 In-house marketing catches on, saves money Duane Ramsey Thursday, January 18, 2007
To lower costs or gain more control, some companies are bringing their marketing efforts in-house. "Businesses are looking for the most efficient way and bringing it in-house could save them some money," said John Young, vice president of marketing and an adjunct assistant professor of marketing at Walsh College. "I don't know if it's an overall trend but more of an economic one." That could have implications for advertising, marketing and public relations agencies throughout Southeast Michigan but particularly in Oakland County, home of such regional stalwarts as Doner, Mars Advertising Co. Inc., Marx Layne & Co., Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing and Clear!Blue Communications. Moosejaw Mountaineering brought all of its marketing, advertising, catalogs and public relations in-house last year after working with multiple outside sources for those services. Allison Capaldi, Moosejaw brand manager, is responsible for all advertising, marketing and product promotions for the Madison Heights-based outdoor apparel and gear retailer. Kelli Morton oversees public relations. Coordinated marketing is especially important in the case of Moosejaw, which sells its own private-label line as well as national brands such as North Face. "It's no reflection on the marketing or PR firms we worked with as we may still use them for special projects," said Robert Wolfe, who founded the company in 1992 with his brother, Jeffrey, and sister, Julie. "We get so involved in everything, and (we) were doing so much of the work ourselves, that we decided to bring it all in-house." The decision to bring marketing, advertising and PR in-house is complicated, often as much so as the decision to switch ad agencies. Such moves typically are not something that companies discuss openly, Young said. Among the companies to make the switch to in-house public relations was ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, near Ann Arbor. The company had worked with Eiler Communications in Ann Arbor for several years, but PR now is handled by staff at the Chicago offices of LaSalle Bank, another subsidiary of the Netherlands-based ABN AMRO. Company officials declined to comment on the reasons for making the move. Moosejaw, however, hopes coordinated in-house marketing continue its sales success through the Internet, catalogs and at its five Michigan stores - Birmingham, Rochester, Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Grosse Pointe - and one Chicago store. The company saw double-digit sales growth in 2006 - though the privately held company would not disclose specific dollar figures - and initiated a rewards program as an incentive for customer loyalty. In addition to Moosejaw's successful website - year-over-year online sales increased 58 percent from Jan. 1 to Dec. 15 - the retailer advertises on cable television and billboards, using the theme, "Love the Madness." "The goal is to sell the best products in the world," Wolfe said, "and have as much fun doing it as possible." Duane Ramsey is a freelance writer |
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