Employer branding is essential for companies looking to attract and retain top talent, as well as establish a radically relevant presence in the market.
Understanding the cost of such projects is crucial for planning and getting the appropriate budget approved. Let’s explore the various factors that influence the cost of employer branding projects and provide a breakdown of typical expenses involved.
Factors Influencing Cost
- Size of the Company: Larger companies may require more extensive branding efforts across multiple regions, business units, and job markets. If you are a larger or more diverse company, plan on increasing the cost for launch and implementation in your ROI calculation.
- Scope of the Project: The complexity and breadth of the branding initiative, including the number of platforms and touchpoints, can vary, impacting the overall budget. Will you need help writing and executing internal communication? Is company branded swag for employees a big part of your culture? What other expressions of your employer brand may need unique attention? In environments where safety is especially important, employer brand work can lead to improvements, but take special care during the branding process.
- Available Internal Labor: Companies with capable in-house teams may spend less on external services, but must consider the opportunity cost of diverting these resources from other projects.
- Amount of Research Required: Thorough market and internal research are pivotal for a successful employer branding strategy, adding to the cost depending on the depth needed. A consultant, who's been through multiple employer brand projects, can help right-size the research for your situation.
3 Methods and Cost Ranges for Employer Branding Projects
Employer branding projects can vary widely in cost based on the chosen approach and resources. Here’s a breakdown of typical options and price ranges:
- Using Internal Resources Only:
- Cost Range: Minimal to moderate, often under $50,000+
- Included Expenses: Staff time, basic training materials, internal communication tools.
- Characteristics: Often internal costs balloon as project timelines creep out and internal resources work on this new kind of task inefficiently. Costs get hidden making it difficult to calculate total cost.
- What’s missing?: Speed and expertise
- Using a Design Agency for Visual Work
- Cost Range: $20,000 to $150,000+
- Included Expenses: Design of visual identity elements such as logos, color schemes, and marketing collateral.
- Characteristics: Often an hourly or retainer arrangement, that makes total cost hard to control. More difficult to get alignment across the strategic, visual, and messaging elements of the brand. Any supplemental vendor costs (e.g. research) must be managed.
- What’s missing?: Wholistic approach and tailoring to your specific needs.
- Using a Brand Consultancy:
- Cost Range: $50,000 to $350,000+
- Included Expenses: Comprehensive services including market research, strategy development, naming, visual identity system, messaging system, launch support, campaign execution, and measurement of effectiveness. Use an RFP to get a detailed consistent scope[link to RFP article].
- Characteristics: Usually a fixed fee arrangement for an established scope, easy to control total cost and any expenses.
- What’s missing?: Nothing.
Key Takeaways
A method decision often comes down to internal expertise, time, and how competitive is your recruiting environment. If employee recruitment and retention are key elements to company success you’ll want your employer brand to be radical in the marketplace and relevant to your team and community. Finding that strategic balance is best informed through experience.
It’s time to take action.
- Adjust the costs in the examples above for your situation.
- List all of the employer brand touchpoints you have and prioritize them. Start with this list [link to ungated offer page].
- Use this rough cost information to do a preliminary ROI study on transforming your Employer Brand. Get the Employer Brand Project ROI Spreadsheet here.
