What is Budgeting in the PR?
Budgeting in the PR refers to setting up the costs for the campaign. Budgeting in the PR incorporates costs for all the PR activities that are to be carried out. Budgeting needs setting of priorities and gives importance on being cost-effective. It weeds out ineffective activities. Budgeting also involves detailing of all steps, phases and timing of activities.
Given below are the key components of a PR department’s budget:
- Salaries of the staff,
- Office expenses,
- The media costs,
- Transport costs,
- Stationery and postage expenses,
- Printing, photography and other production costs, and
- Hiring of equipment, conference rooms and hospitality.
Proper accounting procedures for all these expenses have to be followed, Records of all expenditure and payments should be maintained. If the charges are estimated in advance, there would be no reason for over expenditure or cost over runs.
The action that is proposed and the activities to be undertaken by the media determine the budget for the PR activities. Besides the departmental expenses, the basic and vital factors in budgeting are the objectives of the programme campaign and the target group to be reached. The budget for the PR campaign also depends on the duration. The PR budget thus, includes the departmental expenses, the goals to be accomplished, the task involved, the media to be used and the duration of the programme.