Consider the Cost of Feeding a Campaign First

Consider the Cost of Feeding a Campaign First

One of modern business’s most cliche ideas is “if you build it, they will come.” That iconic line from Kevin Costner’s last good movie gets abused in all contexts. So it was refreshing to hear the opposite sentiment during the MFEA Distribution Summit.

There’s an uptick in new marketing campaigns. Some campaigns are product-focused (Global Funds and Oppenheimer). Some are channel-focused (New World, BlackRock, & Retail). Some are pricing-focused (5x and VG). In most cases, the campaigns drive people to learn more via a comprehensive Web site and hopefully campaign-related interactions with Sales.

Marketing organizations need to drive people to investigate the concepts behind the campaign. Build a campaign with a microsite and they will NOT come. You need to compel “they” to come. Those resources, such as television, print media, radio and social media, are not trivial. Actually, they can be very expensive.

Before thinking about ROI or other financial metrics, ask one crucial question: how much is the organization willing to spend in order to compel the desired prospects to listen? Take that number to the PR and Media groups and ask for an estimated sizing: for that amount of spend, how much media can the organization purchase.

Designing a campaign and building the creative executions is the first step. In our industry, a few firms advertise often and effectively. These firms have processes (not dissimilar to a consumer products company) that begin with those questions. For some mid-sized or small but growing firms, those processes may not exist, so analyzing the full cost, time, and resources first is a good approach to advertising.

If the estimate doesn’t seem sufficient to compel prospects and clients, then using those dollars for something else may be more effective.