Guest Post by Kyle Sorvick
The economy is in rough shape. Customers aren’t spending money like they used to. Your company’s budget is tight. The need for promoting your company’s goods is at an all-time high. Now is the time for in-house creative departments to show their creativity and prove the value of expanding in-house creative resources. [membership level=”1,2″]Explore your company’s current outsourcing habits and develop your current internal resources to bring that work in-house.
Within Marcus Theatres’ creative department, we have quickly expanded our output of digital designs and creative support. To support this increased volume, we have also expanded our in-house team and saved thousands of dollars each year, thus reducing costs and proving our team’s value, both fiscally and creatively. This has been done by proving the value our department brings, which other resources can’t provide: keeping projects cost-effective and maintaining the company brand.
A creative team must always look ahead for opportunities to save company dollars and grow the department team’s capabilities and value. It is our in-house creative department’s goal to become a complete creative agency within our corporation. All companies need creative work/planning done by external resources at some point, but when these costs can be upwards of 6-10 times the cost of your internal staff, analysis needs to be done to determine what components you can accomplish internally to save the company money, and also grow your team’s capabilities and value. Quality, cost-effective projects will show others within your company the value of your team.
Another strength your internal team can highlight is your knowledge of the brand. No one should understand your company’s brand better than your creative department. Our internal creative team understands the culture of the Marcus Theatres Corporation and where it is headed in the future. The time it takes for an external resource to gain understanding of your company’s brand can lead to extra costs and a final product that may not be the desired end result.
While our creative department has come a long way in just 4 years, there are high hopes of growing our internal skills to include: video creation, copywriting, animation and photography. By eventually bringing these skill sets in-house, not only will we save the company money, but also enable Marcus Theatres to grow more diverse as we expand into this digital age. By keeping the idea of creating a full-service, creative agency within your company, your department will have the opportunity to grow. Prove the value of your creative team by highlighting how your work is more cost-effective and that no one knows the company’s brand like you do. Now is the time to showcase your team’s value.[/membership]
Kyle Sorvick has been the lead of the Marcus Theatres’ graphic and digital design department for 4 years and has over 10 years of design experience with companies such as Harley-Davidson, Northwestern Mutual, and Realtor.com. Since joining Marcus Theatres, Kyle and his team have helped developed designs that include a massive website redesign, digital signage rollout, and new branding guidelines.

Get more insights from in-house creative leaders like Kyle. Download your free copy of the 2012 In-House Creative Services Industry Report today.