Due to the industry trend of more marketers bringing agency services in-house; Apple has decided to pick out a few good men and women into the fold as it works towards bringing more advertising and marketing in-house.
Longtime observers say after years of capping the size and type of internal creative talent, the tech giant is significantly expanding its in-house design group. One executive familiar with the company said the group could grow to 500 or 600 staffers from about 300. The move dovetails with a recent Association of National Advertisers study that found big marketers ratcheting up in-house advertising capabilities. Apple wasn't part of the study, which showed the penetration of in-house shops among its members shot up to 58% from 42% five years ago.
Ramping up capabilities represents a necessary shift in direction for Apple, which under the late Steve Jobs "was fairly strict about the headcount in that group," said the executive, who asked not to be named. "The group didn't grow proportionally to the company as it went through astronomical growth, and that was partly because Steve wanted Apple to be seen as a products company, not a marketing company."
As reported, Apple has begun hiring ad execs with creative experience to help brands and agencies create better ads for its iAd network. But it is now seeking talent to work on the brand itself and wants to bulk up its ranks of high-level creative directors and heads of innovation. As part of its recruiting efforts, Apple has approached senior creatives known for innovative work. Apple works with a few outside agencies, including TBWA/Media Arts Lab, Mono in Minneapolis and San Francisco's Eleven. That's not expected to change. But the in-house group has been tackling more projects, doing everything from site design to tutorial videos for Apple products to maintaining a large internal commercial-production facility.
And before you jump for joy at the thought of working within the Apple-Empire; take into consideration the commute to the headquarters in Cupertino, California, and the fact of working solely for a single client...Apple. Even if it IS only Apple, you have to keep this up top as well; your creative-mind may end up being stifled by the guidelines of Apple's products and procedures already in place. Mr. Jobs was notorious for keeping a close watch over everything Apple -- including brand messaging. After his death, observers speculated about whether Apple advertising and marketing would suffer creatively without his oversight. Observers said Apple is driven not by a desire for more efficiency, but one to keep intellectual property within its walls and retain more ownership over its creative work. Yea...what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine!
