Since the rise of bid optimising / RTB there’s been more of an appetite for advertisers to seriously consider taking the digital media planning and buying function in-house, for many reasons whether cost savings or the function being closer to product.
Due to this, there’s been a shift in why and where people change jobs within the digital media industry.
Neil Middlemass’s recruitment consultancy ran a survey recently asking the burning key questions (below) to industry specialists resulting in the truth about moving in house being revealed.
The Headlines Why does everyone want to move in-house? Career Do client-side roles pay more? Will working client-side improve my career progression? Is it easier to diversify your channel exposure in-house? Are agency acquired skills valued higher than in-house skills? What draws senior agency people in-house? Hiring What are the benefits of employing agency people into in-house roles? Working Mechanics Do you have more influence and control working in-house? Is client-side work too far away from the action? Is it easier to get campaigns signed off in-house? Is it more difficult to stay up to date with the market in-house? Lifestyle Is the work/life balance better in-house? How does the social life at work differ? Where are in-house roles based? Working Environment How does the working culture differ in-house compared to agency? Do you have to work harder at an agency? How target-driven are in-house roles and how is success measured? Are the offices more or less impressive client-side? How big are in-house teams compared to agency side? How much does the vertical the company works in affect the culture of the company? Conclusions? After speaking to everyone, what did I learn?