In-House. External. Hybrid. Why Not Both?

It started as a cost-saving measure. That’s how most in-house agencies are born. A few designers. Maybe a copywriter. A content manager. The logic is simple: if we create so much content every week, why not hire a few people internally and avoid paying agency markups?

But that logic, while financially sound, doesn’t capture the full picture. Because once the team is in place, something shifts. Stakeholders expect more than faster banners and cheaper brochures. They want ideas. They want campaigns that move the brand forward. They want creativity.

This is where the conversation gets interesting. Not just cheaper. Better. Not just faster. Smarter. Suddenly, we’re not talking about execution. We’re talking about ambition. We’re talking about creative leadership. And we’re faced with a question most brands still struggle to answer.

Should we build this internally? Or call in the agency?

It’s the wrong question.

The truth is, the most future-ready brands are not choosing between in-house and external. They’re designing systems that give them both. Not a compromise. A competitive advantage. And in many of the best cases, they’re letting external partners build the in-house setup for them.

This article is about that shift. About moving beyond the old binary of “either/or” and embracing a hybrid model that actually works. One that combines the depth of brand intimacy with the freshness of external perspective. One that delivers speed and consistency without sacrificing creativity. And one that’s increasingly driven by a new type of partner. Not just an agency. A builder.

The Rise (and Rise) of In-House

Over the past decade, in-house agencies have moved from fringe experiment to industry standard. Today, most large brands have internal creative teams. And not just for execution. According to the latest In-House Barometer, more than half of all in-house teams now handle Tier 1 creative work. We’re talking lead campaigns, concept development, and brand storytelling.

This evolution didn’t happen overnight. It came in waves.

First, the production wave. Teams were built to make things faster and cheaper. Volume work. Always-on content. Templates and turnarounds.

Then came the content wave. Social-first creative. Brand voices adapted to multiple channels. New roles like motion designers and channel strategists were added to the mix.

Now we’re in the third wave. Strategy and creativity. In-house teams leading brand platforms. Winning awards. Competing with traditional agencies not just on cost, but on craft.

And yet. For all this progress, most in-house teams still struggle with something fundamental: structure.

Why In-House Alone Isn’t Enough

Being inside the brand gives you access. Access to stakeholders. Access to data. Access to the real-time shifts in strategy that an external agency might not catch until it’s too late.

But access alone is not a substitute for perspective. And this is where in-house teams run into trouble.

We see it again and again. Teams that are overloaded with production requests and can’t find time for real creativity. Teams that are so embedded in the brand’s internal logic that they lose their ability to surprise. Teams that burn out because they’re asked to deliver at the speed of execution while also owning strategy.

Add to that the challenge of hiring and retaining senior creative talent. Building a culture of feedback. Measuring creative effectiveness. Managing expectations from twenty different stakeholders, all with their own KPIs. It’s a lot.

The ambition is there. But the setup isn’t always ready to support it.

That’s why the smartest brands are starting to look outside. Not to outsource the work. But to help build the in-house system that can.

What External Agencies Still Do Best

Let’s not forget why agencies became powerful in the first place.

They bring outside perspective. The ability to cross-pollinate ideas across categories. They can push back when something doesn’t make sense. They can ask the questions no one inside dares to ask.

And they’re built for moments. Product launches. Campaigns that define a year. Ideas that travel across markets.

But traditional agency models are also slow. Expensive. And often disconnected from the daily realities of the business. They aren’t always set up for iteration or speed. They work best when the brief is clear, the budget is healthy, and the timeline is long.

That’s not the reality most brands live in anymore.

Which brings us to the hybrid.

The Best of Both Worlds

The hybrid model isn’t new. But it’s gaining traction because it solves a very real set of tensions. It allows brands to move fast without becoming myopic. It offers creative consistency without getting stuck in groupthink. It gives in-house teams breathing room — and raises the bar on what they’re capable of.

And in the most interesting setups, the external partner isn’t just a supplier. They’re the builder.

They hire the team. Set up the systems. Define the workflows. They embed creative leadership and help the internal team grow into its own identity. Eventually, they may step back. Or stay on in a more strategic role. But their goal is not to keep the client dependent. It’s to make the client strong.

This model works. We’ve seen it again and again. At Maersk. At Georg Jensen. At brands building high-performing in-house agencies from scratch in less than a year — because they had the right external partner helping them build.

Letting the Outside Build the Inside

Here’s what it looks like in practice.

A brand wants to in-house more work. But they don’t have the internal experience to design the setup. So they bring in an external operator — often an agency that specialises in embedded teams. This partner doesn’t come in to pitch campaigns. They come in to build the system.

They design the team structure. Help define the roles. Hire the talent. Implement workflows. Build templates. Set up reporting. Coach the new creative lead. Facilitate alignment with marketing and brand stakeholders. And they do all of this not as outsiders, but from inside the company.

Sometimes they wear the brand’s badge. Sometimes not. But the result is the same: a creative function that works. One that’s ready for Tier 1 work. One that can handle the pressure of both performance and brand building. One that doesn’t just make assets — it makes a difference.

This isn’t a theory. It’s what we’re already seeing on the ground.

The Strategic Advantage of "Both"

The most interesting thing about this model is how it shifts the conversation.

You stop asking, “Should we do this in-house or give it to the agency?”

You start asking, “What’s the best way to build long-term creative capability?”

Because that’s the real goal. Not just execution. Capability. Culture. A system that produces great work over time. One that can adapt. One that can scale. One that doesn’t depend on heroic effort to survive.

And sometimes, the fastest way to build that system is to let someone else build it for you.

Not forever. But long enough to create the foundation. Long enough to define the rhythm. Long enough to set the tone.

And then, if you’re ready, you take the wheel.

A Note on Ownership

Does this mean giving up control? No. It means being honest about what kind of control you want.

Because what most brands need isn’t control over every execution. It’s control over the system.

When you own the system – the processes, the team, the culture – you can create better work, faster, with fewer dependencies. You don’t need to brief an agency every time. You don’t need to wait three weeks for a mood board. You just... move.

And if you’ve built that system in partnership with someone who knows how to do it well, you haven’t lost anything. You’ve gained years of progress in a few months.

In-house. External. Hybrid.

It’s not a choice between three models. It’s a design challenge. The best setup is the one that gives you creativity, consistency, and control – without sacrificing agility, ambition, or impact. So if you’re still debating which way to go, maybe it’s time to reframe the question. You don’t have to choose. You can build both. And you don’t have to build it alone.