Serpico by Croud’s exclusive report highlights how the pandemic has increased interest in in-housing digital marketing, and the financial, people and cultural challenges involved.
Croud’s in-housing division, Serpico by Croud, has launched an exclusive research report, conducted by global research house Censuswide, revealing the effects of the pandemic on businesses’ plans to in-house digital marketing capabilities. Serpico by Croud is a dedicated in-housing consultancy, giving marketers direct access to Croud’s sophisticated tools, technology, and global network of 2,400 on-demand digital experts.
In the report, Walking the tightrope: Balancing in-housing with economic uncertainty, we surveyed 210 senior digital marketing decision-makers in the UK and US in September 2020, and found that, since the pandemic hit in March, nearly half (49%) of UK marketers are planning to move digital in-house.
Despite this growing propensity for in-housing, research shows that 51% of UK digital marketers say they have lost in-house digital talent in some capacity due to COVID-19; 57% to redundancy, 43% to furlough and 35% as individuals quit their roles, opening up questions as to where talent will be sourced from in future.
Bigger businesses in the UK also perceived finding the right talent (39%) and the potential for more budget cuts (38%) as their biggest challenges due to the ongoing pandemic. To mitigate this, 29% are planning to in-house with the support of an agency, whilst a fifth (20%) said they’d be moving away from agency support altogether. And just 12% are planning on in-housing less and move towards agency support entirely.
Ben Knight, CEO and Co-Founder of Serpico by Croud, said of the results: “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend of in-housing, bringing with it new cultural changes that make the idea of in-housing more appealing. With the pandemic catapulting digital development five years ahead of schedule, ownership of data has never been more important for brand marketers, as is the need to have in-house experts to make sense of it all. Additionally, a recession acts as a catalyst for change, with brands taking a step back to review activity.
“There are, however, unique challenges to in-housing, particularly with regards to finding and keeping quality talent, the uncertainty surrounding future budget cuts, alongside their ability to scale company culture in our work-from-home world. Brands should look to work with partners that can help mitigate risk and scale resources up and down with ease.”
To download the full report and analysis of the results, please click here.