It’s that time of year, at least for a number of PR execs, to take a look at where your organization’s budget stands. With revenues still being affected by the economic slump, top leadership is, most likely, perusing budgets line by line.
So it’s important for PR executives to take a midyear budget/resources gut check, and figure what is working, what’s not, and where to better position dollars and people for the rest of the year.
PR News recently asked some communications executives how they go about assessing where they are with PR budgets, and factors they take into considering when moving resources from one area to another.
ALIGN WITH BUSINESS GOALS
Steve Astle, VP of corporate marketing at FICO, is one executive who is currently assessing his team’s midstream efforts.
Astle met once a day for three weeks straight with two peers, the VP of field marketing and VP of industry marketing, on the subject of resource adjustment. “We looked at budgeting overall, then we made recommendations to our boss, who is head of sales and marketing,” says Astle. That boss, he adds, is tremendously supportive of the role PR plays in customer engagement. He starts at the top, by comparing his department’s efforts with the business goals set for the year. “We have dashboards to look at how PR is doing,” says Astle. “But it’s how PR is performing relative to the business goals that really count.”
And much of FICO’s business goals, says Astle, are centered on better serving customers. In making the PR/customer connection, FICO is looking closely at the human resources element. “We’re asking the question: ‘Are our employees positioned the best for optimal customer outreach compared to program dollars being spent?’” he says.
NO SACRED COWS
The answer to that question is no, which has resulted in some changes within the organization. “We realized that more of our communications people needed to go out in the field engaging with customers,” says Astle. As a result, five new hires are in the works, while other staff doing specific production and solutions marketing are being reevaluated.
Astle believes that organizations often skirt around human resources issues, because it can be a painful process, particularly given the bad economy. Openness and some courage are key, he says. “There is nothing that can’t be dismantled or adjusted,” says Astle. Now, with those new hires, “we’ve placed our bets for the rest of the year,” he says. “We’ll find out if we win.”
The people factor is equally important in a nonprofit setting. Just ask Patricia Reilly, VP of communications at the Association of American Railroads. As Reilly’s budget is squeezed ever tighter, demands on her staff are getting greater. “We’re asking people to shoulder more responsibilities,” says Reilly. “Unfortunately, the status quo doesn’t go away, but the need to grow and be more creative with human resources is always going to be there.”
Reilly’s budget check is not limited to midyear. Her efforts, which include both paid and earned media, ebb and flow with the congressional calendar and depend mightily on the issues that are important to the AAR’s members.
“If I think it’s going to be a contentious year in our industry, I’ll heavy up on advertising,” says Reilly, who adds that while so far it’s been relatively quiet, the congressional elections are coming up in the fall, and things may change.
“My goal is to be able to save on advertising and shift dollars to long-term projects that I’ve had to put on hold,” she says.
SHIFTING CONTENT
Calling FICO “content rich,” Astle says content is a big factor when adjusting the communications mix. “Part of what we do is create content on topics that customer care about,” he says. “But, are we creating the right kind of content?”
For example, Astle cites a well-received white paper series that is now under review. “Are there other ways to communicate more effectively or platforms that can complement the white papers?” he asks. “We found the answer to be yes.”
So Astle plans to cut the number of white papers produced in half, and put more resources into blogging, which can be just as effective in generating thought leadership, and will save content creation costs in the process.
Kipp Cheng, group director of corporate communications at marketing services agency G2, confirms Astle’s strategy as one that is becoming popular among PR leaders. “As budget dollars have decreased, communications execs have to be thinking about expanding in the social media space for little to no money,” says Cheng. “The tools might require less expenditures, but it’s all about using internal resources such as staff to create digital content.”
Cheng just recently landed at G2 after leading communications for seven years at the advertising trade association the 4A’s. There he recalls a midcourse shift from live events to producing e-learning platforms such as webinars. “You’re not saving on human capital, but there’s a tremendous dollars and cents savings, and you’re able to package a webinar for long-term returns,” says Cheng.
Cheng has the following recommendations on what PR execs should and shouldn’t do when making budget decisions.
What you should do:
• Look at your budget on a clean slate.
• Don’t let legacy ideas or practices dictate your approach assessment of budget.
• Consider investing in things like talent and technology as it relates to infrastructure. Spending dollars on things for the short-term gain that’s not related to infrastructure never seems useful.
What shouldn’t you do:
• Think about your budget in isolation. Make sure it fits into the larger strategic business plan. And, it should be aligned with marketing. You don’t want to kill things that marketing cares deeply about.
• Change goals. Tactical shifts to reflect changes in circumstances are fine, but reorientation of effort to achieve different goals sends mixed messages and undermines confidence.
• Throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don’t change your budget to a point where nothing gets done. Then you’ve analyzed yourself out of a job.
Astle adds that before assessing a budget, PR executives need to reflect on how the organization is doing overall, then find collaborators, such as people in sales and product development, to validate those reflections. “There may be friction with these functions, but it will lead to a budget that is in step with key internal stakeholders,” he says. PRN
CONTACT:
Steve Astle, [email protected]; Patricia Reilly, [email protected]; Kipp Cheng, [email protected]; Kathleen Lewton, [email protected].