Creative Production

cain&abelDDB launches new in-housing model to deliver creative excellence for clients

Expanding capabilities

“This is the moment where we are taking those experiences and pushing forward with a wider strategic offering that works with the needs of the business” – Claire Bowers, Managing Director

Photo: Claire Bowers, MD; Cave Ellson, Director of Integrated Operations; Sharon Zimmerli, On-Site Programme Director

cain&abelDDB, one of the leading creative production agencies in the UK, has launched a new in-housing model that the agency is calling ‘On-Site’. 

The agency says that On-Site will put creativity at the heart of in-house marketing, providing a holistic solution that delivers exceptional results. This promise is reflected in the agency’s new On-Site proposition, “Creativity Made Personal”.

The marketing landscape is undergoing a period of significant change, and brands are increasingly turning to in-housing to drive creative output, enhance operational efficiencies and produce cost savings. 

However, the agency says that research from ISBA’s ‘State of In-Housing Report 2023’ has shown that the current approach to in-housing is failing to meet brands’ expectations. In fact, when asked “What benefits did you expect when setting up an in-housing operation?”, respondents to the survey almost unanimously reported that their expectations for in-housing outweighed the actual realities of what was achieved.

Cain&abelDDB say that as a consequence, the current approach to in-housing is causing issues for brands across sectors, including a reduction in talent attraction and engagement, lower retention rates, decreased speed to market and poorer campaign results.  

To address what the agency sees as the challenge, cain&abelDDB has developed its new On-Site proposition which they say is a unique and dynamic approach to in-housing that puts creativity at the heart of delivery, because “the most impactful campaigns embody an emotionally charged creative idea”.

The agency’s in-house teams will immerse themselves in clients’ businesses, becoming what the agency claims are true stewards of brand guardianship to deliver exceptional campaigns.

To be immersed in the client’s business, Sharon Zimmerli, On-Site Programme Director explains, means that in-house teams managed by cain&ableDDB are set-up to work at the client’s offices and are fully onboarded into the client’s organisation. 

She continues, “This means they are close to senior stakeholders, have deep knowledge of the products and services, the brand, the strategies and the ambitions as well as the values and ways of working of the business they are dedicated to working for”. 

Delving into the differentiation between cain&ableDDB’s usual production set-up, Zimmerli explains that the on-site creative teams are dedicated to working exclusively for that client. “For instance”, she states, “the VISA Design Hub (which is an on-site creative team managed by cain&abelDDB for the last seven years) works at the VISA office and only works on VISA and VISA partner briefs”.

She adds, “cain&abelDDB’s external agency services are much broader. These wider range of advanced creative production capabilities are offered to clients on a project-by-project basis. A new project-based service we offer is consultancy for clients who have in-house teams that are failing and need expert guidance on how to improve their in-house model. In this case, the in-house team is managed by the client – our role is to step in to give guidance on what they need to do to perform better”.

On the new immersive model, Claire Bowers, Managing Director at cain&abelDDB, comments: “We’re thrilled to shine a light on our transformational On-Site service. This solution adopts the same best practices our clients have come to respect and expect from our award-winning agency offering”. 

She considers, “Our On-Site model represents a new approach to in-housing that puts creativity at the heart of everything we do. By immersing ourselves in our clients’ businesses and enhancing operational efficiencies, we can deliver exceptional campaigns that achieve lasting success”.

Bowers also says, “cain&abel were originally built as an in-house solution to DDB. Over the years we have evolved to become a full service agency in our own right, with a significant set of creative production capabilities. Following a spree of client wins, we have grown our on-site experiences over the years and have run and set up many on-site teams for a number of blue chip clients”. 

She continues, “This is the moment where we are taking those experiences and pushing forward with a wider strategic offering that works with the needs of the business. On-site clients we currently collaborate with, work with us in a number of [different] ways; we have teams who reside full time in client offices, we have agile content studios and we have teams in the US”.

These teams, Bowers explains, also work with clients who already have their own on-site teams, offering consultancy support across a range of needs, this includes bolstering capabilities, improving processes and collaborating to help existing on-site teams expand their capabilities.