Getting what you pay for: What does a corporate video cost?
A client once sent us a single line email asking for a quote “for a corporate video”, with no additional information supplied.
We do completely understand it’s a bit frustrating that there isn’t always a straightforward answer to the question of how much a video will cost.
You may not be very far into your thinking and just want a sense of whether it’s feasible to factor video content into your overall campaign budget.
But here’s the thing: it’s not the same as asking a plumber how much it costs to change a tap. It’s like asking a plumber, how much does plumbing cost. To which they would say - well it depends what you need me to do.
There are simply an awful lot of variables when it comes to video production.
To give a few examples - does it involve one afternoon of filming, or a week? Are we shooting in an office in London, or on a beach in the Maldives (yes please)? Are we shooting drone footage? Does it involve complicated motion graphics? Do we need to commission a bespoke music track? Are we factoring in a studio and props?
This is also the reason we’re not able to put something like a cost calculator on our website. We’ve seen other production companies try to do this - but it involves prospective clients being able to answer questions like, “how many cameras will you want on the shoot?” and “will a sound recordist be necessary?”.
If you’ve got a lot of experience of commissioning video content, you might know the answers. But if video content is not your bread and butter, you’ll be pretty flummoxed.
Budget: TBC
The boring reality is that this really is one of those situations where even the briefest initial conversation will make the world an infinitely easier place for everyone.
Drop us a line, give us a quick call - and within a few minutes we’ll be able to give you a decent sense of whether your rough idea matches the depth of your pockets.
And please don’t be afraid to put a ballpark or range of budget into your content brief. You might be thinking you want to keep your cards close to your chest in the hope the production company will come in a lot lower than the budget you have available.
Or maybe you worry that a video production company will just charge you whatever you say the budget is, irrespective of what it actually costs.
But if you can give us an idea of your budget, it will help us to focus on a response to the brief that is affordable for you and achievable by us. We can often give you a few options at different price points within an established range, which will help you decide the approach that’s best overall.
We’ve worked on £3k video content campaigns and £100k video campaigns, and here’s the thing - we’ve always delivered value for money, because we quote fairly and accurately for the job in hand. Just ask any of our clients.
“I only put £1k in the budget for this”
Equally, it’s best not to put a line cost for video into a campaign budget before you’ve found out what the cost is really going to be.
No client likes to be told the budget they’ve signed off isn’t actually enough for what the concept demands.
And it’s tough for us when we know a really nice concept could have been achieved if only we’d been able to have a five minute chat on the phone at the outset, that then got a bit added to the budget.
So by not publishing a price list we’re not trying to be difficult, or opaque, or overly British. We’re just protecting both of us from any potential misunderstanding - and ensuring that we can deliver high quality work at a fair price. Five minutes on the phone is all it takes.