Setting budgets
The marketing budget typically includes all promotional and communications costs as well as those of running the marketing function; the media budget refers to the investment by a brand in paid-for media. Setting budgets involves estimating the costs needed to meet the brand’s strategic, financial and customer behaviour goals. Best-practice budgeting is an analytical process that requires detailed information about the brand's competitive set and its status within it (for example, its share of voice).
Key Reading
Important papers from across the Warc database
This guide summarises the key arguments on Warc around budgeting, offering marketers practical advice from industry experts. It covers topics including the budgeting process, ways of using data modelling, budgeting in a multi-channel world and when budgets have to be cut.
Andrew Green on why this most important of questions for marketers lacks a simple solution.
This article explains how risk assessment techniques can be applied to market budgeting.
The relationship between SOV and SOM as the most important factor determining budgets.
Practical tips for cutting budgets – a process that should be careful and rational, not emotional.
