marketing management consultants

A blueprint for reducing your advertising production costs

(Or ten ways to ensure you are not paying too much)

marketing management consultants

•  After media, the next biggest advertising expense marketers and advertisers are responsible for is advertising production:

– Television, digital, internet, social media, cinema, newspapers, magazines, outdoor, radio, direct mail and more.

•  The problem for most advertisers is that this area of expenditure is often shrouded in terminology that is confusing, technical and potentially misleading.

•  Let’s look at “A blueprint for reducing your advertising production costs” or 10 ways to ensure you are not paying too much.

marketing management consultants

The top 4 reasons people pay too much for advertising production:

1. Poor planning 2. Lack of understanding 3. No time 4. Complex approvals

marketing management consultants

1.  I need you to design a house, or an extension or perhaps a bungalow - okay?

Detail all considerations up front - leave nothing out - include your requirements and your objectives and put it in writing so there is no confusion and a point of reference throughout the process.

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2. Great, can you build it by Monday?

Plan the production schedule up front - ensure the agency leaves enough time for creative development, approvals, production and final approvals - otherwise you end up paying for it. It can always be done faster, but it costs.

marketing management consultants

3. Wow, that’s more than I have to spend, can we get a another quote?

Always insist on 3 competitive quotes to ensure competitive pricing, but be assured that true competitive pricing is almost impossible to achieve as the process is rarely a properly executed tender - instead, ask the agency to provide a range of estimates from budget through to full costs so you have a range from which to choose.

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4. It’s more than we thought, can you explain what these cost are?

Insist the agency provides you with a complete and detailed breakdown of not only their costs, but their suppliers costs and ask them to explain each cost to you so you are completely clear why you are incurring these costs. Often there are substantial contingencies built into estimates to cover unforseen costs and these become profit if they are not required.

marketing management consultants

5. $10,000 for marble bench tops! Maybe Laminex would be okay?

The agency will almost always offer you the top quality execution, but do you always need the best if the campaign is only short term. You wouldn’t print a flyer on an A1 stock? Think about the task to be undertaken, the media budget and the campaign duration in your assessment of costs.

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6. What if we went out and sourced these items ourselves?

Where possible, ensure the agency passes external supplier costs on to you at net, without mark ups or commissions. Often agencies receive volume discounts, rebates or commissions from suppliers. The alternative is to pay third party suppliers direct, but having the agencies pass costs on at net protects you from managing a range of suppliers and ensures the agency has no incentive to recommend the more expensive solution.

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7. That’s great, but can we put the toilet here instead?

It is important to make approvals at the appropriate time and avoid making major changes later in the production process as this will cause significant costs. Have the agency identify key approval dates early in the process. Ensure these align to your timetable and availability of key stakeholders. Hold the agency and yourself accountable to these deadlines.

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8. We’ll get planning approval once the job is finished, okay?

Make sure everyone in the approval process is kept in the loop during all stages of the production. More money is wasted by senior people making changes late in the process. This does not mean they must attend every meeting, but it does mean they should have access to reporting processes that keep them up to date with the production developments.

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9. What do you mean extras, I didn’t approve any extras?

Have all extras quoted and approved before the changes can be made. This keeps track of the extras which can be the most expensive part of any production. At the end of the production, have a complete reconciliation of all costs and approve only those costs that have been approved. No written approval - no payment.

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10. If in doubt, contact TrinityP3

There is no excuse for wasting money on production. It takes away valuable resources from other equally important part of the campaign mix. Outstanding production value can make a communication campaign, but wasted production costs can kill it just as quick.

marketing management consultants

The top 4 ways to reduce your advertising production:

1.  Plan ahead

2.  Ask questions

3.  Manage the process

marketing management consultants

TrinityP3 Pty Ltd Sydney

+612 8399 0922 Melbourne

+613 9682 6800 Hong Kong

+852 3478 3982 Singapore

+65 6631 2861

people@trinityp3.com www.trinityp3.com

Questions?