A full business consultancy project overseen and produced by a team of undergraduate business and advertising/marketing students, for Gadgets 4 Everyone.

1. Business Consultancy live brief assignment.
Team: Vanquish
Client:

2. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Vanquish
Craig Bennett
21114547
Josh Oberman
21110314
Henry Wood
21132434
Ben Yerkess
21105857
Jay Varney
21112486
All group members participated in both the project and the final project report.
2

3. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Contents
Project Introduction and Client Background
3
Client Problem
4
Project Problems
5
Solutions and Progress
6
People and Finance
7
Evidence and Outcomes
8
Conclusions
9
Project Recommendations
10
Appendices
Video Content
12
3

4. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Project Introduction and Client Background
The project team is made up from five students all studying Business and Advertisement or
Business and Marketing. This set up resulted in a combination of various different skills that
formed team ‘Vanquish’. The Vanquish team is made up from five males whom are very
driven to succeed and do the best possible for any client, working hard to solve complicated
business problems and eager to gain real life experience in business consultancy and problem
solving. Participating and completing a project on behalf of an operating business requires
fundamental planning, dedication and a solid time commitment of which planning can be
seen in the detailed project brief document that was composed pre project in early January.
Gadgets 4 Everyone was established by a young entrepreneur called Sam. When Sam was
seventeen he bought a number of cheap, broken iPods from abroad, repaired them himself
and sold each for a good profit. From that day he decided this type of work could be taken
advantage of due to the rapidly growing phone, tablet and gadget market - which in turn
come with breakages and damages which can often be very difficult to repair. As soon as
Sam started up Gadgets 4 Everyone it did not take him long to start making a small profit on
buying, repairing and selling various different gadgets and now doubles his annual turnover
year on year and is currently turning over just over one million pounds a year.
The business has a standard pricing list for each individual gadget that they repair up on the
website, www.gadgets4everyone.co.uk but actual payments may vary depending on amount
and severity of damage which has been suffered to said gadget. The gadget recycling scheme
has been given big appraisals from the government due to the high percentage of recycled
goods being circulated within the sector as opposed to being scrapped.
Gadgets 4Everyone has a very large target audience as a very high percentage of consumers
now have various different types of gadgets, added to the amount of new products being
available on a regular basis, means the amount of gadgets being recycled will always be
increasing. A more concentrated target audience for Gadgets 4 Everyone was required and it
became apparent that students aged 18-25 tend to have a high percentage of gadgets. In
addition, students tend to have a lower income than any other segment within the market and
need money from elsewhere, other than part time jobs. Therefore, the project focused on
4

5. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Gadgets 4 Everyone reaching said target audience in an attempt to raise awareness of Gadgets
4 Everyone within Universities and Colleges.
Client Problem
Gadgets 4 Everyone is based in a location close to a university that has an estimated five
thousand registered students. However, exploiting this potential market is a problem that
needs solving, as there is a vast opportunity to attract these students to the business, and turn
interest into action by persuading them to sell and recycle their gadgets through Gadgets 4
Everyone. Potentially, the student population is unaware of the brand itself and therefore does
not know it use it, or they may have tried the Gadgets 4 Everyone service before and not got
the best deal, and therefore used a competitor. Whatever the reason for not using the brand,
there needs to be a solution that will firstly further raise the profile of the brand and what it
offers its customers, and secondly persuade potential customers to actually use the service
and sell their electronic gadgets to Gadgets 4 Everyone. Reaching out to the student
demographic at the local university can be the start of a national awareness and action
campaign spreading the profile of the brand via universities across the country. Many
students experience financial trouble at some stage during their study and knowing that they
need money more so than an old gadget or two, poses as a solution to this issue. Gadgets 4
Everyone can be promoted to this student demographic and can therefore begin to utilise the
potential turnover available in customer base.
5

6. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Project Problems
-
Planning
Client Communication and Participation
Content Production
The project plan became an issue later on in the time frame as the tasks that we had specified
to last a week for example actually took two weeks, maybe three. There was very little
realistic consideration in the initial planning process. Extra allowance for tasks such as
filming and editing should have been planned for as we should have considered what
potential problems that could hinder process at these stages. More in depth planning would
have overcome this particular problem.
Client communication and his all-round participation in the project was extremely minimal.
As a businessman with interests both in his customers and the market, he should have been
more willing to interact with us as consultants for a problem that he set us. A more
enthusiastic client would be needed to actually progress to the next level of project work as
there is only so far a group of consultants can go without feedback or communication of any
kind from the client, as they are the one who set the initial problem or brief. There was
initially disappointment across the team, as we felt that he should actually be involved in the
project and be interested in the project as he signed up for the programme. Interest and prior
mentioned all-round enthusiasm was just not there. Email contact was still attempted monthly
but there was never an adequate response or in most cases no response at all.
The production of the video content also threw up some problems as we thought we could
plan and produce two videos easily. Team members owned the relevant production
equipment prior to this project anyway and these were used effectively to film and edit.
However, the idea we had discussed planned and began to film for the viral video actually did
not got to plan. This wasn’t a big issue particularly as the viral idea was slightly adjusted so
that we could firstly, film it more easily, secondly, produce uniquely funny and informative
content, and thirdly produce something that served its purpose; to raise awareness of the
Gadgets 4 Everyone brand.
6

7. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Solutions and Progress
As mentioned above, the solution to this problem is to start small and grow in its own
success. The plan is to promote the Gadgets 4 Everyone business to students across a popular
platform for that age group, social media. Prior to this project, the brand was already active
on social media networks; therefore the plan was to produce new and up to date content that
is specifically applicable in the lives of this specific target audience. It was made clear
originally that the whole brand’s target audience is not just the student demographic but for
this particular project, as a team we decided that as students is would be relevant to exploit us
as consumers. In order to do this, a viral video plan was devised; the purpose of this is to
advertise the Gadgets 4 Everyone brand to the student age demographic across the most
relevant platform in their lives. Social media is a big part of these consumers’ lives and the
viral video will be launched on the YouTube platform and shared across other social media
networks.
The two videos being produced are of differing content, the first being a viral video, simply
designed to raise awareness of the brand in a humorous way. The idea is to make the viewer
laugh but at the same time encourage them to actually take in the relevant and important
information about Gadgets 4 Everyone. Graphic text is kept to a minimum to avoid too much
reading, enabling the viewers to be fully indulged in the creative content.
The second video is designed to adopt a more informative tone, more relevant for television
advertising as it will provide the viewers with financial insight into what Gadgets 4 Everyone
offers customers for specific gadgets. This video will feature numerous gadgets; all accepted
by Gadgets 4 Everyone in exchange for a financial reimbursement.Filming has finished and
editing is underway, with drafts having been produced in order to obtain valuable feedback
comments on both the content, and the relevance of the content to the Gadgets 4 Everyone
brand. After this stage, the videos will be completed and posted on the planned social media
outlets enabling them to spread through shares and likes.
7

8. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
People and Finance
The Vanquish group consists of five members; Josh Oberman, who is group leader and
managing director of the project. This job role involved ensuring that all team members
worked well together and that communication with the client was maintained. Craig Bennett
and Harry Wood were research managers, this role consisted of making sure the research on
the market was reliable, but also contributed to group work on many different levels, such as
maintaining the high standards set in the brief. Ben Yerkess and Jay Varney were technical
managers. This job role consisted of editing and creating the Gadgets4Everyone social media
aspects and producing media content for the brand. Due to the clear understanding between
the group members and good time management, all elements of the Vanquish team worked
well together and provided a high standard of work for each other throughout the whole
project whilst maintaining email contact with the client.
The mentor for Vanquish during the period of working with Gadgets4Everyone was Martyn
Robertson. He provided the group with assistance, and a better understanding of what the
client would require from each aspect of the project. This continuous help was good for the
team as it provided a source of unbiased advice that would ultimately benefit what was
presented to the client come the end of the plan. This advice was given at meetings that took
place on a weekly basis, and the agenda usually consisted of current progress. This provided
an impetus to work weekly in order to provide something new for Martyn to analyse and
relay feedback on. This was a good working agreement and method for the team as it meant
we could constantly make our work a better standard in order to produce results and a
cognitive project.
Finance was not a key issue in this project as it did not cost the group to produce the work
needed for the client. However, charging the client for work would be based on the time and
effort put into the project and its results.Gaining primary and secondary research on the target
market for the project, creating new social media outlets and producing content for the brand
cost group members time, and provided the business with a better understanding of their
customers, financial imbursement would be required for further content creation and
development.
8

9. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Evidence and Outcomes
The success of our campaign will be measured by the social media feedback we gain.
Qualitative data, such as ‘comments’, will be examined to gain insight into audience opinion
on the videos. We will also look at the quantitative data provided by the amount of ‘views’,
‘shares’ and ‘likes’ our videos gain. If the viewers of the video find it informative and a
success they will be more likely to share it with their friends further increasing our reach and
in turn the amount of exposure that the client, Gadgets 4 Everyone, will gain.
The outcome of this campaign is that people will gain more information on the brand Gadgets
4 Everyone and get a better understanding about how much they can be paid for their old
gadgets. Eventually this should transform into increased trade for Gadgets 4 Everyone, as
people will remember in the future where they can recycle their gadgets. The key outcome of
this campaign will be a more informed target audience with some basic knowledge on the
amount of money they can gain from certain products, we feel by displaying this in the video
the amount of money people can from the client that they will realise the benefits of using
such a service.
9

10. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Conclusions
Team Relationship
The relationship within and amongst the team was very positive, throughout the task with
each member acting in a formal and business-like manner, with all members making most
personal meetings and group meetings, also striving to make as many as possible with our
supervisor. The performance of the team when coming together, to undertake the practical
components of the assignment was once again impressive with all members present. With all
members present throughout all stages of the project, this allowed the team to discuss each
component to the work and get complete satisfaction from all before finalising what should
happen and how it will happen.
Project Operation
Looking at the project overall it was a success, with the objectives we set out being
completed in time and to a good standard. The main objective of the project was to supply
Gadgets4Everyone with information and a form of media that allowed the company to reach
out to the desired target market of their choice 18-25yr olds. The final ideas where two
digital videos, one that will allow the person watching to gain an understanding of how much
money they are likely to receive for a certain piece of technology that they own. The second
video is a viral video, which will hopefully attract members of the designated target group to
the site, allowing them to found out what Gadgets4Everyone offers, while being entertained.
Throughout the project small modifications where made in various areas, many of these were
done to improve the media produced or to build upon an idea and develop it to meet its
maximum potential. However, some changes where made to our project through
recommendations from friends and people who saw early versions of the both videos.
Project Management and Planning
As mentioned above, our plan was continuously changed and modified to do with our
continually changing idea and plan. At the start of the project we set out a clear and specific
time schedule with the aim to stick to this as much as possible. However this didn’t always go
to plan with specific areas running over time, a significant problem that the team encountered
10

11. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
was the contact with the client that prohibited us from progressing due to lack of information
and clarification in some areas.
Project Recommendations
In order for another group of consultants to continue on with this project if necessary there
are some vital recommendation points that should be considered. This project has come with
its problems, as mentioned above but it has also come with its success and the following
recommendations are structured so that future activity in this project runs more smoothly than
it did initially, and that problems that occurred here do not occur again.
Planning
Planning is vital for any type of business project, and here is no different. The original plan
put together in the brief featured a structured table highlighting the key dates and the
necessary output or tasks to be started and completed by such dates. However, sticking to this
was something that did not occur too well therefore, the first recommendation is to consider
actual reality when planning. Nothing runs 100% smoothly but planning to run as near to
perfection is vital and operating to a pre-set plan is also necessary but the original plan needs
to be realistic. Perhaps in the initial plan put together, the details were not realistic enough
and as a result there not sufficient time for some tasks to be completed. Fortunately, there was
time to extend past the planned dates as they were not official hand in dates or meeting dates
but for use in future projects where perhaps the time frame is smaller or there are more
regular featured deadlines, operators should ensure that they plan for more time than they
need. This ensures that there is room for mishaps or complications that may arise at different
times, overcoming these takes time and having room to breathe in situations that require hard
work is vital to achieving overall success and key to producing a high level of work.
Client Communication
Keeping in regular contact with the client is one of the most important aspects of a project
like this. His or her needs, thoughts or wants may change or vary, as consultants, you need to
be aware of this. Being flexible upon approach, plans and ideas is also ideal as clients don’t
necessarily consider the consultant in their decision making. For example, as students we
have other deadlines that need to be met but perhaps a client may require some project work
also in at that time. Although, this was not the case in this instance, knowing what can happen
11

12. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
and being prepared for things to change (even if they don’t) is a skill that is required for this
project. However, the client in this instance kept his distance, perhaps too far and rarely
replied to group contact attempts. This meant that although the business brief didn’t change,
the interaction at each stage of product completion was pretty much non-existent. Being
prepared for this is vital as this client is not involved in the project at all, giving consultants
the freedom to produce whatever work they wish to meet the required client brief.
Content Production
Linked to planning and realistic timing, the video production actually takes longer than
expected. In both cases in this project, the videos filming generated some problems as the
original idea could not be produced to an exact replica. Therefore, it had to be changed in
order to be filmed and built into the viral video. The final recommendation here is to be a
fully prepared team of consultants, who combined, have a very wide plethora or skills,
knowledge and experience. Technological experts are vital in video filming, editing and
production as these use specialist equipment and computer software in order to build the final
component video. There cannot be enough emphasis on preparation here, especially with a
project that involves creating your own video content, as video ideas are subject to change
depending on a number of contributing factors such as time, weather, location, situation and
people, only the latter being controlled by the consultancy team.
12

13. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Appendices
Video Content
Viral Video
The situation in the viral video shows a group of friends in a park, bored and waiting for
some other friends to turn up. Kicking a football around and chatting, one is constantly
moaning about his old and out of date mobile phone that is slow and useless. Filming begins
after one friend having already offered five pounds to another if he can kick their football into
a bin that is about eighty metres away. The friends go on to offer their peer five pounds each
if he can throw is old and useless phone into the same bin, still approximately eighty metres
away. He accepts the challenge and attempts the throw, with it being so blatantly obvious that
it will never reach that far, let alone actually go in the bin. However, the filming camera angle
changes and shows the phone land straight in the bin and the group of friends laughing and
celebrating. The humour sparks at this point, as the throw was such an outrageous attempt
and it could have never been thrown that far and that accurately, with the video content then
finishing with the written quote ‘get more than a fiver for your phone with Gadgets 4
Everyone’. This immediately links to the money offering from the friends to the other friend
throwing his phone. Customers may never try to throw their phone in a bin but this viral spin
off creates a buzz around the video, raising the profile of the brand and driving customers to
the business.
13

14. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
Informative Video
Different gadgets will be lined up upon a neural background and a text font will scroll across
the screen displaying the maximum prices that a customer can receive for each specific
gadget. Previous Gadgets 4 Everyone video content produced used a human hand writing in a
marker on a plain white background, being sped up and edited into the video once it was
done. This theme is a unique idea that is visually good to watch and a clever idea to utilise
but that idea selected to feature was far easier to produce and edit into the video. This
informative format offers a differed approach to the viral video, with both coming together to
form a complete package of video content that will raise awareness and persuade interest to
action amongst potential customers. To date, production progress sits at the final stage.
14

15. Vanquish CW2 Part 3 – Group Report
15