The Right Hand Learns from the Left

Author: Don Crawford, Corbus

May 2012

Marketing departments are opening their eyes to what their IT departments

pay for IT development. As marketing departments start to take apart their

agency contract they are starting to question bill rates on HTML website

design, Flash websites, testing services and other e-commerce solutions. The

standard bill rate on marketing term sheets reflect a fee across the board for

the whole campaign. These rates charged by agencies are typically $140-150

an hour. This rate is 3-5 times higher than the fees charged by IT companies

for similar services like those above. So, why the difference?

Historically, IT departments have had to work on limited budgets, cost savings

strategies and efficient staffing. As a cost center, downward pressure to

reduce expense through efficiency is considered SOP.Marketing departments

have historically been charged to increase sales, increase brand recognition

and grow customer base. The two areas are charged with different goals.

IT also has an in depth knowledge of IT services and the skills necessary to

The Right Hand Learns from the Left

Marketing departments are opening their eyes to what their IT departmentspay for IT development. As marketing departments start to take apart theiragency contract they are starting to question bill rates on HTML websitedesign, Flash websites, testing services and other e-commerce solutions. Thestandard bill rate on marketing term sheets reflect a fee across the board forthe whole campaign. These rates charged by agencies are typically $140-150an hour. This rate is 3-5 times higher than the fees charged by IT companiesfor similar services like those above. So, why the difference?

Historically, IT departments have had to work on limited budgets, cost savingsstrategies and efficient staffing. As a cost center, downward pressure toreduce expense through efficiency is considered SOP.Marketing departmentshave historically been charged to increase sales, increase brand recognitionand grow customer base. The two areas are charged with different goals.IT also has an in depth knowledge of IT services and the skills necessary to complete or produce IT services. Marketing departments do not necessarily have that same knowledge.

Marketing departments are moving toward decoupling the services offered by full service agencies’ and acting as their own general contractors on campaigns. By acting as the general contractor brands are now splitting the services between creative and IT. This creates savings of 30-50% off traditional methods. This does not come without complexities in its execution. Acting as the general contractor means coordinating with multiple companies so that the finished product is on time without sacrificing execution excellence. Corbus can help your company with this knowledge transfer and has the expertise to act as your general contractor to make the execution painless.

Is your company prepared to act as their own general contractor or do you need help in evaluating your advertising spend? Contact us today.