In-House Insights
In-House Insights is a podcast created by in-house professionals for in-house professionals, exploring the forces shaping the industry. Hosted by Abby Blackmore, Head of IHAC, and Chris Maxwell, Executive Chairman and CEO of -lution, each episode covers the latest industry news, celebrates standout work, and features interviews with prominent figures in the in-house world. The show positions itself as a go-to resource for those working in in-house roles.
Episodes
Is AI Slop Ruining Your Team’s Strategic Advantage? | In-House Insights
In-house leaders often get trapped inside their own four walls, fighting the battle of proving value beyond mere cost-savings while navigating AI noise.In this episode of In-House Insights Moves & News, hosts Abby and Chris discuss how category-leading brands like 7-Eleven, Treasury Wine Estates, and Guzman y Gomez build world-class internal capabilities, the reality of AI adoption for leaders
Alex Concannon: Why AI-Powered Creative Beats Big Budgets | In-House Insights
Most in-house media models struggle to keep pace with modern tech environments. Traditional loops of briefs, plans, and revisions slow momentum down, leaving performance teams trapped in black-box platforms and outdated workflows.In this episode, Alex Concannon (VP of Global Marketing at Deputy) reveals how he is rebuilding in-house marketing from the ground up using lean, AI-integrated models. Fr
US Tour Recap: Global In-House Agency Trends | In-House Insights
In this recap, hosts Abby Blackmore and Chris Maxwell dive into their key takeaways from their recent US tour, attending the Henry Stewart Creative Operations conference in New York and the ANA conference in California.They share exclusive insights from global creative leaders at NASA, GSK, Target, and Liquid Death, breaking down how the world's most sophisticated internal agencies are transitioni
Ivan Pols: Why Ad Agencies are Boxed in From Real Innovation | In-House Insights
Too many creative leaders are confined to a silo, disconnected from broader business strategy and structural operations. This lack of integration limits your organisational impact and prevents your company from building a true culture of cross-functional innovation.Ivan Pols, Chief Creative Officer at what3words, and former Global Creative Director at Ogilvy and Adam & Eve, joins us to share h
Via Tendon: Why You Should Duplicate Yourself with AI | In-House Insights
When you're running an in-house team, it’s easy to slip into the role of an internal order-taker, constantly fighting creative pushback from corporate stakeholders. But what if you could train your team to manage up effortlessly while simultaneously harnessing AI to speed up production?In this episode, we sit down with Via Tendon, Head of Bupa's In-House Agency and a vocal leader in the cr
Mumbrella360 Recap: AI, CMO Pressures, & Doing Less to Achieve More | In-House Insights
In this episode, Abby and Chris sit down for a download of the biggest takeaways from Mumbrella360. They break down the real-world pressures currently keeping CMOs up at night, the danger of AI-driven creative "blandification," and how modern in-house teams are uniquely positioned to pivot from siloed tech experiments to scalable enterprise workflows.What you’ll learn:The Power of the &q
Cairns Crocs Recap: 5 Key In-House Marketing Trends | In-House Insights
Optimising metrics is easy, but are you accidentally squeezing the emotional magic out of your creative briefs? It's time to stop letting dashboards dictate your output and start building true creative judgment within your team!Fresh off the ground from Cairns Crocs, hosts Abby and Chris break down the five biggest operational shifts happening across the APAC marketing landscape. From moving p
Warren Marenco Chase: Why the Best In-House Agencies Are Acting Like External Shops | In-House Insights
Most in-house teams are pigeonholed into a box of speed and efficiency, often sacrificed at the expense of high-level creativity. But what if your internal agency could win creativity awards whilst operating at a scale traditional shops can’t touch?In this episode, Warren Marenco Chase, VP Managing Director of Copper Giants (Liberty Mutual’s in-house agency), joins us to share his blueprint for bu
IHAC Awards 2026: The Best of the Best In-House Agencies | In-House Insights
The latest IHAC Awards prove that internal agencies are no longer just executing, they are leading the charge in innovation.In this episode of In-House Insights, Abby and Chris recap the highlights from the recent IHAC Awards. They break down why Optus took home the AI trophy for streamlining "boring" workflows, how One NZ is mastering integrated media, and why Treasury Wine Estates (Spl
Kevin Frank: Why Your Best Creatives Are Quitting (And How to Fix It) | In-House Insights
Most creative directors are just frustrated creatives in disguise, focusing on the work while their team’s culture withers. If you’re leading an in-house agency, are you actually managing, or are you just competing with your own staff?In this episode, we sit down with Kevin Frank, author of Raising Creative Teams and former creative leader at Apple and LinkedIn. Kevin shares his journey from the l
Why Global Brands are In-Housing the Big Wins | In-House Insights
Think in-house teams are just for designing HR posters? Think again. The world’s biggest brands are now trusting their internal studios with Super Bowl spots and global media buying.In this premiere of our new 'Moves and News' podcast stream, Abby and Chris dive into the rapid evolution of the in-house landscape. From beverage giant Celsius launching a full-service agency to Procter &
Maya Dukes: Moving from Order-Taker to Strategic Creative Partner | In-House Insights
If your in-house agency is struggling to get a seat at the leadership table or is tired of being treated like an order-taker, this conversation is a must-listen.In this episode, we sit down with Maya Dukes, Managing Director of Global Brand Creative and Agency Operations at Delta Airlines. Maya shares her incredible journey of scaling a small, scrappy creative team into a strategic powerhouse with
Why the Future of Creative is In-House | In-House Insights
It's official: Australia's In-House Agency Council is starting a podcast. Welcome! 👋The traditional agency-client relationship is undergoing a massive shift, yet many internal teams are still struggling to find their seat at the leadership table. Most marketers know in-housing is a game-changer, but few are talking about how to actually harness that power to drive real results.In this pilo
