Page 339 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

MARKETING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 317

considered production. The fee charged by a “mail house” would be considered
media. For print advertising, everything the agency charges to produce the ad, from
photography and design to any color proofs they have made to verify the look of
the ad, would be considered production. The cost of placing the ad in the magazine
would be considered media.
■ Your marketing and communication budget for a development project should be in
the neighborhood of 1 percent of your overall construction budget. Melaver, Inc.’s
budget, as we will see later, tends to run a little higher, at about 1.4 percent, but
most of that spend is devoted to outreach, advocacy, and education.

Cost Guidelines
Agency fees can be expensive. Here are some rough cost guidelines in 2008 dollars:

■ Television: No less than $15,000 per spot.
■ Radio: No less than $1,000 per spot.
■ Print advertising: Expect to pay a minimum of about $6,000 for a campaign of
three ads; that will probably not buy you original photography or artwork. With
regard to print work, photography and illustrated art are owned by the individuals
who produce them. Consequently, fees for using those materials are often high. The
quality of those materials is almost always directly related to what you pay for it.
Great photography is expensive.
■ Collateral: Prices for printed pieces generally start around $10,000 on the low end
and can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on complexity and
quantity.
■ Logos: Logos range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.
■ Hourly fees: Creative time charged by the agency typically starts at $100 an hour
and goes up from there.

Don’t be afraid to ask what things will cost, and be willing to say how much money
you have budgeted for a project. All of that being said, many agencies want to work
with clients who do good work and who allow them to do good work. In short, there
is no “blue book” for agencies like there is for cars. There is no manufacturer’s sug-
gested retail price for a printed collateral piece. Your best bet is to negotiate from your
budget. Tell them what you have and what you want to accomplish. Let them be cre-
ative. Let them create work they are proud to show others. You’ll get the best work for
the best price that way.

Alternative Compensation Strategies: Don’t hesitate to offer creative com-
pensation solutions. Barter is still alive and well. If you’re constructing office space,
there’s nothing an advertising or design firm likes better than cool digs. Offer rent con-
cessions on future tenancy. Offer co-branding or sponsorship opportunities. Your goal
should be to establish a relationship. If the agency wants to work with you, they will
collaborate to work out a creative compensation strategy.