Except for the very smallest of jobs, creative fees are always a small fraction of total costs (printing, media, etc.). The incremental difference between having professional, outside support or not will typically only increase costs from 5 to 10% on a small brochure or ad, and less than 1% on an annual report or multi-page web site. When the true costs of internal preparation — salaries, overhead, lost productivity— are added up, outside services nearly always cost less, not more. What’s more, external specialists likely have more refined skills than internal resources. Viewed from the bottom-line perspective, a small additional investment in design and writing quality produces an ROI that is sure to warm the heart of even the toughest CFO.

Sincere thanks to Cameron Foote of Creative Business, who gave BDN permission to share his thoughts on the true cost of creativity.