Each campaign will include their own budget. We will continue to look at the Explore Georgia Campaign, that will take into account both direct costs (e.g., paid ads) and indirect costs (e.g., labor, tools, creative, and management fees).The budget will be broken down into direct costs related to the paid ads and indirect costs associated with staff hours, tools, and other support functions.

​

Direct Costs

Direct costs are the expenses tied directly to the campaign's execution, including ad spend, clicks, and any associated fees for external services or platforms.

• Paid Advertising Spend (Direct cost) - Explore Georgia campaign is $100.

• Cost per Click (CPC) for Explore GA (Direct cost) - CPC: $0.67

• Number of clicks: 150 - Total CPC cost: 150 × $0.67 = $100.50

• Cost per Visitor (CPV) (Direct cost) Cost per visitor: $0.29

• Total Visitors: 350 - Total CPV cost: 350 × $0.29 = $101.50

 

 

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs include labor, creative production, software tools, and other support functions not directly tied to the execution of the ads but necessary for the campaign.

Labor Costs (Internal and External Staff)

This is an estimate of the number of hours required to execute the campaign and the associated hourly rates for internal or external staff.

• Campaign Manager (Internal)

  • Hours required: 20 hours (planning, overseeing, monitoring, optimization)

  • Hourly rate: $50/hour

  • Total: 20 hours × $50 = $1,000

• Creative Team (External Contractor)

  • Hours required: 15 hours (designing creative assets like display banners, videos, etc.)

  • Hourly rate: $75/hour

  • Total: 15 hours × $75 = $1,125

• Copywriting/Content (External Contractor)

  • Hours required: 10 hours (writing ad copy, landing page copy, and emails)

  • Hourly rate: $60/hour

  • Total: 10 hours × $60 = $600

Software and Tools Costs

Campaigns often require tools for management, analytics, and optimization.

• Ad Management Platform (e.g., Google Ads, Amazon Ads):

  • Subscription cost: $200/month (this could be pro-rated depending on campaign duration)

• Analytics Tools (e.g., Google Analytics Premium, SEMrush, etc.):

  • Subscription cost: $150/month (pro-rated)

• Landing Page Builder (e.g., Unbounce, Instapage):

  • Subscription cost: $100/month (pro-rated)

Miscellaneous Costs

• Contingency (unexpected costs): 10% of the total budget.

  • 10% of Total Direct and Indirect Costs = 10% × ($302 + $1,000 + $1,125 + $600 + $450) = $347.70

​

Total Campaign Budget

Now, we can combine the direct costs and indirect costs to calculate the overall budget for the Explore GA campaign.

Final Notes

• Total Direct Costs: $302.00 — This covers the ad spend and the associated click and visitor costs.

• Total Indirect Costs: $3,522.70 — This covers the labor for internal/external staff, software tools, creative, copywriting, and contingency costs.

Total Campaign Budget: $3,824.70

 

This overall budget will allow you to execute and manage the Explore GA campaign effectively, accounting for both the tangible ad spend and the necessary behind-the-scenes operations that ensure the campaign’s success.

 

Recommendations for Optimizing the Budget

• Consider Automating Ad Management: If the campaign manager’s time is too costly, consider using more automation for managing ads (e.g., automated bidding) to reduce manual oversight.

• Negotiate with External Creatives: Try to negotiate a discount or fixed-rate pricing with external contractors to reduce costs on creative and content.

• Optimize Software Usage: Review whether all the software tools are necessary, or if there are free alternatives that can serve the same purpose, especially for campaign tracking and optimization.

• Monitor Performance to Adjust Budget: As the campaign progresses, be prepared to adjust the ad spend and creative efforts based on performance data to ensure that you’re maximizing ROI.