It’s the standard smart-arse response when you ask for a ballpark quote or a budget or a rough idea of head hours or any question where the details haven’t yet been nutted out.

How long’s a piece of string?

It’s a cop out.

Because you’re not being asked for a precise figure. You’re being asked to guesstimate and you probably have enough information to do that. If not, ask a few questions. Figure out your parameters.

All you really need to know is what the string is for:

For tying up my tomatoes? Anywhere between 10cm and 20cm per tomato plant.

For wrapping a toy? Probably somewhere between 30cm and 3m.

For stringing up Christmas decorations in the agency. Hmmmm, around 30m should do the trick

Rough, ballpark figures to give someone a better idea of what they’re dealing with.

That’s all we ask.

You’d be mad to give a creative team a brief without a budget – it’s like throwing down a challenge to any creative worth their salt. You’re telling them the sky’s the limit. And you’ll never be able to afford what they come up with.

My rough guess is that most people have a half-decent idea of their budget. The conversation goes something like this:

Me: What’s the budget?

Them: Client didn’t give us one

Me: Just a rough, ballpark cost. Doesn’t have to be exact.

Them: Sorry, I really couldn’t say.

Me: OK. So a hundred dollars a pack sound OK?

Them: God no, more like 2 bucks.

So next time your request is met with ‘how long’s a piece of string?’, ask ‘what’s the string for?’.

Or just answer ‘twice as long as half the length’.

That ought to shut ‘em up.

xk

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Tags: kate lightfoot, opinion