How in-house agencies from Coca-Cola and Airbnb are evolving to meet the moment
The most successful in-house teams aren’t fighting change. They’re building around it.
In-house marketing is under pressure. Campaign timelines are shrinking, budgets are tightening, and technology is advancing at breakneck speed. The pressure to do more with less is reshaping everything.
The best in-house teams aren’t resisting this change but embracing it and turning constraints into catalysts for reinvention.
They’re revising outdated org charts, streamlining how work gets done, getting real about what tools to adopt and which ones to leave behind, and designing teams that can deliver fast, bold, and consistent work.
We recently sponsored and attended the ANA’s 2025 In-house Agency Conference — and heard from brands like Coca-Cola, Giant Group, Rocket Mortgage, and Airbnb on how they’re running their in-house agencies. Whether you were able to attend or missed it this year, here are the three things you could be doing with AI right now to embrace the evolution of the in-house agency based on conversations at the event.
1. Restructure around the work — not the titles
Creative work has changed. Your org chart should, too.
Rocket Mortgage shared a bold example of what this can look like. Their new in-house model, the Dream Factory, operates with just three roles: integrated creatives, integrated producers, and implementation production artists. The goal? Eliminate silos, bureaucracy, and excessive handoffs — so the people doing the work have more control over the work. AI is embedded across every workflow, giving creators more speed, ownership, and room to think big.
This shift isn’t just about simplification. It’s about eliminating bureaucracy — removing the layers, approvals, and legacy titles that slow work down and drain energy. By reducing barriers and structuring around the actual flow of work, teams unlock creative potential and make space for faster decisions, deeper ownership, and stronger output.
Instead of staffing by job title, they staff for ownership. From intake to execution, one cross-functional lead carries the work forward.
Try this: Redesign one creative role this quarter to own the full lifecycle of a project. Start by identifying a role that currently involves multiple handoffs or layers of approval. Reimagine that role with full accountability from brief to delivery — giving the individual creative the autonomy, tools, and support to carry work from concept through execution.
2. Update legacy systems
Big ideas get stuck without the right infrastructure. Too often, in-house teams try to manage increasing volume and complexity with ad hoc processes: emails, spreadsheets, hallway requests. The result? Missed timelines, duplicated work, and burned-out teams.
That’s the trap Giant Bicycles found itself in. Supporting multiple global brands, their in-house team was drowning in disjointed workflows — creative triage, not creative strategy. They needed more than a new process — they needed a system.
By using monday.com to centralize their campaign intake, unify global and regional requests, and connect content, creative, and paid media teams across time zones, they turned chaos into coordination. The outcome? Over 6,000 hours saved per year, 45 teams onboarded, and growing demand from stakeholders who finally felt seen.
With flexible workflows, real-time visibility, and customizable dashboards, monday.com gives in-house teams the tools to scale creative operations without chaos. It’s not just about getting organized — it’s about building a system that drives clarity, accountability, and momentum.
Smart systems don’t just increase efficiency. They create alignment, reduce friction, and help leaders scale with confidence.
Try this: Start by centralizing all incoming creative work into a single, visible queue. Then, look for patterns — volume, timing, duplication — and use that data to drive smarter prioritization and resource planning.
3. Blend outside perspective with inside execution
You don’t have to choose between outsourcing and in-housing. The most innovative teams do both.
This model reflects a broader shift: moving away from the rigid, either-or mentality that once defined in-house work. Instead of choosing between control and creativity, modern teams embrace flexibility, adapting to a model where collaboration fuels innovation and efficiency. It’s a practical evolution from the old way of walling off internal and external talent toward a new, integrated approach that balances agility with scale.
External agencies bring perspective, experimentation, and cultural fluency. In-house teams bring speed, brand intimacy, and execution consistency. The best results happen when they work together.
For example, Coca-Cola’s in-house agency team uses this hybrid model to its advantage — partnering with outside agencies to push big ideas and relying on internal teams to refine, align, and scale them globally. Their success hinges on clear ownership, tight collaboration, and a shared cadence that keeps both sides in sync.
A platform like monday.com can help make that hybrid approach seamless. By giving internal and external teams access to shared boards, timelines, and communication threads, monday.com creates a single source of truth where everyone can stay aligned — regardless of where they sit. From kickoff to execution, it keeps workflows connected and teams accountable, all in one place.
Try this: Let external partners lead with bold ideas, then hand them off to your in-house team to refine, localize, and scale. Assign a shared project owner to bridge both sides and ensure a smooth transition from concept to execution.
Final thought
Rolling out a new way of doing something is the easy part. Getting your team to adopt it? That’s where change usually breaks down.
The most successful change doesn’t happen through slick messaging. It works when people feel seen, involved, and trusted.
Hoon Kim, Content Production Lead at Airbnb, says that when it comes to change, one should just be a host. Not in the Airbnb sense (though the metaphor is clever), but in the most genuine sense of the word. A good host isn’t just nice. A good host creates space. They care deeply. They listen fully. They lead with empathy and honesty.
People resisting change aren’t trying to be difficult — they’re trying to be heard. And the more you host, the more you build trust. When you build trust, you gain buy-in for change.
Change isn’t a risk. Standing still is. If you want your in-house agency to lead, evolve, and scale, build your systems, structures, and team culture around change. It’s not the enemy. It’s your competitive edge.
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