University Communications

Project Planning and Fees

Advance planning is the best way to ensure that your marketing project will be delivered at high quality, on time and on budget.

Project Planning

Marketing project timelines and costs vary greatly depending on the type of project and its scope. Timelines and estimated project costs for typical projects are listed below. Please note that estimated costs are intended to provide guidance for budget planning purposes only. Actual project costs are based on service hours performed – as tracked by OUC staff – and may differ from the estimate.

Contact marketing_communications@brown.edu with questions or to discuss project requests.

Typical Timelines for Marketing Projects

Marketing Services Fee Structure

The Office of University Communications offers many marketing services for the under-market hourly rate of $90 per hour, while offering some of its most in-demand services (strategic consulting, affinity logo development, website setup, etc.) at no cost. This is part of our model of value-added service for campus partners.

OUC Marketing Services Fees

Not billed
(free of charge)
  • Strategic consulting for marketing communications planning
  • Marketing campaign planning
  • Message development (tied to University priorities)
  • Standard Brown University affinity logo development
  • Basic websites via the Drupal Cloud platform
$90 per hour
  • Digital marketing services (includes social media, digital advertising and email marketing)
  • Visual design services
  • Integrated content services in support of marketing projects (includes editing and writing and photography)
$120 per hour
  • Visual identity development
  • Website builds and content migration
  • Video production

Other Fees

  • Rush Fees: Rush fees for marketing services are double the hourly service rate. Projects are considered “rush” if they require a significantly compressed timeline from what is considered a typical timeline (see above). Rush fees are assessed based on project scope and will be communicated before OUC begins work. Note: Rush fees may also apply for external print services.
  • Extended Review Fees: Extended rounds of review are double the hourly service rate and apply to projects that exceed the typical four rounds of review:
    • Round 1 consists of reviewing and approving the final copy prior to moving into design.
    • Round 2 consists of reviewing initial layout and providing feedback.
    • Round 3 consists of reviewing revised layout and providing final feedback.
    • Round 4 consists of approving the final project for production.
  • Production Fees: All production expenses incurred by the Office of Communications on behalf of a Brown partner will be reflected in the invoice and charged at cost. Examples of marketing production expenses include printing and mailing, sending emails on fee-for-service email marketing platforms, purchasing digital advertising, purchasing music, specialty imagery or illustrations, etc.

Standard Project Cost Estimates

Event promotion package: evite, web banner, social media/digital screen assets, poster, program, signage
  • Visual design: 8 hrs
  • Writing/editing: 5 hrs
$1,170
Multimedia marketing campaign
  • Digital marketing: 15 hrs
  • Visual design: 5 hrs
  • Writing/editing: 5 hrs
  • Video production: 15 hrs
  • Photography: 15 hrs
$5,400
(plus the cost of advertising, if applicable)
Print publication/pdf: 8 pages with supplied content
  • Visual design: 5 hrs
  • Writing/editing: 3 hrs
$720
Print publication/pdf: 28 pages with supplied content
  • Visual design: 30 hrs
  • Writing/editing: 5 hrs
$3,150
Video production: ~2 minutes in length with 2-3 on-campus interviews and b-roll footage
  • Video production: 35 hrs
  • Visual design: 2 hrs
$4,380
Visual Identity development: scoping, proposed concepts, delivery of final concept and usage guide
  • Visual design: 40 hrs
$3,600