So, 28% of online retailers in the UK want to take their marketing – advertising campaigns ‘n all – in-house?

Why? To help grow their business, of course.

Two hundred companies were examined – 99 in the UK, and 101 in France – and questions were asked regarding their attitudes to a number of business issues, one of which was marketing.

Companies that have traditionally outsourced their marketing activity are now looking at more cost-effective ways of managing their public face online.

Michael Ross, Director of eCommera – the company that sponsored the research – said: “The findings are indicative of an industry sector which is challenged by the breadth of the agenda and is still experimenting with how best to resource the activities.”

How to source creatives?

And this is a key question for any business operating in the digital sphere. Given that ‘online’ is fast emerging as the ‘all that really matters’ of modern-day commerce, it does make sense for businesses to take control of their own destiny. Dedicated marketing teams working in close harmony with a company’s sales channels to create a lean, mean sales/marketing machine is the way forward.

But there is a good reason why businesses have traditionally outsourced their marketing to dedicated creative agencies. SMEs in particular may only have the occasional need for video developers, Flash animators, copywriters and other creative types, so why would they want to pay for such creatives to work full-time when they don’t need them all the time?

Indeed, that’s why businesses outsource any of their core business processes; it’s simply a more cost-effective way of running the show.

On the one hand, it makes sense to have the actual marketing team in-house – the planners, organisers and general string-pullers, but the creatives themselves really don’t need to be based in-house. And to get the best choice of creative minds, it’s better to look out into the wider world – why should companies restrict themselves to the relatively small pool that happen to live in their immediate locale?

The third option…

The good news is there’s more than two ways of sourcing creativity. The Creative Services Exchange lets companies keep their core marketing activities in-house, whilst tapping into a wealth of creative talent around the world. It’s project-based and is entirely transactional, so there’s no retainers and no commitment beyond the scope of the project in-hand. It’s a slick, streamlined model that cuts straight into the world’s creative heart, providing access to designers, developers, writers, marketers, artists, photographers…you name it.

The bad news is there’s no being taken out for coffees or free lunches, but then again, these were always factored into the pricing structure under the traditional agency model anyway, so you’re not missing out on all that much.

If you’re currently considering reeling your marketing activity inwards, and you have a few creative projects needin’ doin’, why not submit a brief and see how the Creative Services Exchange can work for you?