Agency vs in-house: which is right for video ads?

Agencies win on shoots and big ideas, in-house teams on speed. Most brands end up with a hybrid.

Side by side

Agency, in-house and hybrid compared

FactorAgencyIn-houseHybrid with
Speed of iterationDays to weeks per roundHours, if editing capacity existsSame day for variants
Cost per extra variantA new quote, often €150 to €500 per UGC videoEditor timeIncluded in the plan
Access to raw footageOften only finished filesFullFull, searchable by scene
New creators and shootsStrongLimitedAgency or creator platform
Brand consistencyDepends on the briefingHighBrand Hub applied to every ad
Scaling to new marketsA new production per marketManual translationTranslation on the same footage

Typical ranges from our conversations with brands and agencies; your numbers will differ.

When to choose what

The right model depends on what you need most

Choose an agency when

You need new creators, a new shoot, a brand campaign or ideas from outside the company.

Build in-house when

You test every week, run several markets and need iterations faster than an agency can quote them.

Go hybrid when

You want both: agencies upstream for footage and big ideas, your team with Solid downstream for every variant.

How performance marketers use Solid · How marketing leads roll it out · Solid for agencies

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Anything else? We’re happy to walk you through Solid with your own footage.

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Is in-house creative cheaper than an agency?

For iterations and variants, usually yes, because each extra version costs editing time rather than a new quote. For new shoots and creators, agencies often remain the better option.

What is a hybrid creative model?

Agencies or creator platforms deliver new footage and big ideas; the in-house team turns that footage into every variant, format and market version.

How does Solid fit in?

Solid is the in-house side of the hybrid: the Solid Agent builds variants, formats and translations from the footage the agency delivers.

Should agencies worry about in-house tools?

Many agencies use Solid themselves to deliver more variants per client and add localization as a service.

Keep reading

Related pages

Solid is the AI creative engine for brands and their agencies. Its agent turns a brand’s own footage, creators and best ads into finished video ads for Meta, TikTok and YouTube, and generates only the shots that are missing.

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