What does "in-house" actually mean?
In his column «What Does It Actually Mean…?», Benno Maggi explains terms from the fields of marketing and communications. This time, he shares his thoughts on the adverb «in-house.».
Every few decades, the time has come: insourcing is booming and the term "in-house" is on everyone's lips. It means: developing something within one's own company or - more antiquated - in-house.
Instead of increasing spending and fees for external parties, there is currently a lot of haggling in the budget rounds for in-house resources or - more modernly - pitching for an increase in FTEs in marketing and communications. Always with the argument: We can do that ourselves.
The pioneers of the current in-house wave, Digitec and On, are often cited as examples. With intelligent marketing, creative advertising, and clever communication, among other things, the former will clearly lead the Swiss e-commerce market in 2020 with 1,826 billion, while the latter has just catapulted itself onto the New York Stock Exchange. All this without agencies - at least that's the popular myth currently circulating through marketing departments. "We can do it ourselves," they say - and actually mean "better" in a self-overestimating way.
Together against mediocrity
The last big wave of insourcing was triggered by a clumsy DIY spot on a local radio station. Today, Digitec and On, rather than an elderly gentleman in a white coat, must serve as the argument for insourcing.
What is forgotten yesterday, as it is today, is that top performance requires the right conditions. In the case of the ON-Shoes brand, these are above all the skills and experience of the three founders and their ability to combine and multiply them by creating a working environment that attracts motivated professionals. At Digitec, it's the self-developed store engine and ERP, as well as the clever logistics behind it, but also an organization that leaves decisions to those with expertise.
Such conditions are what create the breeding ground for exceptional marketing and consistently implemented advertising. If these are right, then in-house can become a success story. If they are not, the pendulum will swing back to outsourcing. And that this is not the solution either is shown by the current quality of market performance in our industry. Therefore, instead of whining about insourcing, agencies should work with their clients to create an environment that enables top performance on both sides.
* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.
