1. SMALL STAGE
a creative service for businesses
COMM 388: Design Strategies for Business Innovation: Studio
Final Report
2. Table of contents
1. Overview
2. Team Biography
3. Client Company
4. Need Statement
5. Solution
6. Visual Map of User
7. Business Model Canvas
8. Value Proposition
9. Risk Analysis
10. Deliverables
10.1. Business Plan
10.2. Fixed Costs - A Brainstorm of Ideas
10.3. Potential Clients - A Brainstorm of Ideas
11. Scrumboard
12. State of Completion
13. Resources and Research Tools
14. Recommendation
3. Overview
Throughout this term, we have been working to meet our client’s biggest need: creating an alternative
revenue stream for MovEnt. After brainstorming and communicating with our client, we proposed
creating a separate entity, “Small Stage”, which would be independent from MovEnt. While MovEnt is a
charitable non-profit organization, Small Stage would act as a for-profit organization. To meet our client’s
need of creating an alternative revenue stream, we propose Small Stage act under the following tiers: as
a creative customizable service, a creative marketing tool, and a creative motivational tool. In this report,
in order to remain consistent with our brief, we will be focusing on the creative marketing tool aspect of
Small Stage’s services.
4. Team Biography
Alma Diaz Eva Menéndez Kaavya Lakshmanan Rachel Wong Xavi Valles
Spanish exchange student
from the University of
Warwick.
Ballet and Spanish Dancing
degree.
Fashion buyer in the
making.
Spanish exchange student
from ESADE Business
School.
Music writer and dance
lover.
Future entrepreneur.
4th year Sociology and
English Literature double
major.
Writer and Britney Spears
choreography learner.
I will work in Marketing or
Advertising.
Spanish exchange student
from ESADE Business
School.
Time to time actor. Theatre
teacher.
Struggling to become a film
and TV producer.
4th year Psychology
student.
Arts Co-op & Arts Tri-
Mentor.
Career plans: Expand
family's composting
machine business into
North America.
5. Client Company
MovEnt
is a charitable dance creation company, dedicated to producing new shows
that are both artistic and accessible. They are devoted to bringing great
dance into the lives of others by producing work that continually strives for
artistic, technical and creative excellence.
They currently offer three different programs
MovEnt’s most popular show is Dances for a Small Stage series. The Small
Stage series has become a mainstay of the Vancouver arts scene since 2002
by producing work that is both `inspiring and meaningful to audiences in
Vancouver’.
It showcases new and established dance from Vancouver and across Canada
on a ridiculously small stage, in an unconventional venue with an intimate
cabaret atmosphere. The series brings fresh and artful dance to a diverse
demographic, through its imaginative, urban, dynamic and diverse
programming.
MovEntContact:
Co-founderandArtisticProducerJulie-annSaroyan
6. Need statement - Solution
Solution Process Advantage
In order to create an alternate
revenue stream for MovEnt,
we propose creating a
separate entity, “Small Stage”,
which would act as a for-profit
company.
Through communicating with our
client, we realized her customers
recognize the “Small Stage” brand
more than they recognize
“MovEnt”. Therefore, we propose
creating the separate entity,
which the customers would
already recognize.
MovEnt is already a successful
company with existing
resources (such as dancers).
Small Stage would have the
competitive advantage of being
able to use these resources to
build its brand.
In order to ensure Small Stage
is successful, we propose it
operate as the following:
A creative customizable service
which provides high-quality
entertainment for companies
and organizations at events.
A creative marketing tool
which markets products and
services for other companies
and organizations.
Creative motivational tool.
In order for Small Stage to exist as
a separate entity, our team
brainstormed creative services it
could provide. We came to our
solution based on extensive
research we conducted on similar
companies.
As a creative customizable
service, Small Stage has the
advantage of offering flexible,
diverse shows to diverse
audiences. We believe, due to
the existing success of MovEnt,
Small Stage will be able to
attract corporations seeking
entertainment at events.
Since this is an innovative and
creative form of marketing, we
believe Small Stage would be
suitable for this task.
7. Need statement - Solution
SolutionNeed Statement
3 creative and customizable services for
businesses
Customized entertainment service
Motivational service
Creative marketing service
Creation of an alternate revenue stream
Business focus
Move Small stage to other markets
9. Busines Model Canvas
Throughout the course, we provided the client with a few
deliverables. The first deliverable was completing some of the main
components of a business plan for grant application purposes. We
created a service portfolio, pricing strategy and competitive
analysis for Small Stage.
We also provided our client with a list of fixed costs that may arise
as she builds her business. Our final deliverable is presenting a list
of potential clients that Small Stage could provide creative
marketing services to. Our main challenge was to ensure that
potential companies had values that align with Small Stage’s
values, and that the company had some relevance to art. We
created a list of potential clients, and narrowed it down to three.
10. Value Proposition
“For companies that need
marketing services, Small
Stage is creative marketing
tool that is innovative,
unique and customizable”
“For companies that
organize events, Small
Stage is an entertainment
service that is flexible,
unique and customizable”
11. Risk Analysis
Internal Risks External Risks
MovEnt
known as an
entertainment
company
Small Stage needs to build a reputation
for itself as a creative company, distinct
from MovEnt.
Company
Values
Alignment
Small Stage seems interested in working
with clients whose values align with
Small Stage’s, which limits possibilities.
Extensive research will have to be done
to guarantee alignment.
Product
Advertisement
Small Stage is not interested in having
their dancers hand out company
product/samples, which companies may
see it as a service requirement.
Non-profit + profit
business model
Consult the appropriate
people to ensure that there is
a clear cut line between the
two companies.
Companies are used
to a traditional
marketing approach
Educate businesses that a
modern approach to
marketing may be more
profitable.
Brand Awareness Marketing is a very
competitive business and
Small Stage will need to
highlight and emphasize why
and how it’s unique.
12. Business Plan-Service Portfolio
Small Stage for corporate events:
•Offer a series of dances with live music in a unique format, which can add value to corporate
events and provide audiences with a new experience.
•Small Stage’s series of dances are chosen to be pieces that are connected and complement the
experience of the entire show.
•Each show can be customized according to client’s preferences.
Small Stage for a marketing campaign:
•Offer customized marketing campaigns or advertisements for businesses to promote their
company or products using professional dancers.
•Small Stage can offer a variety of dancing styles appropriate to the campaign.
Small Stage as a motivation (workshop) tool:
•Develop activities and workshops with the goal of increasing motivation, encourage creative
thinking among employees, or develop team-building strategies.
•The expertise of the board of Small Stage in this field allows the company to address any of these
needs.
13. Business Plan-Pricing Strategy
Small Stage for corporate events:
Pricing levels can be adapted to each client’s budget.
Basic show package can be offered at a fixed price, with optional show add-ons for additional
costs based on client’s demands and preferences. For example, a basic show could be three
shows, with options to add performances. Alternatively, Small Stage can also create a
customized show package based on a client’s budget, and offer them a complete show
experience that best fits in their proposed budget.
Small Stage for a marketing campaign:
Pricing levels can be adapted to each client’s budget. As one of Small Stage’s competitive
advantages is its flexibility and adaptability to the customer’s needs, being able to adapt the
price to each client’s budget is a key factor in Small Stage’s strategy.
Pricing costs can be determined depending on the client’s budget and basic requirements. As
some companies expect a price list, Small Stage can determine the market rates by
completing research on what other marketing companies charge, and asking customers what
they are willing to pay.
Small Stage as a motivation (workshop) tool:
Small Stage can offer basic workshop priced by the hour. It could also vary depending on
client’s goals. The main costs would be labour hours, administrative costs, and work-shop
fees.
Entertainment Service Pricing
Cost of basic service
•Cost per added show
•Cost per hour of background live music
•Cost of additional services
•Other Costs
Marketing Service Pricing
Value of Julie-anne’s time and
expertise
Value of employee’s time and
expertise
Cost of artists requested per hour
Cost of material requested (per hour if
rental or fixed if purchased)
Cost of rehearsal space x hour
Administrative Costs
14. Business Plan-Competitive Analysis
Competitive advantage
Small Stage has several competitive advantages over other
companies:
1.MovEnt is an established dance company in Vancouver that has
been presenting shows for the local community for the past 10
years;
2.Small Stage can utilize previously performed shows at
corporate events to reduce labour hours needed to create a new
show from scratch;
3.MovEnt has had experience performing at conferences and
events eg. Vancouver Tourism Board;
4.Small Stage can offer a wide range of services eg. creative
marketing strategy, entertainment service at events, team
building workshops
5.The service Small Stage can offer is flexible - it can be applied to
many different situations, whether it is for events or for
marketing
Small Stage can customize their service for client’s needs - eg.
customized shows at events, unique creative marketing service to
promote a company’s products or services
Competitor Strengths Weaknesses
Traditional
Marketing
Companies
· Offer a known and
predictable marketing
service to businesses that
is guaranteed to succeed
to some extent
· Approach has been
used for years and are
trusted by companies
· May not provide the
“wow” factor
· May be overused, or
outdated and may not
be as appealing to
younger generations
Creative
Marketing
Companies
· Established in the
marketplace
· May have developed a
strong reputation for
themselves and have the
ability to scale
· Creative approach that
they take may differ
from what clients expect
· Potentially high cost
and demand of clients’
time
Dance
Companies
· Ability to offer
performances at events
· Lack of flexibility or
customizability
Guerilla
Marketing
Companies
· One type of marketing
available
· Highly experienced in
services they offer
· Lack of diversity in
services they offer
15. Fix Costs - A Brainstormed list
SCENE INVENTORY
•Van (transportation)
•Sound equipment
•Light equipment
•Chairs
ROOM INVENTORY
•Office rental
•Computer
•Desks
•Shelves
•Office Supplies
VARIABLE COSTS
•Show programs
•Artists salary (choreographers,
dancers, musicians, singers etc).
•Rehearsing room rentals
•Scene inventory rentals
•Business cards
MERCHANDISE
Merchandise is useful to build relationships with clients and
spread the word. Experts consider that using materials with
company logos helps individuals engage with the brand
unconsciously.
INTANGIBLE ASSETS
•Software: If any business software is required the team
would recommend to lease it or to use Open Source.
• Lease: A company provides a service and updates
the software when needed.
• Open Source: An Open Source software is a free
software that developers create in the internet
with the aim to share it. Practically every
business software has an Open Source version
with less features but cheaper.
• Online signature
• Domain (already bought).
16. Potential Clients - Dove
Why Dove? Dove is an international company that invests huge efforts in frequently launching memorable and creative campaigns that
inspire all girls and women to reach their full potential. While they are an international company with wide brand awareness, and
partnering with them might be more of a long-term goal, we believe Dove’s values of positivity, diversity, inclusivity and innovation
could benefit Small Stage.
Idea # 1:
Small Stage can create a guerilla marketing campaign to promote Dove’s Beauty
Campaign and Self-Esteem Campaign. To do so, Small Stage can perform a flash mob
style viral campaign that uses real women as dancers in a high-traffic area of downtown
Vancouver.
Idea # 2:
Another marketing campaign idea is inspired by the Dove “Real Beauty” sketches on
that inspire women to have positive self-esteem. The tagline Dove uses is, “You are
more beautiful than you think.” Small Stage could partner with Dove to promote this
message, through a promotional video in which Small Stage dancers discuss self-
esteem, while showing footage of their rehearsals or shows. Since the art community
looks up to dancers, this would inspire art-lovers to have positive body image, therefore
promoting the Dove message, while also promoting Small Stage shows - therefore
mutually benefitting Dove and Small Stage.
17. Potential Clients - Nature’s Path
Why Nature’s Path?
They are a local company that is passionate about organic farming, family-run and
sustainably driven. Their products are a great source of energy, in which Small Stage
would be able to market easily - by presenting energized campaigns.
Idea # 1: Marketing Campaign - Video
Small Stage can create a video that highlights Nature’s Path products by presenting an
energized dance video.
Idea # 2: Marketing Campaign - Public
Small Stage can organize a flash-mob style campaign during a lunch hour in a high traffic
area to promote Nature’s Path’s products.
18. Potential Clients – Vancouver International Film Festival
Why VIFF?
VIFF’s mandate is to encourage understanding of the world’s cultures through the art of
cinema. They also strive to provide public and film community with an excellent facility for
the appreciation of cinema and related art forms throughout the year.
Small Stage is an artistic based business, and their team of professional dancers can easily
create promotional videos that is of VIFF quality. One idea is for Small Stage dancers to
promote VIFF festivals and events through video promotion. The dancers would promote
Small Stage shows by performing or rehearsing on the Small Stage set, and then
advertising VIFF by talking about VIFF events or films they are most excited to see. This
way, the promotion is mutually beneficial - Small Stage and VIFF are both advertised.
19. Scrumboard
We began to use a scrum board once we had many
different parts to work on individually and as a group. The
scrum board is a great way to keep track of the assignments
we had, for example, the brief, business model canvas and
the final report. We were able to utilize the scrum board to
delegate different parts of each assignments, and move
tasks around depending on its state of completion. We used
a different color for each team member, and as tasks are
completed, it is moved, and once reviewed by another
group member, it is considered as “done”.
The scrum board was really helpful in determining what our
tasks were, and how to separate it. We were able to easily
identify who had what task, and what was completed and
what was still in progress. It kept the team focused on the
work in front of us, and everyone knew the tasks they were
assigned.
As a team, we were able to work more efficiently, as we
knew who were responsible for what tasks, and to remind
each other when tasks weren’t being completed.
20. State of completion
We have outlined the state of completion for our deliverables.
Unfortunately, due to time and scope, we were unable to find
corporate sponsorships for MovEnt, which was our initial
deliverable to our client. After communicating with our client and
re-aligning our value proposition, we landed on the idea of
creating Small Stage. New features and marketing ideas could be
developed through researching the types of marketing strategies
currently used by potential clients, and brainstorming ways those
strategies could benefit Small Stage.
Through showing our client our initial marketing ideas, we got a
better sense of the types of marketing Julie-anne preferred. For
instance, we learned that she preferred to not have her dancers
hand out product samples for other companies, because she felt it
de-valued her Small Stage brand. Therefore, we took that into
consideration when re-vamping our marketing ideas, and did our
best to articulate our rationale for partnering with a certain
company, and how it would be mutually beneficial for Small Stage
and for the chosen company.
Deliverable Responsible
Party
State of
Completion
Write and revise brief detailing to the client what the team
will focus on
Team MovEnt
(delegated
duties)
Completed
Decide on values/features of company that our client
requires in a partnership
Team MovEnt Completed
Purchase of Small Stage domain Client Completed
Brainstorm list of companies for Small Stage to partner
with for marketing service and run them by client
Team MovEnt Completed
Brainstorm creative marketing ideas for partnership with
Dove (Canada)
Eva & Kaavya Completed
Brainstorm creative marketing ideas for partnership with
Nature's Path (Canada)
Alma Completed
Brainstorm creative marketing ideas for partnership with
Vancouver International Film Festival
Rachel Completed
Brainstorm other creative marketing ideas for partnership Team MovEnt Completed
22. Resources and Research
Readings:
Design & Design
Thinking Lockwood, Thomas. What Good Does Design Do For Business? Article.FastCompany http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665471/what-good-
does-design-do-for-business
Kelley, Tom (2005). The Ten Faces of Innovation: Ideo’s Strategies for Beating the Devil’s Advocate & Driving Creativity throughout Your
Organization. Introduction: Pp 1-15. Doubleday. http://www.tenfacesofinnovation.com/tenfaces/index.htm
Norman, Don. Design Thinking: A useful myth. (2010, Core77: http://www.core77.com/blog/columns/design_thinking_a_useful_myth_16790.asp)
Business Model Canvas
Osterwalder, A. The Business Model Canvas. Video. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2FumwkBMhLo
First Round Review. The One Tool Startups Need to Brainstorm, Test and Win. http:// firstround.com/article/To-Go-Lean-Master-the-Business-
Model-Canvas
Bowles, Cennydd. Looking Beyond User-Centered Design. A List Apart. http://alistapart.com/ column/looking-beyond-user-centered-design
Dix, et al. Why bad ideas are a good idea. (2006) http://www.alandix.com/academic/papers/HCIed2006-badideas/HCIED2006-badideasCRC-v2.pdf
Rapid Prototyping
Dodge. How to Change Cars Forever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gogQLQNrDds
Social Enterprise
A concise one-pager defining ‘social enterprise’ in the Canadian context
http://www.socialenterprisecanada.ca/en/learn/nav/whatisasocialenterprise.html
23. Recommendation
In closing, in this report, we have outlined our proposed solution to MovEnt’s need for an
alternative revenue stream: the creation of a separate entity, Small Stage. We proposed Small
Stage operate as a for-profit organization which would operate under three tiers: as a
customized service, a creative marketing tool, and a creative motivational tool. This report has
focused on the creative marketing tool. We have outlined our brainstormed examples of
companies Small Stage can partner with, that would be mutually beneficial.
We recommend that our client focus on whether Small Stage focus on local or international
companies for creative marketing partnerships. We recommend our client focus on local
companies first. In order to present companies with a list of services Small Stage can offer as a
creative marketing tool, we recommend our client create graphic mock-ups which showcase
how Small Stage can benefit the other company, and the competitive advantage of choosing
Small Stage as a creative marketing tool.
