In-house agencies became even more popular in marketing over recent years and have seen increased workloads, according to a new study from the Association of National Advertisers. 

“The Continued Rise of the In-House Agency: 2023 Edition” found that 82% of ANA members now have an in-house agency compared to 78% in 2018. The study, which is conducted every five years, has documented the growing trend of companies bringing advertising work in-house. In 2008, 42% of respondents reported in-house advertising capabilities and in 2013, that number rose to 58%.  

“This report definitively shows that in-house agencies have become a firmly entrenched part of the holistic marketing ecosystem and are now a mainstay among a majority of marketers,” ANA CEO Bob Liodice said in a statement. “The growth of in-house capabilities has clearly changed the client/agency relationship over the past 15 years.”

The survey was conducted in February and March 2023, with 162 ANA members responding. It defined an in-house agency as “a department, group, or person that has responsibilities that typically are performed by an external advertising or other marketing communications agency.” 

In the past year, 88% of those surveyed said the shops’ workloads had increased, including 67% who said the workloads had increased “a lot.” In the 2018 survey, 90% of respondents reported increased workloads.

Companies said the biggest benefit to in-house agencies is cost efficiency.

The report also identified the desire to own, control and protect first-party data as an important reason for bringing work in-house. Third-party cookie deprecation has increased the importance of marketers having a strategy to collect first-party data directly from their customers. Other benefits included a better knowledge of brands, institutional knowledge and dedicated staff. 

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Companies are still working with external agency partners as well. The report found 93% of respondents worked with at least one external agency, but still did an average of 61% of the work in-house. 

In 2018, 90% of companies worked with an external agency and about 58% of the work was done in-house. Over the past three years, 65% of respondents have moved businesses that used to be handled by their external agencies to their in-house agency. 

These companies typically choose to work with external agencies to relieve pressure on in-house agencies or to find capabilities that the internal agency doesn’t have. The services most often moved in-house included creative services and media services such as social media and search.