Should You Build In-House or Hire an Agency?
By Filip Ivankovic
Director, New Rebellion
Filip has led enterprise marketing functions, managed a $40M budget and delivered 30% growth on a $200M base. An ex-CMO with experience across agency, client and vendor roles he understands where marketing delivers and where it gets stuck.
New Rebellion was built to create something sharper. A model that connects strategy to delivery, fast.
Content Overview
Most marketing waste isn't caused by bad ideas. It's caused by choosing the wrong model to deliver them.
It’s not just a resourcing question. It’s a structural one.
In-house means control, consistency and proximity. Agencies promise scale, speed and specialist skill.
Most businesses want both. Few execute either well. So how do you decide what’s right?
The answer isn’t universal. But it is clear if you know what you’re optimising for.
When In-House Works
Bringing capability inside your business gives you ownership. It aligns your brand, product and sales functions and builds long term momentum.
In-house works best when:
- Marketing is central to your business model
- You need ongoing coordination across internal teams
- You’re investing in long term capability, not quick wins
- You’ve got leadership who can drive strategy and delivery
It’s a model built for speed, cultural clarity and depth of understanding.
ProSoft, a mid-sized German B2B software provider, increased lead generation by 43% and reduced cost per lead by 27% after shifting in-house.
Procter & Gamble saved over A$100M annually by internalising media planning for its fabric care brands.
But in-housing isn’t always cheaper or easier.
Deloitte found in-house models only become cost efficient once annual marketing spend exceeds A$1.2M. Below that, external models may offer better value.
In-housing offers more control, more context and more consistency.
Best when marketing is core to the business and you’re building for the long run.
When Agencies Deliver More
Agencies give you access to talent you can’t always hire. They bring speed, capability and experience without the overhead of permanent staff.
Agencies make sense when:
• You need execution now, and hiring takes too long
• You’re testing new channels or markets
• You’re bridging skill gaps while building your team
• You want an external view from people who’ve done it before
But flexibility comes at a cost.
Australian agencies charge 20–35% more per hour than equivalent in-house roles and apply 5–30% markups on third-party services.
While this is standard practice, it can create opaque cost structures if not closely managed.
A great agency can offer more speed, more flexibility and more reach.
Often best when you need specialist skills or fast execution without locking in headcount.
What Breaks in Each Model
No model is flawless. Here’s where each typically fails.
In-house fails when:
- Teams lack depth and get overworked (88% of companies reported increased pressure on internal teams. 67% said the growth was substantial)
- Internal bias slows innovation
- Capability gaps become cultural
Agencies fail when:
- No one owns outcomes internally
- Briefs lack clarity or change mid-stream
- Titles misrepresent skill (e.g. Job adverts for Managers/Leads with under 2 years experience in the UK rose 46% in 2023)
- Turnover kills consistency (agencies average 30% staff turnover annually, 10% higher than other sectors)
The model doesn’t fail. The leadership does.
You can’t outsource ownership. You can’t fake depth.
Whatever happens you'll need to own the outcome.
Be curious throughout and stress test possible weaknesses to get that extra layer of understanding.
How Leaders Actually Decide
83% of advertisers cite cost efficiency as the main reason to in-house.
57% of marketing leaders use gig economy models to access specialised marketing capabilities.
Locally, it’s rarely either or as 78% of Australian and NZ marketers now use hybrid models with 70% of advertising content is created internally.
The decision often comes down to control, speed and budget. Pick the two that matter most, then make the trade off deliberately.
Make sure you understand your long-term requirements.
Move forward with a vision of what's required by considering all aspects of the business.
Control + Budget = In-House
You want ownership and efficiency but are willing to move slower.
Best when:
- You’re aligned across product, sales and brand
- You’re building long-term capability organisationally
- You want internal consistency and cultural clarity
Risk: Underpowered teams, limited agility.
Approach: Invest now. Scale later.
Speed + Budget = Agency
You need outcomes fast and don’t have time to hire.
Best when:
- You’re testing new channels or markets
- You’re bridging short-term capability gaps
- You need execution without internal overhead
Risk: Strategic drift, communication gaps.
Approach: Get it out the door and fast.
Control + Speed = Hybrid
You want pace and active ownership of projects.
Best when:
- You’re in a growth phase or high-stakes environment
- You need expert execution but want to keep leadership in house
- You’re scaling fast and can’t afford to wait
Risk: Budget pressure, internal fatigue.
Approach: Full-court press for growth.
Pick the two that matter most.
Then build the model that supports them.
The Bottom Line
It’s not about doing everything yourself. It’s about solving the right problem with the right model.
In-house works when you’re building long term capability.
Agencies work when you need speed or specialist execution.
The best results come when you pick what matters most and build around it.
In-housing got you thinking? Need a second opinion? I’ve worked both sides as a client side leader managing a top 50 marketing budget in Australia and on the agency floor as a technical director servicing global brands.
If this raised questions or you want a neutral take on what’s right for your stage feel free to book an informal chat.
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