (59%) of senior business executives from around the world, surveyed by IDC in October 2022 believe there will be a recession in the coming year. As global growth slows, with banks hiking interest rates in response to inflation, the world may well be edging toward a global recession in 2023.
Recession or restructuring
'Recession' and 'restructuring' are on everyone's lips. Hiring freezes are common.
For the creative industries, a recession will undoubtedly mean budgets will be reduced and there is the potential for staff layoffs. During the 2009’s Great Recession, advertising spending dropped by 12%, according to the average spending estimates from GroupM, Magna, and Zenith.
If in-house agencies and brands invest in greater efficiency now, however — while continuing to prioritize their talented staff— they can guard against the worst of the impact and position their businesses for long-term success. And one answer might lie in the outsourcing of creative production.
Offshoring
From giant brands like Microsoft to up-start startups like Katapult …if you look around, so many creative groups are harnessing the power of outsourcing as a way to do more for less.
The cost issue looms large now, as Marketing Directors and CMOs are under pressure to prove the ROI on their efforts, something like hiring additional freelancers or extra staff makes it difficult to achieve.
In-house agencies are now looking to make cost savings that do not compromise on creativity, quality, or productivity. Could creative production outsourcing hold the answer?
Creative production outsourcing
Driven by cost and efficiencies, it is likely that CMOs will lean on their in-house agencies to take on even more high-profile campaigns. However, restructures, cutbacks and time constraints mean that these teams often struggle with the volume of work.
For many years, access to a lower-cost resource was the primary benefit of an offshore model. While cost savings are still a key driver, one of their top reasons for offshoring,
other benefits are catalysts for in-house studios to start their offshore search.
Three benefits of creative production outsourcing
In addition to budget savings, creative production outsourcing are:
- Using offshore partners who are working in different time zones enables creative teams to meet deadlines. They work while you sleep!
- You keep your creative in-house and outsource the production elements, this saves your designer from creating multiple banner adverts!
- You'll access a bigger pool of talent with an offshore team who has the experience of working with different clients and understands production trends.
Creative Production New York May 25th
EKCS is delighted to be the Silver Sponsor for Henry Stewart's Creative Production New York 2023 on May 25th, their conference dedicated to The World of Creative Production. Why not join us?
Robert Berkeley, CEO of EKCS, will explore if brands and in-house agencies can increase their output without increasing headcount.
Use our exclusive discount code EKCS100 to save $100 on the conference fee.
