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How To Get More From Your Ad Agency : Are You Buying A Kia or a Cadillac?

Posted by Vivid Communications in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on Dec 02, 2006

By Katy Barrilleaux

When you go shopping for a car do you set out with no idea how much money you are going to spend? Do you go from one dealership to another just looking at which cars you like the most without regard for cost? Unless you have nothing better to do with your time, I doubt that you do. But this is what you are doing when you ask your advertising agency to work on a project, but you don't supply a budget.

I understand your concern is two-fold. First that you don't have a comfort level with what the project should cost. And secondly, that when you give the ad agency a budget, they will automatically spend all of it, leaving you to wonder if you could have gotten the same work for less money. It's the old leaving-money-on-the-table concern you feel when you buy a car. And this feeling is only confirmed when the agency spends all of the budget -- and then some.

This scenario can be a real strain on client-agency relations. The agency will spend a lot of time (and possibly money that you get charged) heading in the wrong direction. And you may see something that you really like, but can't afford. It's usually a no-win situation.

The solution to this is to have a frank budget discussion with your agency up front. Go into this discussion with an idea of the scope of the project and be prepared to provide a budget range. Are you interested in a Kia or a Cadillac? Are we talking $25K or $200K?

Your agency should be able to give you an idea of the range that is realistic for the scope outlined...or the project scope that would be realistic for the budget provided. Either way, come to some agreement on the parameters of the project, including budget.

And if you want to give the agency room to be creative with the project by not specifying too much of the scope, you can always give them a budget range and ask them to come back with options that hit the low and high end of the range.

So next time you are initiating a project with your advertising agency, talk budget up front and you won't end up with a lemon.