CATCHING THE BULL BY THE HORNS – HAVING THE BUDGET CONVERSATION WITH THE CLIENT
– DEATH BY BUDGET: An Ad Adda at Brand Chorcha –
Having a budget conversation with the client, convincing them of the tangible business outcome of your proposed business idea and getting the spend approved may be one of the trickiest – and stickiest – parts of the process but an inevitable one. As an ad agency, you are up against several variables like considerable financial risk of your client, subjective taste, and objection handling from key decision-makers. All too often, trust gaps and different goals of both parties make often this a tough journey. Are there ways to navigate through this maze? Industry experts shared their views in Death by Budget in the first edition of Brand Chorcha.
Kanchan Datta, Founder & CEO – Inner Circle Advertising and President, Advertising Club, Kolkata chaired the session with Amarpreet Singh Modi, Brand Planner and Consultant, Chandradeep CD Mitra, Founder & CEO – Pipalmajik and educator at multiple leading management colleges and Samrat Mukherjee, Vice President – Madison World.
Brand Golpo presents the excerpts of Part II of Death by Budget –
How Clients Feel About a Proposed Ad Budget
Datta emphasized the point conviction that comes only when you are confident yourself to instill that courage in the client accenting the straight-up benefits that they will get from approving a certain campaign and associated budget. The best brand will stagnate and gradually die if adequate campaigns do not keep it alive through adequate flow of cash.
He drew attention to one of the world’s globally famous account relationships between British Airways and Charles and Maurice Saatchi. The ad agency was entrusted of reviving the mammoth brand’s dwindling image in the early 1980s and they pulled it off with a potent mixture of self-confidence, vision, and creativity. The client had no reason to shoot down any of their pathbreaking campaigns that turned the fortunes of the airline around and left competitors rankling.
Modi said that despite the fact that ad agency teams feel they know best armed as they are with data and analysis, nothing can beat the fact that the promoter knows his business inside out. If he is the founder, the equation becomes even more formidable. You cannot browbeat him with data but show him real value that his business will gain, show a clear return on his investment, focus on business goals and revenue, connect every rupee in the budget to growth.
Mitra dwelt on how every client tends to benchmark budgets against last year’s. So, it is imperative that you plan to build in small extras that he will earn free of cost for the quality and quantity of work that you will provide with the rise in budget that you may be proposing.
Mukherjee underscored the importance of honesty in your proposed budget. It should be a shared ambition between the client and the agency. Building on the experience should be part of the growth process for both. The importance of earned media being tremendous in our age, the client should be clearly demonstrated the opportunities of earning back through public exposure once the campaign’s budget is approved.
Mitra added that it may be inaccurate to be fixated on a bigger budget. A bigger budget is not the magic ingredient of a successful campaign. Lesser ad budget may be the fountainhead of more creative ideas. Ownership, partnership, accountability – these should be the non-negotiable core values for any ad agency to build the client’s trust, drive campaign results, and foster long-term loyalty. Brands are not only cultural artefacts but also business assets. It is for ad agencies to marry the two strange and dual attributes.
Datta reinforced the point by giving the example of one of his clients where the ad agency fills in as the brand team because of their strong business relationship. The client here is viewing you as a business partner, not a vendor because you have been able to enshrine their business goals completely over a good stretch of time.
The panel collectively voiced the opinion that as in any relationship, it is important to get the ad agency relationship with the client set right through ownership, accountability, and partnership by not just tying your work to their marketing KPIs but overarching business goals. Chuck out old and average ideas. Bring creative ideas that are tied to ROI. Trust building happens through high quality, proactive work that comes from deep investment of energies. Clients understand quicker when you share their business ambitions and goals. Getting an ad budget approved faster when you show a data-backed business plan or proposal with clear ROI.
