Have you ever been asked at work to trim the budget? Is there a cheaper option? Can it be a favour? Look for a better deal?
Frustrating isn't it? But people very quickly forget that often you get what you pay for and that a cheap deal can lead to a below par result.
Expectation across business is not balanced. Many companies expect the best execution and performance for their business but on the other hand are not necessarily willing to pay for the best. The result? A great big pile of average, disappointment, missed opportunity and stress.
There have been many times that I've been to a trade show, an exhibition, concert, festival or just observed materials in the marketplace and looked on with envy at the slick execution that only healthy budgets can give you.
I've been lucky to work with some great creative minds, but often the initial vision of a great campaign can be hampered by budget, but the budget does not hamper boardroom expectation.
One occasion I recall the green eyed monster popping up was when Absolute Radio showcased their awesome camper van for broadcast, branding and interview use during festival season. Vehicles as stages are nothing new, but this had an element of cool. At the same time I was working for Mercia FM in the same industry at my first Godiva Festival in Coventry and with the budget available to me that year I was able to purchase a packet of blank CD's for an interactive studio for kids, that was pretty much it. Don't worry things improved in the following years for that radio station.
Ok this is a small one off example and from a particular moment in time. I have had some nice budgets to play with and I have been lucky enough to see some real quality campaigns be produced. But it just shows that at that moment which brand had the backing of their board to deliver something special to the audience and I think it looked fab.
You do get what you pay for and when I have worked with decent budgets decent feedback and reputations follow.
During my time with Orion Media and the Free Radio Live event at the NEC in Birmingham we knew we didn't always have the clout to compete with Capital FM's national pull for artists to perform at our multi-artist shows. But what we were able to do was build an experience around the show that meant that the punters had a great experience, saw high production values and engaged with the brand far more. This enhanced the reputation of the show year on year and lead to sell out after sell out and with that came bigger names who wanted to be associated with the event.
I get that is can be a bit of a chicken and egg situation sometimes. And as a result of pulling rabbits out of hats with small budgets I've been able to find some quirky solutions to problems so I should stop whining. But sometimes it would just be nice to call up a media agency or a supplier and say "I want that, yes that price is fine".
Mini moan over. Apologies to all you Finance Directors out there, love you! :)
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