How to Fund a Marketing Environment

1. Creative Development

A marketing environment is more than just a building; it’s a space to tell your story. The creative elements behind story development and visualization require time and money. Creative development will involve discovery sessions, narrative development, funding allocations, and concept design. It will also include providing direction during fabrication and installation. 

It’s important to keep in mind you likely won’t be working with just one provider in order to complete the project. Build a team of partners who align with your vision before moving forward with the production and execution of the environment.
 

2. Cost per square foot

As the foundation of your environment’s funding strategy, the cost per square foot will direct your overall budget. Simply put, the higher the cost per square foot, the more you will spend. Your environment partner should provide you with a range of options so you can select the one that best fits within your budget and will help you achieve your goals. The cost per square foot calculation for a marketing environment is significantly different than the calculation done by an architect or general contractor for a standard office build-out. The cost per square foot is typically higher to include digital technology and displays, graphic messaging, and custom construction that are geared to tell your stories.
 

3. PRODUCTION OF PHYSICAL ELEMENTS & DIGITAL CONTENT

When producing the physical and digital elements of your environment, think about how you can create a flexible environment that lends itself to routine updates. Environments will require updating as your company launches new products, enters new markets, and updates its messaging. By investing in elements and content that can easily be refreshed to align with inevitable changes, you can maximize the investment in your branded environment.

4. AV INTEGRATION & CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Many clients assume audiovisual elements are essential to creating a captivating space. The challenge arises when they learn how expensive both the AV and digital content creation can be. Working with your partners, you can create a plan for effective AV placement and integration within your space.

Existing presentations, video, and even content used at trade shows are a great place to start to see what may already exist versus what may need to be developed. A content management system will help you manage all these items and allow you the freedom to change them to keep your marketing environment up to date. You’ll want to work with an AV partner to assess a variety of content management systems before selecting one to ensure you pick one that’s right for you.

5. INSTALLATION & ONGOING MANAGEMENT

Installation costs include transportation, installation, and engagement training. These are the final steps before opening the doors of your environment. Pay close attention to engagement training. While your space will support the telling of your story, it also requires training to ensure every staff member who interacts with your visitors understands the purpose of your environment and the experience you want to create for the visitor.

It is also important to think about the people who can or should manage the use of the space, the technology, and content. This component is often overlooked – what is the total number of people who will support the new marketing environment? You must consider who “owns” the space as well as who will staff and host your customers when they visit. Creating and funding a program to run the customer experience is often forgotten because it is not a capital expense. But the people power is an important factor that will also need to be funded.