Are in-house studios the actual underdog?

By Lauren Kulchinsky , Managing Director, Hogarth Studios North America

This question alone might have some heads spinning.

When people think of in-house studios they tend to think a few things. Like, we have it easy, we are given the work, we are assembly lines of talent, we value efficiency over craft…the list goes on.?

But as someone who’s worked in and built various in-houses for the past 15 years I’m here to tell you, when it comes to fighting for the creative spot – we’re the actual underdogs.

With our clients and brands, we are front runners of technology, production, and strategy because we have the benefit of being connected to a larger network. I could talk about centralization at a global scale, addressable content, AI exploration, platform specific work and automation and everyone would listen. Attentively. For hours!??

But the minute I start talking about creative and craft, it becomes a different conversation. Meaning, it becomes a you need to prove yourself conversation, repeatedly.

The truth is there’s a stigma with in-house talent.

Part of this stigma comes from the fact that in-house studios used to be called profit centers.

Doesn’t really have a creative ring to it does it?

This created a perception of choice being driven by margins rather than what’s best for the work and in truth 15 years ago that might have been the goal. This is why in-houses mostly did versioning and adaptation work.

They created an assembly of operators who could execute the task but it wasn’t necessarily their job to elevate the work. These studios were seen as places that made decisions based on margins; not what’s best for the project.

This ultimately led to feeding the narrative that in-house studios did not care to offer talent comparable to independent shops.

Years ago, this might have been accurate and accepted but today this is no longer true and needs to be challenged.

I’ve spent most of my career inside various creative agencies with the unique opportunity of working under the same roof as some of the industry’s best creative minds.

I’ve seen the blood, sweat and tears that goes into creative ideation and I’ve witnessed the massive amount of time teams spend selling an idea and pushing boundaries.

Because of this, I understand it’s a privilege to get the opportunity to help bring these ideas to life and we, the “in-house” team, are here to help elevate that idea, not just execute it.

At the end of the day, it’s about the work. What you put out into the world matters. And (hot take coming in 3, 2, 1)… We care just as much as anyone else.

We’re creative, innovative, talented individuals, and yes, we do have scale, but I believe you can have scale and the heart of a boutique.

Call me idealistic but maybe there is a world where we can all co-exist?

The in-house, the independent shop, the influencer/content creator, and the kid on the street with their iPhone.

I just recently had the pleasure of working with an old colleague; a relationship that goes back to working together at the same creative agency, fighting for the same creative cause.

Today she runs her own independent production company. She is fierce, creative and uber talented, and her team is at the top of their game.

A few months back she had the opportunity to direct a spot for a new client. She was looking for a post partner, so she called us, the in-house team.

Not only did we end up working together, we created a piece of work that won both teams an Emmy.

I’m sharing this story not to tell you we won an Emmy (although I’m super proud of it) I’m sharing it to illustrate that just because our time at the same agency ended, our working relationship didn’t.

I think there’s a world where we can all benefit from working together. Where we can all give each other something instead of looking at it as taking away something. Where we can all share the Emmy.

We work in a competitive industry, and no one said a little competition isn’t healthy, but destructive competition, where we tear each other down, is not only detrimental to the industry but to the work itself.??

What if we can find a way to celebrate creativity and talent together?

Lift each other up and complement each other instead of point to each other’s weaknesses?

At the end of the day, it’s all about the work, right? There’s a need for all of us, the specialized talent, the content creator, and innovative thinker. Why? Because there’s plenty of work out there for everyone, all different and requiring different needs with right-fit solutions. I believe that we can all co-exist.

And maybe after all this you’re still not convinced, and you think in-house studios are just soulless profiteers. To that I say… wait until you work with generative AI.