Agency vs. In-House: Which do you really need?

By: Lisa Slagle, founder & creative director

Sometimes life is funny in that the same question comes up repeatedly, yet manifests itself in different ways. I can’t tell you how many times in the last month at Wheelie that I have answered the same question catered to different client needs, so I figured it was time to write an article about it:

Should you hire an agency or an in-house marketing team?
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You’d think, as the owner of an agency, I’d blurt out, “creative agency, duh!” and carry on with my day, but there’s actually an element of complexity to this question, and it deserves a robust answer.
If you’re a marketing manager, CEO, or business owner, you may be wrestling with the option of hiring a creative agency to help with your needs OR hiring an in-house employee to act as a designer or creative coordinator. There are advantages to both, and it kind of depends on what you are looking for.
Let’s do this:

Advantages to hiring an in-house employee:

• Control: You dictate their creative limitations, their deadlines, and you don’t have to worry about project budget when you know what their salary is.
• Proximity: They’re only one desk away, on call whenever you need them.
• No waiting game: You know exactly what they are doing at all times, and there is never any lag time where you’re waiting for the deliverables to come back into your hands. You can walk to this person’s desk and check on project status whenever you like.
• Full brand immersion: This employee now lives and breathes your brand. That’s their full time job, and they will learn its nuances like none other.

Disadvantages to hiring an in-house employee:

• You get one brain, with one way of thinking and the ceiling of one person’s creative capacity and skills.
• Management: You now have to manage this person, which means managing the creative process. This is typically a lot more work than people expect. Have you ever tried to manage an artist? Do you know how to cultivate creativity? What do you do if your designer has creative block? How do you describe your ideas to a person who thinks very differently than you do with a vocabulary of their own? How do you talk about design with your boss and to your designer to gather the pertinent information that a creative needs to reach the project requirements? (This bullet point is typically a major pain point for our clients, so we handle it for them.)
• Equipment: You have to provide all technology, computer programs, and a fancy iMac and camera gear for this person. This is expensive and becomes outdated quickly. And you have to fix it if it breaks.

Advantages to hiring an agency:

• Brains: This is not a “Creative Coordinator” right out of college. You get an entire team of educated, innovative, highly-experienced people working together like a well-oiled machine to meet your brand’s goals. For $40k, you can have one in-house employee OR for the same amount, you can hire an agency, and you get 10 people working on your project. (This is argument enough, and I could really just mic drop and stop talking here.)
• Technology: An agency comes with the best equipment, most up-to-date technology, and the knowledge of how to use them. (And you don’t have to fix any of it if something breaks.)
• Calculated Wisdom: An agency will provide you with advanced tracking and analysis. Anyone can look at Google Analytics, but an agency will take it to the next level and tell you what these stats actually mean for your brand and what to do next.
• Dynamics: An agency works with lots of brands, so complacency and stagnation are words that don’t exist in their environment. Their well-rounded approach to all things creative keeps your brand fresh, exciting, and cutting-edge.
• Best of all, you don’t have to manage anything. You communicate with a project manager about deadlines, and eventually go to the agency's office and drink their coffee or beer while the creative director shows you what they’ve made for your brand and why it will work. Boom.
• Passion: Agency nerds love what they do. They’ll keep your brand ahead of the game. It’s not just a 9-5 job for them. They’re in it to win it for you.

Disadvantages to hiring an agency:

• This can be overkill if you only need simple, repetitive tasks that someone fresh out of school could perform.
• A bit of lag time between creation and client approval. (This can be easily understood with a clear project schedule created between the client and the project manager.)
• Lack of control: It’s like ordering a meal in a restaurant— you don’t watch the chefs cook. You order what you want, kick back, and enjoy the meal.

Just a random moment at the Wheelie HQ

In conclusion:
You may want to hire an in-house employee if you have a lot of repetitive tasks that don’t require constant exploration of creative ideas, analysis, and progression. If you don’t need cutting-edge tactics or technology, but simply want to maintain a lot of specific details about your brand, an in-house creative coordinator just might do the trick. 
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If you’re trying to elevate your brand and stay progressive and interesting to your customers, an agency is the way to go. Lots of brains are better than one brain thinking about your goals. If you have heavy competition and need to stand out in a crowded marketplace, you’re going to want an agency to help you track, measure, and shine. 
And who can argue with free coffee and beer?

-Lisa

Unsure if you need a full-blown agency?
​Feel free to call me directly, and we’ll talk about your needs and goals: 406-862-1440