• More than half of marketers said creativity has increased during the pandemic
• Two thirds have introduced or increased creative workshops
• Cross team collaboration is up according to 65% of marketers

As the pandemic continues to disrupt business as usual, over half of leading marketers (58%) have identified an increase in creativity among in-house teams, according to new research.

The findings are part of Bannerflow’s State of In-housing report, which now in its third year, targets 200+ senior European marketers with the most pressing industry questions.

Creativity is key

The research shows that creativity has been at the top of the agenda for marketers, with the industry working hard to inspire in-house teams and keep them motivated in this area during the pandemic.

How have marketers kept their in-house teams motivated to be more creative?

• Introduced or increased creative workshops – 66%
• Increased cross team collaboration tasks – 65%
• Introduced or increased collaboration technology – 63%
• Increased training – 48%

What did marketers list as the key barriers limiting creativity?

• Organizational structure – 44%
• Lack of technology – 44%
• Lack of time – 43%
• Pressure to deliver results – 40%
• Lack of skills/talent – 36%

The rise of in-housing

In-housing continues to grow in popularity, with 73% of respondents moving at least part of their digital marketing in-house. According to the research, marketers believe this will be essential to marketing as we head into 2021.

Almost two thirds of marketers (62%) believe in-housing will allow for more efficient remote working, 58% believe it will save on external costs, and 57% said it could increase creativity within teams – a trend firms are already experiencing according to survey respondents.

CEO of Bannerflow, Nicholas Högberg, commented on the findings:

After a turbulent and challenging year for most sectors, many marketing teams remain in-house, but it’s great to see that creativity isn’t being limited – instead it’s flourishing.

We saw from last year’s report that in-housing was being adopted to improve ROI, increase agility, and boost creativity within marketing teams – perhaps we are now seeing evidence of this coming into effect.

Digital transformation has been vital for the survival of business during the pandemic, and part of this comes down to using creativity as a tool to navigate through such an uncertain time.”

 You can download the entire In-housing report for 2021 here:  https://info.bannerflow.com/the-state-of-in-housing-2021-report