Hear What In-House Agencies Have to Say about Creativity, Pitching and More

In-house agencies are an increasingly large sub-sector of the industry. With more and more brands appointing their own talent when it comes to marketing, those leading the charge have been praised for their creative output. 

LBB’s EMEA editor, Alex Reeves, hosted a panel called ‘Inside Job - How the New Gen of In-House Agencies Has Found Its Creative Ambition’ on the LBB Beach at Cannes Lions 2024. 

He was joined by Simon Au, ECD at The Kitchen North America, Kraft Heinz; Jo Shoesmith, VP and global CCO at Amazon; Matthew Watson, ECD, at Sips & Bites, PepsiCo; Mariota Essery, ECD at Superette, DoorDash; and Carlo Cavallone, VP of creative at LEGO. 

Challenging the preconceived notions of an in-house agency, the panellists spoke about the trials, tribulations and endless unique possibilities of working within the brand. Simon Au kicked off the discussion by saying, “we want to look at in-house as an advantage, not a disadvantage in the creative process.”

While Mariota reminisced on her 20 years experience in agency land and divulged the challenge she faced during her transition to brand-side. Meanwhile, the topic of pitching was also brought to light by the panellists. Matthew from Sips & Bites commented, “It just doesn't make any business sense for our business to have two agencies, especially one in-house, one external and paying for both.” This encouraged some exciting back-and-forth discussions on a topic that is constantly in and out of controversy. 

The panellists went on to discuss the benefits of being so close to the business elements of the brand they’re advertising, both with regard to the work and their own personal skillsets. 

Check out the panel below. 

All of the LBB & Friends Beach panel videos, brought to us by content sponsor MCA can be found in this collection.