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. Over a quarter (27%) of in-house agencies (IHAs) said ‘finding time for creative work.’ So, how can we make creative work better?
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.
Production challenges
An EKCS poll conducted in 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. To free up time, creative production outsourcing could hold the answer.
Improving efficiency is one of the biggest challenges that creative teams face. Outsourcing your production design workload to offshore resources is a cost-effective way to quickly increase your resource pool. Offshore partners typically have access to large pools of inexpensive resources with specific training in production design.
Always leading the creative strategy
IHAs know the brand best and therefore they should always be leading the creative strategy. Creative production outsourcing is about enabling staff and your in-house team to do more. It’s not about trying to reduce headcount. There are many challenges that hinder creative output when working in-house.
As American management consultant, Peter Drucker, wrote in the Harvard Business Review back in the 1980s, “Do what you do best – and outsource the rest!”
Creating time to be creative
One key challenge in 2023 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?
In-house agencies often outsource these 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
