Public Relations Prospects: Budgets

By Erica Wenham, Wednesday 16 January 2013.

Public Relations Practice & Skillset (Week 14)

Implementing new advertising, marketing and PR material for a brand’s seasonal campaign can be very costly and if managed poorly, finance can be a major downfall for the agency and the client itself. While it is difficult to project the total final cost of campaign activities for the brand, it is essential to always keep track of expenditures to avoid insufficient funds or bankruptcy in the long-run. Spending will be an ongoing concern for the agency and client itself and therefore, all financial figures are usually estimates and may need to be consulted further for overall approval. An example copy of a budget sheet which I personally for a mobile launch event, press conference and more is outlined below.

Any items marked with an asterisk (*) are cost estimates. All other items are exact prices.
Copywriting & Mailings
Press Release 1 (As shown in CW001 Content Design Report): “Lenovo To Launch Promising & Unique New Smartphone in the UK” (to be published pre-event)	£450*
Press Release 2 (Main News Story): “Must-Have K800 is exclusively launched at The Mermaid, London for first time by Lenovo” (to be published as main news story)	£450*
Pre-Event (Staff, Film Crew, Guest Invitations etc.)
Project Management
Venue Checking & Organisation of The Newgate Suite (Stage 1)		Cost to check & review venue prior to launch day is provided free of charge by The Mermaid centre. Cost to check and organise the newgate suite & upper river room in the morning before the event is due to take place is included as part of the overall quotes for room hire (shown at “the event – stage 1 & 2”)
Venue Checking & Organisation of The Upper River Room (Stage 2)
Planning, Research & Marketing The Event		£500*
“East meets West” Decorations & Chinese Attire for Staff		£1,750*
Media
Admin, Print & Selling Costs for Invitations & Welcome Pack		£250*
Travel
2 visiting Lenovo management & key speakers from China (flight fares x2)		£7,200*
Consultancy travel to and from venue for key speakers from Lenovo and 3, journalists, etc.		£500*
Staff
Video News Crew to film aspects of the product launch (wages, food & drink, travel expenses, editing etc.) “BluefinTV”			£1,350*
The Mermaid Staff Wages (Cloakroom Attendants and Security) @ roughly £45 per person (x4) – All other staff e.g. waiters/waitresses, greeters are provided free of charge by The Mermaid (cost of this is covered in overall quote)			£180
Lenovo Staff & Spokesperson for “3” Wages for key speeches/attendance at the event (x5)			£1,750*
Daily Rate for Bucks First PR (x5)			£1,350
Photographer (incl. travel expenses, wages, food & drink, printing costs for photos)			£800*
Entertainment (Chinese Dragon Dance) incl. travel expenses, dance performance, accommodation - “Costello Entertainments”			£600*
Other
K800 prototypes for Lenovo to present & for guests, journalists, media (etc) to view/test/review (x20)		Provided free of charge by Lenovo
General expenses (telephone, internet access, fax, copying, stationary, general mail etc.)		£50*
Toilet Facilities & First Aid		Cost is included as part of overall hire quote.
The Event (Stage 1 – Press Conference & Demo)
Reception Foyer (including cloakroom) for meet & greet and post-event venue.		Free of charge
Complimentary welcome soft drinks/beer/wine		Cost is included as part of the “4 hrs unlimited drink of choice @ £30 per person” quote (shown at “the event – stage 2”)
Hire of “The Newgate Suite”		£4,000
AV Equipment
Generic Lighting & Sound System		Free of charge
LCD Projector, Screen & Microphone		Cost is included as part of the “all day hire of The Newgate Suite”
The Event (Stage 2 – Launch Party & Demo)
Hire of “Upper River Room” (7pm-10pm)		£2,000
20 item canapés (hot & cold/vegetarian & meat selection) @ £40 per person		£40 x 300 (incl. staff) = £12,000
4 hrs unlimited beer/wine/soft drinks @ £30 per person		£30 x 300 (incl. staff) = £9,000
Post-Event
Overnight 5 Star Accommodation (including breakfast) (x4)	£860*
Post-Press Release	Approximate cost shown at “copywriting & mailings”
Post-Event Cleaning & Event Closure (e.g. cleaning products/recycling etc.)	£60*
Sub Total	£45,100
Contingency @ 5%	£2,225
Final Total	£47,355