When the Association of National Advertisers asked its members whether they had established in-house ad agencies, 42% said yes.

Cost efficiencies and achieving quicker turnaround times were cited as the reasons, according to the survey.

The firms are using the agencies to handle a number of functions, including:

*Collateral materials, such as P-O-P displays, brochures and more (97%)  
*Internal and company communications (82%)  
*Videos for internal use (69%)  
*Brand identity work (66%)  
*Direct mail (65%)  
*Web site creation and maintenance (65%)  
*Online banners and similar online creative (62%)  
*Other services including TV advertising, packaging and search engine optimization and marketing.

The various types of role cited were:

*Creative development
*Origination
*Creative adaptation
*Repurposing of work originally developed by an external agency *Production.

In addition, 35% of the marketers with in-house facilities also require the agencies to do some media planning, while 24% are charged with media buying responsibilities, the survey found.  

Despite the general favorable view of the in-house agencies there were some downsides.

Some 61% of respondents felt the in-house agencies lacked a depth of strategic thinking. About 50% said that it was challenging to obtain fresh thinking when working with internal teams.

“This study suggests that more and more companies are finding advantages to bringing some capabilities in-house and charging these groups with duties across the board,” Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA, said in a statement.  

This survey was conducted online in August 2008.  

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