By Charles Lee Mathews. Strategic agility is pushing more South African brands to bring media strategy and data in-house — while keeping agencies in play for scale and specialist execution.
“There is a case to split media strategy, media buying and media reporting. In my experience, I would in-house media strategy and reporting, and outsource media buying as a function,” says Ryan Sauer, CEO of Redwood Analytics, who counsels brands on performance analytics.
“The advantages of owning strategy and reporting? You can ensure the media mix matches the company objectives and is aligned with performance, not agency commercial partnerships or rebates. The business also manages reporting, defines insights and changes that will impact the strategy, and tracks performance,” he says.
This is exactly the approach that’s taken by fintech Capitec and professional rugby union The Sharks.
Brands own strategy, agencies execute
“At Capitec, we have adopted a hybrid marketing model that supports the needs of a fast-paced, digitally led fintech. We believe it is critical for brands to own their strategic thinking, while partnering with best-in-class specialists where depth, scale or highly specialised execution is required,” says Asha Patel, head of brand and communications at Capitec.
“As a deeply client-led organisation, our media strategy is grounded in rich client insight, informed by a combination of proprietary and third-party data. We work closely with our media agency to execute against this strategy, while deliberately bringing growth marketing and media intelligence capabilities in-house. This enables us to make smarter, more responsive media investment decisions, driven by the direct connection between our data, insight and performance outcomes,” Patel says.
Durban-based, internationally supported brand, The Sharks are doing the same. “Having spent over a decade in agency environments, I believe the strongest model is a hybrid approach. Keeping key decision-making in-house ensures alignment with business strategy, while agencies provide specialist expertise and scale. The balance allows for control, clarity, and high-quality execution,” says David Micklewood, head of media house at The Sharks.
Speed matters in competitive markets
“We are actively growing an in-house media team based primarily in Durban, supported by key remote specialists. While we outsource selectively, all creative and marketing direction is led internally to ensure consistency and strategic alignment. This approach allows us to move quickly while leveraging expert support where needed,” Micklewood explains.
“An in-house team enables speed, quality, and collaboration. With fewer handovers and clearer communication, we reduce errors and produce stronger work. In a fast-paced sports environment, agility is a competitive advantage,” he says.
Patel says that beyond media, Capitec has built strong internal capability across brand, internal, external and digital communications, supported by an in-house creative studio, The Creative Lab. “This team includes senior specialists in design, animation, production, music and writing. Having this capability internally allows us to drive brand consistency, creative quality, and speed to market, while still leveraging agency partners for fresh perspectives, creative tension, and exposure to local and global trends,” she says.
“Maintaining innovation within a corporate environment requires intent. We actively design for creative friction by encouraging cross-functional collaboration, inviting external partners into our thinking, and ensuring our teams are exposed to diverse viewpoints, technologies and ways of working. This helps us replicate the energy of an agency environment while benefiting from the focus and accountability of an in-house team,” Patel adds.
Develop talent and pay retainers not percentages
“Talent scarcity and increasing sophistication in media and marketing are very real challenges. We address this through a build-and-blend approach, investing in the development of our people through training, mentoring, and exposure, while partnering to develop scarce or emerging specialist skills. We standardise playbooks so knowledge is repeatable and transferable, and embed automation and technology across the marketing value chain to remove manual effort, allowing teams to focus on connecting insight to execution,” she says.
Capitec’s brand approach is deliberate. “We own what makes us competitive — strategy, insight and capability development — and partner with the best in the industry to provide external perspective, specialist depth and continued relevance,” says Patel.
The Sharks’ in-house team is playing at a similar level. “I feel that media and marketing functions must operate with agency-level energy and standards. Structure is important, but creativity must be protected. If the work becomes repetitive or process-driven, audiences disengage. Clear goals combined with creative freedom drive the best results,” Micklewood advises.
“I believe that there is no shortage of talent, only a shortage of experience. We invest in development through mentorship and internships, helping emerging talent understand both the creative and operational realities of the industry. This approach builds sustainable capability over time,” he says.
Invest in skills or outsource
When it comes to talent, Sauer’s view is blunt. “If you do not wish to invest in the right skills and talent for the channels you wish to invest in, then outsource to an agency. If you want a media agency to do an effective job, pay them a retainer for the resources and then a much smaller percentage of media spend. Don’t expect your media agency to resource someone to look after your account if your budget is constantly changing,” he says.
“Insourcing ensures the team is aligned with the business objectives, and there is no arbitrage in the media partnerships and strategy suggestions. Just ensure you know the difference between brand and performance media buying teams, Sauer says.
The hybrid model is already here
“The strongest South African brands are not choosing between in-house or agency. They are building hybrid models. Strategy, data ownership, and accountability sit internally, while agencies, freelancers, or boutique specialists are used for audits, training, innovation sprints, or complex execution when internal teams reach capacity,” says Dean Lurie, freelance Google Ads specialist and coach at The Digital Marketing Dean.
“This is already playing out at brands such as Shoprite Group and Vodacom. These businesses have not abandoned agencies. Instead, they have reclaimed high-speed data and execution layers, such as Shoprite’s Sixty60 ecosystem or Vodacom’s internal digital hubs, while still inviting external partners to challenge creative and strategic thinking. Ultimately, the winning formula is in-house for speed and accountability, outsourced for perspective,” says Lurie.
He advocates that in-house teams need to sit in what he calls “structured discomfort. Large organisations naturally lack the ‘sink or swim’ pressure found in agencies or small businesses, where losing a client can mean losing a job. To avoid stagnation, corporates must deliberately manufacture constructive pressure,” Lurie advises.
Move beyond vanity metrics
“Brands must shift teams away from vanity metrics and toward genuine commercial impact. When a media buyer understands incremental attribution, meaning proving a sale happened because of advertising rather than simply after exposure, the entire conversation changes. When they can explain how a bidding strategy affects bottom-line margin rather than just cost per acquisition, internal friction stops being personal and starts becoming productive,” he says.
👉Read more:
- The media metrics that matter most to the C-Suite (Part 1)(Feb 2026)
- The media metrics that matter most to the C-Suite (Part 2)(Feb 2026)
“In-housing is not a cost-saving exercise. Brands that treat it as one usually fail quietly. The most successful South African organisations treat media as a strategic data engine, not just a channel. They keep ownership of strategy, data, and accountability in-house, while deliberately inviting external challenge to stay sharp. The future is not agency versus in-house. It is intentional ecosystems, where the right work happens in the right place, by people who are trained, trusted, and continuously challenged,” Lurie says.
Charles Lee Mathews is a senior editor to MarkLives MEDIA and a senior writer to MarkLives.com, as well as co-founder of The Writers, a writing consultancy.
