Could in-house production be getting in the way of creativity? In March 2022, EKCS asked delegates at The Henry Stewart Creative Operations event in London what their biggest challenges were for their team. In the ‘challenges for IHAs in a post-pandemic world’ survey, 27% of IHAs said ‘finding time for creative work.’
Making Creative Work Better
A 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.
According to the 2019 In-house Creative Report by Boss and Cella, the top four activities for an internal agency are:
- graphic design
- production design
- digital design
- ad banners
A list like that can sound more like a factory than a creative innovation hub. In 2022, one thing is clear. If you don’t find time for creativity, then your agency will become a factory.
Does your art-worker really want to resize multiple print adverts or your web developer create banner variations when they could be working on ideation and other creative elements? Chances are they are consumed by production and as a result, are missing out on bigger creative projects.
The Truth About Creative Production Outsourcing
Creative production outsourcing is not about trying to reduce headcount. You may well have a fantastic in-house team, but it’s not realistic that your employees are always going to have the creative production skills you need especially given the speed at which digital production is evolving.
Outsourcing creative production enables you to save time and allow your skilled in-house people to focus on their strengths such as, ideation, creativity and design.
Keeping Creative In-House
Keeping creative in-house is fundamental to outsourcing success. In-house agency teams consist of talented individuals and therefore they should always be leading creative strategy. A real value of an IHA is bringing creativity close to the brand and selective outsourcing works in the best interest of the brands and their IHAs.
