It is always the question in a lot of organizations. Where does the creative team report to, where does their budget come from, how do costs get replicated to actual client job cards? In the 2018 survey of over 400 in-house creative teams in agencies, the questions get highlighted and answered. 

Digital Marketing is not anymore like traditional marketing. In the era of digital transformation happening everywhere, marketers want a proof of their investment. Dieter Hovorka CTO, Co-founder, Skillz Middle East

The 2018 In-House Creative Industry Report by Cella The BOSS Group looks into the creative departments and compiled a summary of the report which we illustrated in the infographic below. Let’s have a quick look at the most important findings in the survey. Department Organization 83% of responding creative leaders indicated their department reported through a strategic, value-adding department such as marketing, communications, advertising, brand or some combination of those divisions. When the creative team is positioned within one of these divisions, the organization is more likely to be considered strategic and value-adding. In contrast, when a creative team reports through a shared-services division, the department is often viewed as a commodity, which makes it more difficult to succeed in becoming a strategic partner. It is possible to overcome the disadvantage of not being aligned with the marketing (or alike) department; it just requires the creative team to create a brand for itself outside of its “home”.Leaders of in-house groups regularly face ongoing competing priorities, leaving them without adequate time to develop their leadership teams. It is important that leaders prioritize professional development for themselves and their direct reports to ensure the ongoing growth and success of the team members and group. Q: Into which division does your creative team/in-house agency report?

1 Hybrid of two or more: advertising, brand, marketing, communications and/or sales 2 Other includes advertising, brand and public affairs 3 Other includes but is not limited to: R&D, procurement, legal, finance, misc. executives

Department  Funding Regardless of an in-house agency’s financial model, proving the group’s value is a constant expectation. Tangible results stem from managing your group’s budget and demonstrating cost savings against external agencies, in addition to providing on-time, high-quality creative. Instituting a chargeback funding model is a natural evolution for an internal creative organization and an important step in eliminating a number of challenges common to “free” creative services. Typically, this shift is due to several factors, including department size, project volume/workload, resourcing and competition with outside agencies. This evolution requires many organizational changes that include standardization of processes and procedures, internal marketing activities, realignment of resources and improved project management. Moving to a chargeback model signals the team will operate more like a creative agency in both business operations and creative direction. Being a cost center (non-chargeback department) can be a great thing, the creative leader can focus on the value of the creative that his or her team is creating and won’t be burdened by financial pressures. However, the most significant challenges for non-chargeback departments still remains affecting client behaviors. Q: Have you ever been asked to provide a cost comparison between your in-house team and comparable external agencies?

The smaller a creative team/in-house agency, the more likely they are to not charge back. Case in point: only 27