Brand Knowledge
Having an understanding of brand guidelines, consumer profiles, segmentation, and how consumers interact with a brand is crucial for marketing success. In-house team members live and breathe the brand every day, and they will inherently have more in-depth knowledge of it than outside agencies partners.
Still, while agency employees may have a lower level of brand-specific knowledge, they have a comprehensive understanding of the vertical and best practices across the industry, given the typical fractional time dedicated to any given client. Therefore, having a partnership where the in-house and agency teams can collaborate will result in the most on-brand, well-informed strategy.
Ultimately, the question isn’t whether to take marketing in-house or outsource it, but how to find a collaborative balance that allows the brand to accelerate its marketing as seamlessly and logically as possible. It’s highly improbable for a company to have all the skillsets and knowledge areas needed to be successful using a single all-in-house or all-agency team. Taking everything in-house presents issues with scalability and talent acquisition. Outsourcing everything makes it difficult to stay connected to the brand and understand how the business operates at the ideal level. But when a partnership is in balance and the right mix of in-house and outsourced agency resources is achieved, optimal business results are realized.
The best approach to brand management requires clear communication, defined goals and objectives, and best-of-breed talent and software. It doesn’t quite take a village to build a brand, but it does take a strong partnership.