As an in-house marketing agency, there is a constant need to accelerate, mature and further adapt to the needs of the brands you work with. Staying relevant to your audience is crucial, and keeping on top of the latest trends in an ever-evolving landscape has never been more important.
Industry reports reveal that in-house agencies made fresh gains in team size, popularity, skills, and efficiency in 2021. They are in an even more advantageous position heading into 2022, as they massively increased their reach during the pandemic. That growth is not stopping anytime soon. The Drum reports that 57% of multinationals now have in-house creative teams, a percentage bound to rise.
Here are some top trends you need to look out for 2022:
New Creative Opportunities with AI Technology
According to a new study, the time for AI and creativity is now. AI is quickly becoming the future of advertising. Marketers are already using AI to identify and segment audiences, create ads, optimize spending, and test ad performance – in real-time and at scale.
In a recent We Are Amnet report, we found that using AI in data analysis and customer behavior prediction, with the concomitant increase of data-advised content, is a key trend for 2022. Brands recognise the need to keep up with the increasing pace of technological development as the brands surveyed say there has been some decoupling of previously specialized skills: 40% for AI functions in-house, 38% for augmented reality, and another 33% for the critical role of content.
In today’s content-driven world, in-house agencies are increasingly positioned at the center of an organization’s digital supply chain. When integrating AI, they add significant value through better integration and more in-depth knowledge of the brand and business.
Remote Work Enforcing Trust in Offshoring
Remote working is now widely accepted since the outbreak of Covid-19 – employers who were previously concerned that communication and productivity would suffer have seen that work productivity has largely increased and through the adaptation to new tools and ways of working communication continued to function effectively.
Now more in-house agencies and brands are set up for external collaboration and have proof in its efficiency, the confidence in working with an offshore partner has increased. Offshoring has been gaining momentum over the last 5 years, and the covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated this trend, which we expect to continue into 2022 and beyond.
Digital Transformation
Companies are rapidly expanding the size of their in-house creative agencies, specifically for digital content – 73% of respondents to a recent WFA report hire creative services in-house for video production, video, email/eCRM, collateral like e-brochures and sales kits, and social media. A recent We Are Ament report also found that most brands currently employ in-house agencies to increase digitalisation.
We expect this trend to continue because of the increased demand for short form video and the increasing use of real time content and relevancy based marketing.
Growing Popularity in Podcasts
The popularity of podcasts is increasing as more marketers and consumers allocate a greater amount of their budgets to audio and perceive it as the new ‘it’ content solution.
The podcast industry is expected to continue to grow in the years ahead, with over 48 million episodes already produced in 2021 and in-house agencies are perfectly placed to produce the podcasts, with exceptional brand knowledge and connections within the brand they are working for.
Talent acquisition
In-house agencies continue to face the challenge of attracting and retaining talent going into 2022. In a ‘buyers’ market,’ workers and executives are quitting in droves for better opportunities, according to AdAge. The struggle to find the right talent required for expanding teams is evident.
A report by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) found that one of the top challenges for in-house agencies is attracting top-tier agency in-house talent, and 43% of in-house agencies polled by Digiday Research disagreed with the statement that working at an IHA has made it easier for them to hire and retain staff.
Therefore, with cost savings of 40% across all omnichannel services and flexible, scalable resource solutions to address the US “great resignation” and talent shortages, in-house agencies are increasingly partnering with offshore providers.
Talk to us about how We Are Amnet can ensure consistency across your brand and save 40% with Smartshoring®, which utilizes the best talent, wherever it is in the world.
