Maureen Wendell, VP, Account Director, Palio

Respecting the budget is one of the essential tenets of any good client/agency relationship, especially in advertising. Actually, it’s one of the basics of any good relationship, as anyone who has a wife/husband/child/parent/roommate knows! In a good pairing – of any kind – both parties have a similar focus: trying to get the most goodness out of the limited budget as possible without undue strife. Of course, though, we’ve all been in situations that weren’t ideal, where:

1. One party ignores the budget until their growing desires drive them to its limits
2. One party takes the budget seriously and the other doesn’t
3. The budget becomes the central focus of activity, not the work and the creativity it’s meant to be supporting

All too often, there really is no “bad guy.” These situations are almost always clashes between well-meaning parties on both sides. Nobody really wants to go into debt, or not be able to afford what you both want. The overall goals truly do match: it’s just that the ways of getting to them haven’t been agreed on, and in some cases, one plan may be better than the other. As in most cases, problems arise through miscommmunication. Occasionally, the budget is over-discussed (as in the third scenario above) or it’s too rarely discussed and the element of surprise disappoints everyone. But more often, the money situation isn’t agreed on thoroughly and to the satisfaction of both parties at the very beginning, and on a regular basis from there on.

One easy way to make sure this happens is to set aside a short period of time once a month for a conversation that is dedicated just to the budget. That way, it doesn’t take the place of good creative discussion, brainstorming, or activity updates. It’s a separate talk that everyone knows to expect regularly. This can go a long way toward making budgeting smooth, easy and drama-free.

And doing it on a regular basis is necessary. Just like having “The Talk” with your pre-teen kids, once and done does not cut it – you need to keep the lines of communication open. In the budgeting world, estimates are just that – timing, scope, and prices of supplies can change; unforeseen complications arise; emergencies happen that need to be addressed out of the previously sacrosanct allotted funds. In short, life happens, and a conversation in January, no matter how well-meaning and well-remembered, is unlikely to be a 100% accurate representation of how the budget situation will look in December.

So before you find yourself faced with those uncomfortable discussions at the end of the year, full of phrases like “what do you mean” and “I thought we agreed that” and “but what about” – get these monthly chats on your calendar right now. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Palio is an advertising agency revolutionizing pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing to create experiences that will Never Be Forgotten.