The part of a marketing budget that pays for people’s working hours: retainers, day rates, project fees and in-house pay. At the mid range of Whito’s published budget table it is £73,100 of a £97,100 year.
The number: Autumn Budget 2026: what it means for marketing costs.
What it means in practice
The mistake is thinking marketing costs are set by media prices. Most of what UK businesses buy when they buy marketing is time, so anything that changes the cost of an hour of labour changes the cost of marketing.
The move is to split your own budget into time and media. The time share is the part to watch when employment costs change, usually at contract renewal.
Whito stage: Build. Useful once you have a budget worth splitting.
The numbers to hold onto
- That is just over 75p in every pound at the mid range. Autumn Budget 2026: what it means for marketing costs.
- £24,000 of the £97,100 mid-range year buys advertising space. Autumn Budget 2026: what it means for marketing costs.
- Price your own plan line by line with the UK Marketing Cost Calculator.
Where to go next
Related: Marketing budget, Day rate, Fully loaded salary cost