These are the main in-house advertising agencies operating in Spain
The phenomenon of in-house advertising agencies is not new, but it is a growing trend. Large Spanish companies such as Telefónica, El Corte Inglés, BBVA and, more recently, Santander have opted for this model, which does not exclude the hiring of external agencies.
In-house agencies started out as internal creative teams capable of quickly resolving the specific needs of certain advertising companies and have been evolving, growing and becoming more professional. They have now become transversal structures that intervene, on a daily basis, in the integral communication strategy, both external and internal.
For the brands that have implemented them, this model means greater agility, transparency, extensive knowledge of the sector within the companies themselves, consistency of the message, cost savings and a focus on the customer.
A recent Scopen report reviews the main in-house agencies operating in Spain:
BBVA Creative
This in-house agency was created in 2011 with the aim of activating the financial institution’s sponsorships and developing its content strategy. In its first five years, BBVA Creative’s activity focused on the design, audiovisual production and social media teams. From 2016 onwards, it became a strategic creative muscle that works closely with local agencies.
This in-house agency has its own profit and loss account. In 2020 it had a turnover of €6.1 million and recorded a profit of €371,000. Teresa del Campo is the current CEO of the agency and has around 65 employees. According to the SCOPEN report, BBVA Creative does not have a captive market, as each area of the bank is free to contract its services or call for tenders.
Telefónica Studio 24
With a dozen employees, Telefónica’s in-house agency provides comprehensive and continuous production services for campaigns and content (audiovisual, graphic, digital, narrative, podcast and new media) to different areas, projects and brands of the operator.
Yamil Sebastián is the manager of Estudio24, which has a staff of around ten employees. It has a portfolio of more than 30 internal clients, including the global areas of Communication and Marketing; other corporate areas (President’s Office, Human Resources, Innovation, Technology…), business areas (Telefónica Tech, Telefónica Empresas, Movistar…) and Fundación Telefónica. With these clients it works with a briefing model from the strategic and creative part of the campaigns to the generation of the content and the implementation and start-up of the campaign.
Estudio24 generates internal cost savings for Telefónica, streamlines processes and guarantees alignment and consistency of tone and brand messages. It is also a cost-free model for internal units.
Santander’s LaSanta
Founded this year, they have signed Álvaro Guzmán as creative director, coming from DDB. Another of LaSanta’s key profiles is Rosa González Alonso, who holds the position of Brand Director, Corporate Culture of the internal agency. The team, which will be made up of around a hundred employees, is currently being put together.
LaSanta’s idea is to carry out 90% of the bank’s campaigns and supervise those that can be outsourced. Santander’s new model aims to achieve greater coherence in creative executions, greater agility in time-to-market and more efficient management of resources.
El Corte Inglés
It was the first in-house agency to be implemented in Spain by a large company. Since the end of last year, the subsidiary was given a boost by investing in an internal team, promoting its two creative directors and forming a leading duo as branding and creative directors (Javier G. Blanzoco and María Coronado), who report to the General Directorate of Marketing and Creativity. It has between 50 and 60 employees.
It provides services to practically all the ECI Group’s business units and supports the internal communication team. They work closely with external agencies, especially for specific campaigns, such as Christmas and Fashion, where the external teams collaborate intensively with the internal creatives.
The Mix by Pernod Ricard
The launch of The Mix Madrid is part of the brand’s international strategy, in which the Spanish subsidiary was a pioneer. This in-house agency was created to boost Pernod Ricard España’s creativity, achieve consistency with its brands and generate at least 30% efficiencies in order to optimise the production budget and invest more in direct-to-consumer impact. In this last aspect, during this fiscal year 2022, they have already generated more than 60% savings, according to the SCOPEN report.
For next year, The Mix Madrid team will double in size, currently comprising 13 professionals; selected by Butragueño & Bootlander, a partner of Pernod Ricard España for more than 10 years.
The Mix Madrid works for the entire Pernod Ricard España portfolio, and follows a model of coexistence with external agencies, including McCann, China and Sioux Cyranos. The Mix ensures a consistent visual landing of campaigns and ideation at all points of contact.
