MDIA 2006 ‘Client’ Scenarios: T1 2025


Preamble

In Week 4, individually, you must choose ONE of the following three client scenarios—and this should remain
your focus scenario for Assessment 2. It would be very unwise to change your scenario any later than the end of
Week 6. While the scenarios themselves are reasonably detailed, you must imagine that this is all the information
to be gleaned via a client briefing. For Assessment 2, you will need to conduct some research apropos the
commercial environment in which your chosen client operates—and this is how you will fully assess the
background: i.e., a combination of the client briefing and secondary only (i.e., desktop) research. Make sure that
you follow the scaffold on Moodle (it’s there for a reason!) and that you also familiarise yourself with the marking
rubric. Remember, in combination, well-selected (research-informed) concepts lie at the heart of great strategy—
directing and disciplining tight and creative tactical ensembles.

Go to it!


SCENARIO 1: THE COLOGNE CREW

Jeff, Mike, and Anissa are final year UNSW chemistry students. Together, they have developed a cologne that's
proving popular among young women. The team is producing their product in a lab in the basement of Anissa’s
parents’ house in Petersham, Sydney. They pay no rent. While they own all the manufacturing equipment
outright, there is currently no room to expand operations. As no one in the neighbourhood has complained about
the business being conducted out of the residential address, the group wonders if they should simply pay to have
the basement extended. Surprisingly, for Petersham, there is plenty of room to do so. If they extend, they can
comfortably double the scale of their operation.

Reaction to the cologne among family, friends, and acquaintances is very favourable. With current resources, the
group can produce around 100 x 100ml bottles per week. Despite a simple brand name—'Girls Only’—and quite
plain packaging, these have been selling very steadily to acquaintances and referrals for $75 a bottle. Quite a
few buyers have told the team they'd happily pay up to $100 per bottle for the concoction, but they’ve also
indicated that they’d hope for nicer packaging. The crew is surprised that there seems to be no objection to the
‘Girls Only’ brand name. Anyway, the success has very much surprised the young entrepreneurs, especially
because (all things considered) the cost of producing each bottle is just $10!

So far, sales have been achieved online via word-of-mouth and, interestingly, around 25-percent of buyers are
male (young men buying the product for their girlfriends). The group runs a rudimentary website. It’s very female-
focussed, and given the sales to males, Anissa is a little uneasy about this. Anyway, interested parties must
email orders through and make direct deposits to the group's bank account. Every now and then, the group splits
after-production-costs profits three ways and pay their own taxes. No official company has been formed, and the
group has no licences whatsoever. They are simply close friends cooperating in a venture that started as a
hobby. As clunky as their approach is, it has been working.

Now that the group is making around $320,000 gross profit per annum (sustained for the last two years) they are
looking to scale up and wholesale their product to mainstream retail outlets (especially retail chains) in Sydney
and perhaps in Melbourne. They also want to do better online. To penetrate the difficult-to-crack retail chain
channel the group knows that it must come to those vendors with a compelling sales and marketing strategy. The
group members realise that communication will be pivotal and so, without much progress, they have been
discussing their current trading status and a range of marketing communications tactics. But they’re struggling to
come up with anything coherent and so turn to you for help.


SCENARIO 2: THE BAND (SERIOUS SOUNDZ)

David, Emma, Jane, Jeff, and Erik are a group of UNSW SAM music students that formed a neo-soul and jazz
group (‘Serious Soundz’) in their first year of university. The band is a classic five-piece set: lead singer (David),
lead guitar (Emma), bass guitar (Jane), drummer (Jeff), and keyboard (Erik). While only David can sing, the other
members are quite versatile musicians—each able to play several instruments. Jane and Erik are also writing
very good original material, although the band’s current repertoire consists primarily of covers. Now in their
honours year, and strictly through word of mouth, they have become well-known as a reliable ensemble suitable
for pubs, wine bars, and corporate events. Accordingly, they perform three evening gigs a week (Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday nights) and now command $3,000 a night. In the last Christmas holiday period, they raked
in a very pleasing $120,000—this over and above the $9,000 they pull in every week for 40 weeks of the year. All
income is earned in Sydney.

A couple of years ago, Serious Soundz got a tremendously lucky break in that, through one of David’s many
connections, they were mentored for two weeks in New York City by none other than Steven Van Zandt—a key
member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band. This mentorship encouraged Erik and Jane to pursue their
passion for writing original material.

The group, which has not even trade-marked their name (they wonder if it should be changed) and has no
website, has no company structure and operates a bank account signed by founding members David and Emma.
The level of trust between the band members is very high, and all after-costs income is periodically split five
ways. Each then pays their own tax. Given that they will finish their studies at the end of this year (2025), the
members of the band have recently decided that they should look to somehow scale up. There seem to be
several opinions. Emma thinks that the answer lies in doing more of what they have been doing. Jane and Jeff
say that a traditional record deal is what is needed. Erik, however, figures that touring is the way to go. Whilst
there’s little doubt that Van Zandt’s influence has accelerated the band’s penetration of the Sydney scene, David
feels that their mentor’s less-than-encouraging assessment of the mainstream music business is correct.
Concerned about the cost of touring, troubled by the time commitment required to further penetrate the Sydney
scene, worried about the traditional recording business, he is thinking about alternative options. He has followed,
with some interest, the fortunes of some bands that are leveraging platforms such as bandcamp and Spotify.

Anyway, there is no consensus as to how to forge ahead and in recent months this has caused some heated
arguments—to the point that there is a risk of a breakup. Wishing to avoid that, the band has approached you to
help them decide on a growth strategy. Happy to grow its profile over the balance of 2025—one way or another,
the band aims to ramp things up in 2026.


SCENARIO 3: THE BAKERY (‘PASTRIES GALORE’)

In early January 2020, a group of three first year University of Sydney students opened a small bakery operating
out of commercial premises in Annandale. For the first three months the owner generously allowed them to
operate rent free, and this helped to get them going. Because they were studying from 2020 to 2024 inclusive,
the trio could only operate in the weekends—but because their premises offers only very limited street frontage
and can accommodate just fifteen seated patrons, the rent is very low, and this has helped them to make their
hitherto weekend only business viable.

From March 2020, the pandemic (few saw it coming) hit the trio’s new enterprise hard, but they rapidly pivoted to
a takeaway model and did surprisingly well in the heavily populated suburb. In fact, in the 2020/21 financial year
(after all expenses and company tax) they made a profit of $50,000. The 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years
were stronger again, with profits of $75,000 and $100,000 respectively secured. In the 2023/24 financial year
their takeaway trade increased by 25-percent, with their sit-down customers now returning in droves. But, given
limited seating, the trio must turn many people away—always with takeaway pasties in hand, however! Now well
into the 2024/2025 financial year, the business is on track to make a tax-paid profit of $150,000: barely a living
income for graduates, but encouraging, nonetheless.

Buoyed up by their commercial performance and with their studies now completed, the trio has decided not to go
in separate career directions but, rather, to ramp up their modestly successful business. If each member of the
enterprise is make a decent living, this must work for them! Clearly, unless they upgrade premises, they cannot
increase their sit-down trade—but that seems not to be a terribly sensible option, anyway. Their rent is low and
it’s the takeaway trade that’s been booming. The trio wonders if there might be something in a delivery option as
well. It’s worth bearing in mind that the kitchen facilities in their current premises are excellent and that they can
accommodate significant growth in output. They have five excellent, large capacity ovens and have only been
using two (and sometimes three) of these.

So far, their business—called ‘Pastries Galore’—has grown strictly via word-of-mouth. They have no website at
all, do not have a social media presence of any kind, and have undertaken no marketing comms activity. They’ve
done as well as they have because they produce delicious vegetarian pastries—their fastest sellers being those
with fruit toppings. The business’ reputation has spread throughout Annandale and, more recently, into the
immediate Inner West suburbs beyond. People from the suburbs of Marrickville and Newtown, for instance,
regularly head to Pastries Galore—most simply to buy pastries which they take home. A few take the time to sit
down and have a pastry and coffee.

Because they have hitherto operated only on weekends, the trio have been missing out on the university trade:
U. Syd, UTS, and Notre Dame. Student friends have told them that they’re crazy and that they’d deliver dozens
and dozens of pasties in single group orders! Given how hungry students get, they don’t doubt this.

The trio approach you, seeking a strategy that will see their business grow to a point that it will return each of
them a solid income. Accordingly, in the 2025/26 financial year they hope to make at least $250,000 net profit.
It’s a significant increase but given the nature of their broader commercial constituency and changed personal
circumstances it also seems achievable.


—ends—



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