When Outside Becomes Inside
External Agencies Running In-House Agencies
There’s a quiet shift happening in the creative world. While in-housing has been the dominant narrative for years, a new model is emerging — and it’s not a return to the old agency days. It’s a redefinition of roles. More and more brands are asking a new question:
What if the best way to go in-house... is to ask someone outside to build it?
Welcome to the rise of external agencies running in-house agencies.
Why brands are outsourcing the insourcing
At first glance, it seems paradoxical. Why would a brand build an in-house agency, only to ask an external partner to run it?
But it makes perfect sense.
Most companies want the control, agility, and consistency of an in-house model. But many don’t yet have the creative leadership, operational maturity, or internal know-how to set it up right the first time. And that’s where experienced external partners come in — not to deliver campaigns, but to build the machine that can.
From service provider to systems architect
This model flips the traditional agency brief on its head.
Instead of pitching ideas, the external agency designs the structure, hires the team, defines the workflows, and sets up the performance metrics. They’re not here to win awards for you.
They’re here to help you win your own.
It’s not about providing a service. It’s about building infrastructure:
Creative leadership
Org design
Briefing and approval flows
Stakeholder alignment
Talent development
Internal brand governance
It’s not “agency as a vendor” - it’s agency as operator.
Three models that work
The Incubator
The agency sets up the in-house team from scratch, builds systems, hires talent, and hands it over after 6–18 months. Think of it as a startup inside your company.The Embedded Leader
The in-house team already exists, but needs creative direction or operational excellence. The agency provides interim leadership embedded inside the org to coach, optimize, and lead.The Operator
The agency becomes the in-house team, often for years. They run it under your roof, in your systems, under your brand, but with their own infrastructure behind the scenes. Seamless to the rest of the business.
The upside – and the tradeoffs
What you gain:
Speed to market
Immediate credibility and playbooks
Lower risk of failure
Access to talent networks you don’t have yet
A turnkey model with creative and operational excellence baked in
What you have to manage:
Ownership – who’s really in charge of the creative vision?
Transition plans – if the agency leaves, what remains?
Internal alignment – will the rest of the org see them as “us” or “them”?
Long-term cost vs. capability – are you building or renting?
This isn’t just about delivery. It’s about transformation.
Not a paradox. A playbook.
External partners running in-house teams isn’t a contradiction - it’s often the smartest way to make in-house actually work.
Because building a modern in-house agency isn’t just about hiring creatives.
It’s about designing the right structure, processes, culture, and leadership to make it thrive.
Sometimes that takes help from the outside.
And the best external agencies know that success isn’t about keeping the client dependent - it’s about building something that can stand without you.
