The in-house agency model that once promised better brand alignment and cost efficiency is undergoing a revolutionary transformation. At Campaign’s recent In-Housing Summit Angela Tangas, Group CEO of OLIVER and CSO of The Brandtech Group, revealed how AI is enabling brands to evolve beyond traditional in-house structures into what she calls “creative operating systems”, integrated platforms that unite technology, talent and governance under one roof. With UK companies already investing an average of £16 million in AI initiatives and expecting ROI to more than double by 2027, the opportunity has never been greater. The brands that master this new inside model won’t just survive the AI disruption. They’ll own it.
The new reality: communicating with humans and machines
The transformation goes far beyond technology; it’s fundamentally changing how brands must operate. As Tangas explained, “Marketers must now speak to and communicate with both the human and the machine.” This creates exciting new possibilities for brands ready to embrace the challenge.
GenAI tools are “putting the power of advertising into everybody’s hands,” democratising creativity, making convenience and value the new currency of customer relationships. For brands with the right capabilities, this represents unprecedented opportunity for differentiation and growth.
Taking control of your AI destiny
“How many in this room have a clear view in your organisation of who is actually the owner of AI?” only one hand went up.
This clarity gap represents a massive competitive advantage for brands that get it right.
“The potential for AI is too big to let value and IP accrue to others,” Tangas emphasised. As AI becomes the fuel powering customer experiences, determining speed to market, responsiveness, and competitive edge, strategic ownership becomes critical.
Escaping pilot purgatory
The organisations seeing real AI success share common characteristics. They focus on outcomes, integrate AI into the right workflows, and choose partners who don’t just design but deliver and continuously improve performance.
“You can’t outsource transformation; it has to be embedded on the inside of your business.”
The organisations winning with AI treat it as a transformation opportunity, not just a technology upgrade.
The creative operating system
The most successful in-house models function as creative operating systems, combining technology, talent, and governance. This enables prompt-to-production in minutes, real-time brand understanding, and seamless interoperability across strategy, content, media, and performance.
These systems break down traditional silos, creating opportunities for marketing to drive growth across product, sales, service, and delivery teams. As Tangas noted, “The marketing flywheel of the ecosystem is becoming even more interesting.”
The Strategic Questions
Ready to unlock AI’s potential? Tangas posed five questions to the audience:
- Do you know the right workflows to integrate AI into?
- Are you focusing on operational ROI and value creation?
- Can your current partners help you in the way you really need them to?
- How many partners are prepared to share risk and upside with you?
- Can you start executing AI initiatives inside your walls today?
The Inside Model
The in-house model offers unique advantages in the AI era: one composable team that can shape-shift around evolving business needs, deep brand expertise embedded within the organisation, and the ability to cut through silos to achieve speed and scale while maintaining alignment around outcomes.
As AI continues reshaping the marketing landscape, brands face a fundamental choice: surrender control to external parties or build the capabilities to harness AI’s power from within. For those ready to embrace “the upside of inside,” the potential rewards are transformative.
Want to explore how your brand can unlock the full potential of in-house AI capabilities? The future of marketing belongs to those who dare to bring brilliance inside. Contact us!
