• by July 17, 2001

In a radical departure from the advertising industry's standard operating procedure, Brand Street LLC, a full-service ad agency located in Montclair, NJ and operated by two veteran creative directors, has introduced a "fixed-rate branding program."

For $39,000, clients will receive a campaign-able graphic and verbal concept, a logo, a tagline, a design for letterhead and business cards, a series of three camera-ready ads, and a series of three direct mail pieces. The fee covers strategic and creative development, an initial presentation of multiple concepts for the client to choose from, and the refinement of selected concepts into print-ready form. Out of pocket expenses such as photography and printing are additional, and will be marked up an industry-standard 17.65% to cover BrandStreet's supervisory responsibilities and accountability.

BrandStreet president and Creative Director Dave Frank says the idea of a fixed price for a package of advertising services breaks with tradition.

"Agencies have typically attempted to remain somewhat non-committal about pricing in order to leave room for unpredictable variations that can occur from one client to another, and from one project to another. But we've seen that many prospective clients have no idea what they should expect to pay or what they will have in their hands at the end of the day. That makes it hard for them to commit. And it's a problem for the agency because we go to a great many time consuming sales meetings that end in sticker shock. A firm, upfront pricing policy will avoid these problems as it does in other industries."