Fifteen years ago, most big brands paid an agency to run their marketing. Today, more than four in five run their own in-house teams. Here's why, what they moved in-house first, and the catch that catches most of them out.
The ANA found 82% of its members had in-house agencies in 2023, up from 42% in 2008. Companies bring marketing in-house for cost efficiency, brand and institutional knowledge, and to own their data, and 92% still use outside agencies for extra capacity. The catch: keeping in-house talent energised is the top concern, cited by 63%. Plan for training, documented playbooks and outside perspective from day one.
- In-house agencies among ANA members rose from 42% (2008) to 58% (2013), 78% (2018) and 82% (2023).
- 65% moved some agency work in-house in the past three years; 61% of all work is now done in-house on average.
- 92% still use external agencies too, mainly for extra capacity or missing skills.
- Business performance is replacing cost savings as the way in-house teams are judged (45% to 59%).
- The top challenge is keeping in-house talent energised (63%), so plan training and outside perspective from the start.
How fast has in-house marketing grown?
Every five years since 2008, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the US trade body for brand marketers, has asked its members whether they run an in-house agency: a team that does work an outside agency would otherwise do. The answers tell a clear story (ANA, 2018; ANA, 2023):
ANA members with an in-house agency
In fifteen years, having your own marketing team went from a minority choice to the norm among large advertisers. And it's still deepening. In the 2023 study, 88% said in-house workload had grown in the past year, 67% said it had grown "a lot", and 65% had moved some established work from agencies to their in-house team in the past three years. On average, 61% of all work is now done in-house, up from 58% in 2018 (ANA, 2023).
What's moving in-house?
The ANA found the work being brought in-house covers almost everything marketing does (ANA, 2023):
- Digital creative: social, search and email.
- Traditional creative: print collateral, direct mail, internal communications, outdoor and radio.
- Media: social and search, and media strategy. 54% of in-house agencies now handle some media planning or buying.
Notice what that list includes: social and search, the channels most Indian SMBs rely on agencies for. These are no longer seen as specialist work only an outside firm can do.
Why are brands bringing marketing in-house?
Cost efficiency was the top-ranked benefit by a wide margin, followed by better brand knowledge, institutional knowledge and dedicated staff. The ANA also identified the desire to own and protect first-party data as a driver (ANA, 2023).
The more interesting change is in how companies judge their in-house teams. Cost savings as a top measure fell from 69% in 2018 to 62% in 2023, while business performance rose from 45% to 59%. In-house teams started as a way to save money. Now they're expected to drive results.
The same shift shows up in budgets. Gartner found labour's share of marketing budgets rose from 21.9% in 2025 to 24.5% in 2026 (Gartner, June 2026), and 39% of CMOs plan to cut agency budgets (Gartner, 2025). Money is moving from rented capability to owned capability.
Does in-house mean no agencies?
No, and this is often misunderstood. In the 2023 ANA study, 92% of companies with in-house agencies still work with external agencies too. They mostly use them for extra capacity or for skills they don't have in-house (ANA, 2023).
The difference is who's in charge. When you own the team, the accounts and the data, agencies become specialists you call in, not a dependency you can't leave. That's the model we help build.
What's the catch?
Building the team turned out to be the easy part. When the ANA studied how members manage their in-house agencies, the leading concern was keeping in-house creative talent energised, cited by 63% of respondents. Attracting top-tier talent came second at 44%, and applying key marketing processes third at 37% (ANA, 2019).
Top concerns in managing an in-house agency
It's a real risk. An in-house team works on one brand, day after day. Without fresh challenges, training and outside perspective, it can drift into routine: the same campaigns, the same channels, the same results. Agencies see many businesses. In-house teams have to work harder to keep learning.
The ANA also found the top operational challenges were managing workflow as projects pile up, scaling efficiently and prioritising work. Those are management problems, not skills problems.
What this means for growing Indian businesses
These are large US advertisers, but the lesson travels. If you're building your first marketing team in Hyderabad or Bengaluru, plan for four things from the start.
1. Hire for learning, not just skills
Curious people who ask why outlast specialists who only know one tool. Tools change every quarter. Our guide to your first in-house hire covers what to look for.
2. Write the playbook down
Documented processes help new people get productive quickly and stop knowledge walking out when someone leaves. It's also what makes a team scalable.
3. Build in outside perspective
Regular training, peer reviews and an experienced adviser keep a team from going stale. This is what our Build-Operate-Manage model does: your team, with ongoing upskilling, weekly reviews and senior guidance.
4. Judge the team on business results
Follow the ANA's members: measure the team on leads, customers and revenue, not just on how much you saved by dropping the agency. Our post on reporting revenue instead of reach shows how.
Building in-house: three common paths
| Path | How it works | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Hire and figure it out | Recruit marketers yourself and learn as you go | Wrong first hires, slow start, no playbook |
| Keep the agency, add one person | An in-house coordinator manages the agency | Dependency stays; the coordinator rarely gets the know-how |
| Build-Operate-Transfer | A partner designs the team, hires onto your payroll, runs a pilot, then hands over | Needs someone in your business to lead after handover |
We compare the costs of each over three years in Agency, in-house or BOT? A founder's cost framework, and the first step of any build in The 4 moves of BOT.
A regional chain of diagnostic centres brings social media and Google Ads in-house with two hires. Six months later, results have plateaued: the team runs the same campaigns every month and hasn't tried anything new since launch.
What turns it around isn't more people. It's a monthly review against clear targets, a quarterly training plan and one new test every fortnight, written into the team's routine. That's the "keeping talent energised" problem, solved with management rather than headcount.
Owning your team is the start. Keeping it learning is how you win.
How Ad Asthra helps you build in-house, the right way
We help you get the benefits of an in-house team without the slow start or the talent drift.
Frequently asked questions
How many companies have in-house marketing teams?
Among members of the US Association of National Advertisers, 82% had in-house agencies in 2023, up from 78% in 2018, 58% in 2013 and 42% in 2008.
Why do companies move marketing in-house?
The ANA found cost efficiency is the top benefit, followed by better brand knowledge, institutional knowledge and dedicated staff. Owning and protecting first-party data is another driver.
Do in-house teams still use agencies?
Yes. In the ANA's 2023 study, 92% of companies with in-house agencies still worked with external agencies, mainly for extra capacity or capabilities they didn't have in-house.
What work do companies bring in-house first?
Digital creative such as social, search and email; traditional creative such as print and outdoor; and media, especially social and search. 54% of in-house agencies handle some media planning or buying.
What is the biggest challenge of an in-house marketing team?
Keeping talent energised. The ANA found it was the leading concern, cited by 63%, followed by attracting top-tier talent (44%) and applying key marketing processes (37%).
Is an in-house team right for a small business?
Often, if marketing is central to growth and you can support salaries and leadership. The key is to start with the right first hires, a written playbook and a plan for ongoing training.
How does Ad Asthra help companies build in-house teams?
Through Build-Operate-Transfer, we design and hire your team onto your payroll, run it through a 90-day pilot, then hand it over. Through Build-Operate-Manage, we stay on to lead and upskill the team.
Sources
- In-House Agencies No Longer A Trend, They're Here To Stay: ANA Report, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 2023
- Number Of In-House Agencies Rising Rapidly, Workloads Increasing: ANA Report, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 15 October 2018
- New Study Reveals Concerns For In-House Agency Management, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), 2019
- Gartner Marketing Survey Finds Awareness and Conversion Account for 62.6% of Total Media Spend, Gartner, 8 June 2026
- Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey Reveals Marketing Budgets Have Flatlined at 7.7% of Overall Company Revenue, Gartner, 12 May 2025
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