Communication is more active when the designer is there in the initial meetings of a marketing campaign.  Usually the company would go to the studio and say that "We decided to do a website and promote it through some emails." The studios would comply and deliver the work.  Having myself in the initial meetings helped to push what they were really looking for in the first place, and I was offering solutions that actually fit their vision, which is often lacked when using outside designers.  Sometimes I couldn't handle all the work and would have to use outside agencies, but with a clearing understanding of what the final approach, concept, and deliverable would be.

In-house designers become more intimate with the business than the outside designers could ever be.  When first meeting with groups about their campains, I would ask for all the marketing materials that they have ever produced in the past to get a better understanding of the clients/target audience and would followup with questions about their business before ever jumping into a design or idea.  This is somewhat of a surprise to almost all of them, but leaves them with a feeling that I have become part of their team and not just someone executing their ideas. In fact, do a creative brief on a project to really surprise them. They've soon learned to come to me before starting any project so that I can offer them the best ideas and solutions to fit their message.

Lastly, time and money, the biggest selling points.  Outside companies are charging prices that include overhead, lunches, phone calls, every single edit, the list goes on.  Example: A team in my company got a quote to do a website for a large event from an agency for $20,000 that would include about 5 or 6 pages.  I produced the site in about 5 days that included every feature they requested from the agency.  I then went above and beyond their discussion and added in printable presentations and streaming videos and audio from the event as a followup to those that attended. And we produced it at a fraction of the cost.

• better organized
• slower processes, longer process of approvals
• creativity can be inconsistent with lulls of boredom
• better comraderie with employees
• job security and stability
• good for portfolio but huge volume of work to choose from
• same job role/responsibilities
• does not necessarily require meeting with clients
• standard work hours
  

• fast pace
• can be chaotic
• a lot of competition and politics
• very creative
• lack of job security and stability
• great for portfolio - potential exposure to a lot of high end brands
• varying job responsibilities/roles
• requires ability to present/interface with clients
• long days, long nights, and even some weekends
  

quote:



Ad Agency:

• fast pace
  
• can be chaotic
  
• a lot of competition and politics
  
• very creative
  
• lack of job security and stability
  
• great for portfolio - potential exposure to a lot of high end brands
  
• varying job responsibilities/roles
  
• requires ability to present/interface with clients
  
• long days, long nights, and even some weekends