Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images Contributor This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Brands like J. Crew and Splenda are shifting back to ad agencies, in a bright spot for the industry. The pandemic pressured brands to cut costs and gain intel on competitors, and in-housing is costly. But the in-housing trend isn't going away entirely. In the summer, Splenda hired a social-media agency for the first time, Max Connect Marketing. Splenda had always handled its social-media marketing internally. But the pandemic increased the need for companies to communicate with their customers on social channels, and the sweetener wanted to keep tabs on what other consumer brands like Taco Bell and Kraft Heinz were doing, said Matt Thompson, the senior manager of social media for Splenda's parent company, Heartland Food Products Group.