Since 2008, the world of marketing has changed significantly. And for an experienced marketing agency, the changes to how companies manage their marketing budgets has been, well, challenging. The average marketing budget has taken a cut due to a belief — warranted or not — that digital marketing is much less expensive than traditional marketing channels like billboards, TV advertising or print ads.
It’s true, digital marketing is, simply, less expensive than pre-2008 billboards, or print, or that antiquated medium — television. However, you can’t forget that the cost per impression is much higher when you use the simple multiplier of the pre-millennium averages of 500-1600 ads per day versus the number of ads we see daily now — which can be 6-10,000. Yes, it may be easier to reach people. But it’s harder to make an impression that sticks.
So it may seem like you want to reduce your marketing budget. But before you do, realize you have to factor in two multipliers that are important: the cost for content that will be “sticky” and money to run more “experiments.”
Marketing budgets in the digital era are a good news/bad news proposition. The good news is digital ads cost less. The bad news is, you have to stand out and to do so, you must make sure you budget for digital experiments & creative support
Spark Rocket Marketing
Quality content costs money
Let’s talk quality using the example of video production. Everyone these days is a photographer or videographer, no? And yes, you can film content on your Iphone. But do you want to be one of these companies? And it’s not just the device you use to film that’s at issue, but also things like understanding lighting, sound, continuity, shot framing and more that means, at a minimum, you need to hire someone who knows those things.
And well prior to filming, you need a concept… And you need to have a script to support that concept… And the right location… And permits to film and use the location… And sources for sound equipment or sound beds… And models/talent…And…
…And all of those items require professionals who know how to envision, imaging and create those things. Which brings me to the next point…
Your 2nd cousin seeking an “internship” is not a professional
It is not your job to give your family members jobs. It is not your job to help your great aunt build her new portfolio for her side gig. (And we’ve said it before but please don’t “crowdsource” opinions on your branded content.)
This may be hard. But not only is that family member probably not as talented as you or he thinks, it’s a really awkward position for him or you to be in for transparency and genuinely good advice. He can’t tell you that your great marketing idea is wrong even if he is mega-talented because you’re his uncle. You can’t tell her that her photos or copy suck because she’s your baby sister’s daughter. Especially in the start-up world, it’s super tempting to use these “free” resources. But wouldn’t you rather drive tons of traffic to your shopping portal with a great campaign where you make a gazillion dollars and then heck, just give cousin Susie a big fat check to help her jumpstart her design career.
All silliness about family dynamics aside, it is so important that you put in your marketing budget a plan to hire professionals in the areas of:
- Content development
- Creative writing
- Photography/videography
- Design
- Social media content planning and calendar development
Experimentation must be part of your marketing budget
After hiring the professionals to develop your content, you then have to leave room for experimentation. Yes, long before you push ads out across the great digital sea, you should have determined the most likely buyers and influencers you have. That said — you may be wrong. All the customer profiling and data mining you do is still, essentially, a crap shoot — especially if you are a start-up or launching a new product or service. So you have to give a decent amount of money to your first budget, but you also have to be ready to pivot to your secondary and tertiary customer profiles and influencers.
So remember, when planning your digital marketing budget, don’t skimp on the creative professionals and the content they can develop and leave room for experimentation.
Uptake on a digital marketing may have outside factors that impede your success. A pandemic, for example, can make a huge difference on a restaurant who is targeting “husbands, take your wife out for a romantic evening away from the kids” that had to pivot to “mom, here are some great family meals to take home.” The creative changes, but also, the target. Granted — that’s an extreme example (and yes, we’ll admit, a slightly dated 1950s example, sorry!), but you get our meaning.
Happy budgeting!
(P.S. We’re happy to help you plan your complete marketing budget, make your strategic marketing plan and provide a healthy dose of really sticky creative.)