Spending on advertising using digital media is growing at a fast pace despite difficult economic conditions. Digital agencies continue to rely on outsourcing to manage unpredictable work streams and tap into outside technical expertise. Outsourcing digital work for marketing based on expertise augmentation offers genuine return on investment.
Why Outsource Digital Work?
Outsourcing digital work such as animation, video editing, music composition, artwork and layout services requires a great amount of material to digitize. Outsourcing can be a highly effective way for agencies to access skills and digital knowledge which they don’t possess in-house. Partnering with a specialized company with the experience and expertise, established workspace and professional tools, offers a viable solution to complete quality work in time.
Optimizing Costs
The outsourcing of digital production rests on a foundation of cost-effectiveness. A specialized outsourcing firm offers encompass consistent processes and ensures consistent delivery standards. As a result, built-in management and administrative overhead costs can be significantly reduced. Moreover, most digital production companies price work 30-60% lower than the US or European countries.
While some companies take the cost savings and apply them to the bottom line, others use them to invest in experiments in new media and support previously unfunded initiatives.
Fast and Flexible
Selecting a best outsourcing provider with extensive global resources increases scalability and operational flexibility. These companies possess a variety of highly skilled staff which could be helpful to a marketer for temporary need such as a new product launch or an increase in demand for a specific service. For instance, having access to targeted domain expertise in campaign design or page production services means they do not have to staff trained people themselves.
Quality and Effectiveness
Outsourcing significantly help companies launch new products or re-brand their existing products with extensive promotions. By partnering with a good vendor, companies could protect their brand image as they expand into new markets and digital channels. Effective advertising campaign design, email newsletters and online videos must deliver quality and reinforce brand message to the desired channel. A report said, an effective digital production partner will design and follow processes to ensure quality is built into every piece, and that each piece adheres to the brand standards.
Current Trends
A Digital Outsourcing Survey, carried out in partnership with United Studios in 2012, revealed that 57% of responding digital agencies are outsourcing work to freelancers, other agencies or to specialist digital outsourcing companies. Some of the key takeaways of the survey include:
- Mobile application development is the most commonly required service, while Flash (design and build) is still the most widely sought production skill.
- Video Production and post-production outsourcing accounted for 55% of the survey results.
- Content Management systems, illustration and display advertising services accounted for 47%, 25% and 16% of outsourcing needs of the survey respondents.
- Outsourcing is practiced by over half (57%) of the agencies that participated in the survey.
- The most likely area to be outsourced is technical work (66%).
Summary
Given the rapid growth in digital marketing space, efficient and effective production has become critical. Advanced expertise in advertising, print and design services can powerfully transform and grow brands. Partnering with right outsourcing firm allows creative agencies to focus on strategic thinking, creative ideation and optimization – instead of spending time worrying on how to produce them. A best-in-class production company enables marketers to deliver more compelling messages, on the right platforms right for their target audiences– more quickly, consistently, and cost effectively.
– Back office Pro
