The first piece of work I won for a new in-house studio was a product demo video for a trade show. Not a brand campaign, and not something I'd put on a reel.
It was the best thing that could have happened, because it's what got us the next project.
I've built content studios inside three agencies and on the brand side. And I hear the same story from brands standing up in-house agencies: building the team is the easy part.
The org chart says the internal team exists. It doesn't say anyone has to use it.
Internal "clients" behave exactly like brands. They shop around, for a reason. Often they take the brief to the outside agency with the reel, the team behind the work everyone saw last year, the one that has done this many times successfully. Not the team down the hall that launched six weeks ago.
So an in-house agency has to win the work internally, just like any agency would.
I lost plenty of projects too. Many went outside because the quote was cheaper. That taught me something I've kept in mind ever since: you can get anything produced for any amount of money. The question is what the output will be.
That's the conversation an in-house team needs to be ready to have, not by matching the lowest price, but by being clear about what the price buys.
Every capability I've built, on the agency side and the brand side, has taken about six months before real trust existed. Small projects, delivered well, are how you get there.
If you're hiring someone to run your in-house agency, make sure they know that earning internal trust is a big part of the job in year one.
Sometimes the outside agency is exactly where the brief should go. In-housing is sometimes sold as the answer for all work, and it shouldn't be.
A team that's honest about which work belongs outside is a team people trust with the rest.
Build the team that earns the work it should have. Not the team that takes all of it.
Internal clients often prefer an outside agency with a proven track record over a new internal team. An in-house agency has to earn that trust by delivering well, starting with smaller projects.
In my experience, about six months. Trust is built project by project, often starting with smaller work that proves the team can deliver.
No. Some work, especially high-stakes brand work, can still belong with outside agencies. Being honest about which work belongs outside makes internal clients more likely to trust the in-house team with the rest.
By being clear about what the price buys. Almost anything can be produced at almost any budget, but the quality of the output changes with it.