Subcontract vs. In-House: How to Go About Hiring Creatives?

In the digital age, just simply having a good product or service is no longer enough to beat out your competitors – presentation is crucial. From creating brand images to promotion strategies, hiring the right creatives has a significant effect on the success of any product launch and sales. According to IBISWorld, as of 2020, digital advertising agencies alone have a market size of $16bn in the U.S.

So, what does this mean for hiring managers? In placing more emphasis on presentation and promotion, is it better to seek out an agency, or hire more in-house creatives?

Subcontracting an Advertisement Agency

Advertising agencies typically provide a range of services such as creative advice, account management, media planning and buying, and production of advertising material. Some of the benefits of subcontracting an agency rather than delegating the work in-house would be:

• If you’re not rolling out with a new product constantly, you can subcontract an agency only when you need a project done.
• A team that works for several companies has exposure across different markets and trends where they can extract inspiration from.
• They are not trapped in just your company’s products and images. This prevents their mind from becoming dormant focusing on the same thing for too long.
• They are experts in this area. They already possess advanced technical skills and most likely own more resources (such as software) to execute the project.

Hiring In-House

Hiring in-house can mean one or two employees or an entire department dedicated to the cause. Regardless of the scale, hiring in-house can bring a different set of benefits that advertising agencies would likely not be able to offer.

• In-house employees are dedicated to your company and products full-time and can work with the deadlines you need. This reduces the complications of negotiating a deadline because they have other work to attend to.
• As your company’s employee, they will know your products better. They will have a clearer idea of what exactly is the primary selling point and work directly from that knowledge.
• In-house employees would work exclusively with software and mediums your company is already aware of and comfortable with. This helps avoid a potential formatting or data transfer issue.
• They can check on advertisement analytics and provide reports on strategy performance more frequently and faster upon request.

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

So, what is the best hiring strategy? As an old saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. A combination of subcontracting and hiring in-house would likely yield the best results for your company. Have your own employees that know your product best to work with a professional agency! A collaboration can efficiently reduce the time needed to complete the project while still producing fantastic results.

Taking a step back, it might be even more beneficial for your company to just start hiring more creative minds in all positions. In recent years, demand for STEAM majors – with A standing for Arts – is becoming increasingly prominent. By cultivating a thought-provoking and creative environment in the developmental stages, these employees can add elements that will be helpful to the advertising process.

The ability to think in images and appreciate visual compositions can jumpstart the presentation preparation. Artistic staff that aren’t afraid to be unconventional can introduce refreshing presentation ideas even when the product itself has not undergone any major changes. Next time when you’re hiring for any position, keep creativity in mind and in your ideal candidate profile!