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.

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In-house creative teams must prove their worth every day. While agencies often offer much-needed support and perspective, it can prove tricky when agencies enter the picture to “sell” their capabilities. Agency life may appear more glamorous than your team’s daily grind, and your team members may feel the most meaningful work is being taken from them in favor of the agency. In my career I’ve often seen internal teams become protective and defensive. In extreme cases there can be a lack of communication between in-house and agency teams that jeopardizes the success of all. The larger the in-house team, the more sensitive the situation can get. The ultimate proof of competing interests is an in-house team proudly saying they “saved the job” when they took over an assignment from an agency that after many attempts didn’t deliver the expected result. This “savior glory” is clearly not productive. [membership level=”1,2″]

Change the attitude

As an in-house creative team, you play an important role in the success of your business or organization. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem. If success means using the best expertise available, then considering outside resources is key. It is important to objectively assess the situation, admit where your strengths are and collaborate to deliver the best possible result. Partnership is almost always the better option.
Your contribution is crucial to ensuring the agency delivers to the best of their ability. There are significant benefits to be derived by leveraging agency expertise in research, advertising strategy, social and mobile media, ecommerce and emerging trends. You can become the essential hub in the process.

Top reasons for partnering

Partnering with agencies is often in the best interest of the business or organization and your internal team, so as a leader you must work to take away the fear of bringing in outside expertise and embrace the possibilities. It is difficult to do everything on your own. Beyond simply sharing the workload, there are other key reasons to further agency relationships:
1. Keeping up with a dynamic business environment
New products, new markets, new media. Business needs change fast, and the channels for creative delivery move at the same speed. When you are open to external agency partnership, you are more agile and can help select the best resource to fit any new demand.
2. “Integrated” creative excellence
Seeing the in-house creative team as the “integrators” makes you a crucial player in leveraging the high-level expertise provided by agencies. Integrated communication is key and a consistent user experience drives successful businesses. Designing a complete user experience means you are a liaison, not a subject matter expert.
3. Career development for your team
By being exposed to high-quality agency delivery, the in-house team can learn from new or different approaches or creative delivery in another field. It can also provide inspiration and education that your team members can leverage at a later stage in their career.
4. Efficient delivery
Agencies thrive by selling “new business” and will do the best to add more services when possible. Keeping an eye on not doubling the work that is done in-house happens when there is true partnership. With clear role definition there is no concern for duplicated efforts.

What a partnership looks like

“Who is doing what” can be a big question. Clarify the roles and capabilities of your team and put that in the context of the project plan. The in-house team’s role could be defined as the “brand custodian,” “owner of assets (distribution),” “internal knowledge base for creative support” or in the most optimal state the “design manager.”
The role is crucial in the briefing, review and pre-production stages. Being part of the kick-off and co-development of the creative brief, and being part of the review platform, allows for contributing knowledge, insights, and sometimes a view that helps outside creatives understand the client’s strategy and objectives better.

Providing value to the business

The in-house team will be perceived as a valuable internal creative partner if they are agile and able to support the agency delivery process. No matter what the in-house team’s role is (design, production, implementation or strategy), being a contributor, or in some cases, a leader of the agency process, the input and guidance you bring to the table is “the creative voice from the client’s side” that is needed.[/membership]
Article by Jenni Heerink, Creative Director at NewellRubbermaid – DYMO brand
Jenni is managing the internal design team of DYMO within NewellRubbermaid and is responsible for initiating, executing and distributing strategic brand design in the areas of packaging, print, web. As DYMO is a global brand, Jenni deals with global complexity and manages the delivery of designs for all regions. Before Newell Rubbermaid, Jenni spent 16 years with Philips Design, and specialized in Brand Integration Design and Shopper Experience Design.

The 2012 In-House Creative Services Industry Report is now available! Get an insider’s view into the current state of in-house creative teams, including insights like these from several creative leaders. Download a free copy of the report now at www.creativeindustryreport.com!

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