John Marsden on the Model That Helps Brands Do More with Less
With a history of building award-winning teams, John Marsden joined Maker Lab as APAC business development director from VaynerMedia last year. The fastest growing in-housing agency in the region, Maker Lab helps brands by building micro-agencies inside client’s teams and has done so for the likes of Google, Netflix, Amazon, UNICEF and more.
As a strong advocate for the in-housing model, John says that as much as he loves the industry, “we’ve done a disservice to creativity by not evolving.” With the pressure for brands to deliver multiple assets, events, campaigns and more, all while budgets are extremely tight, the in-housing model could be the perfect answer.
To find out more, LBB’s Sunna Coleman speaks with John who discusses when in-housing works best, how it helps both brands and talent win, and why he believes it’s the future of the industry.
LBB> Firstly, tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into advertising. What drew you to the industry?
John> My father was keen for me to get an idea of the working world when I was about 15, so I spent a day in each department of the seed company he worked for. Everything was incredibly boring to my 15 year old mind of course, until the marketing department. I had the idea for a range of seeds designed for parents and kids to plant together. They designed it up and sold it nationwide, making a tidy profit. I was sold on marketing!
LBB> You have over 20 years experience in creative agencies across London, Singapore and Shanghai. What are the lessons you’ve taken away with you from each market?
John> Actually I found the markets not too dissimilar (likely because they were through the lens of global ad agencies and working with global brands). But, of course, there are huge differences culturally in the business practices and expectations. For me, it’s about aiming to learn the (sometimes very subtle) differences which help make the process smoother.
Each market offers a unique perspective on marketing, creativity, and client relationships. But across all three, the key takeaway is the need for agile, client-focused marketing solutions that balance scale with cultural relevance. Globally, brands need partners who can streamline operations, and drive impactful marketing – which is exactly what we do at Maker Lab.
LBB> You were appointed APAC business development director at Maker Lab in May last year. Tell us about your role here and your vision for the business.
John> Of course, most senior client services roles have a large element of new business, so in the recent half of my career, that’s very much been part of my role, having won clients such as Bose for Wunderman and Unilever for VaynerMedia whilst managing my key accounts.
Maker Lab is celebrating 10 years this year, and is privileged to count Google, YouTube, Amazon and Netflix amongst its clients. Within my role, I’m looking to expand into new sectors with the in-housing model with the vision to show how it benefits both clients and talents.
A lot of brands are seeing the value with Maker Lab in-housing, and we’ve recently just won ByteDance, Figma and Grab as clients in Q4.
The vision for the business is to evolve the creative industry to work better for all involved, and I see in-housing as key to this.
LBB> Why do you believe that in-housing models such as this are the future of the industry? How do they answer the current challenges we face?
John> Having spent 20 years of my career in global agencies, I’ve seen inefficiencies and talent being wasted because the right brief didn’t come through the door. As much as I love the industry, I believe we’ve done a disservice to creativity by not evolving, and I see in-housing as one of the better solutions to helping brands and talent do their best work.
Clients are often dismayed at the rate cards being charged, the lack of expertise, and the lack of transparency with some agencies. But in-housing experts aligned around your brand’s KPIs means all effort is spent on hitting those with a team that’s integrated into yours, with specialists hired for the task (not who’s left in the box in the agency).
It’s a model that really delivers, and means no more briefing a new team, or helping them understand your brand because embedded teams are so close to your business, clients often forget they’re not employees.
With AI in the process of changing what the industry delivers, in-housing specialist teams means brands can get the best of the strategic creative ideation and also experts that can get the best out of AI tools to deliver BAU more efficiently.
LBB> In which cases do you believe that embedding an in-house team works best? When should a brand consider this option?
John> The headline from CMOs I speak to recently is “help me do more with less” – they’ve had budget cuts and/or headcount freezes, yet now have to deliver thousands of social assets, analytics reports, events, launch campaigns, etc.
Maker Lab works best when:
- Brands need greater operational control and speed
- Scaling regional or multi-market operations
- Specialised expertise is required on-demand
- When cost efficiencies / flexibility is a priority
We give brands the best of both worlds – offering the expertise, flexibility, and efficiency of an external partner while embedding talent that operates like an extension of your team.
LBB> And how is this a win-win for the talent involved too?
John> Great question – a good example is when I’ve seen amazing designers in agencies have to work on 50 page brochures, when their style could be used daily when a brand with more similar styles can benefit from the designer's expertise.
When we match specialists with brands, they do more of what they love and it shows.
This shows through client recommendations and Makers who go on to become clients.
LBB> Can you give us some case study examples of how this has benefited your current clients already?
John> Accelerated sales through targeted social content: Social content is a powerful sales driver for our clients, such as Google, Netflix and the Singapore Tourism Board. By embedding dedicated teams in local markets focused on sales KPIs, we create hyper-local content governed by rigorous quality control overseen by a project manager. We also often integrate analysts to provide dashboard data to eliminate multiple agency communications and get content live much faster.
Reduced event marketing costs and complexity: Shopify, Grab and ByteDance are some of our clients who embed to drive cost-savings compared to engaging traditional event agencies – we can quickly ideate and scale event strategies with our on-demand teams.
Simplified multi-agency management: Many of our clients embed a small team to manage multiple agencies with a single point of contact – typically a project manager – who can liaise directly with various agencies. This allows them to focus on broader strategic initiatives while ensuring seamless communication and collaboration.
Driving AI-powered efficiency: Our teams utilise AI across content ideation, workflow management, and other critical business functions – and with our holding company, Miroma Group, also trialling AI tools globally for the past 18 months, we're well placed to recommend and implement the best AI platforms for clients.
LBB> Any final thoughts?
John> I feel like I’ve only said AI 20 times (!), so here’s another one: I’m excited about the future of in-house and the way we can expedite the value it brings with the various AI platforms we’re working with, combined with our continued focus on talent.
