Scenario 2C: Negotiating NewKicks’ New Marketing Campaign with Agitate Marketing Agency

1. Organise participants into groups of 3 and allocate roles (NewKicks Product Manager Jerome, Agitate Marketing Agency Client Manager Landon, observer)
2. Each role has a separate role-play brief. Ensure participants only read their role brief
3. Suggested role-play time is 50 minutes
   • Preparation time: 10 minutes
   • Role play time: 20 minutes
   • Debrief time (observer to also provide feedback to role players): 10 minutes
   • Group debrief time: 10 minutes

This brief should only be read by the person playing the role of Jerome. 

Read through the following brief to provide context to the scenario you are role-playing as Jerome.

Following the boom of casual wear during COVID lockdowns, the interest and sales of sneakers have skyrocketed. NewKicks also experienced an increase in sales and is looking to continue the ‘sneakers hype’. The company operates fully online and stocks the latest-release sneakers from the US.

So far, you have relied on word of mouth and are keen to employ a marketing agency to assist with the advertising of the brand, especially because you are about to stock a new range of sneakers by a well-known rapper. The target audience is 15 to 25. As the NewKicks Product Manager, Jerome, you are very excited to be stocking the new range of sneakers to sell on your website. After thorough research, you and the team have decided that Agitate Marketing Agency would be the perfect choice to assist with your new marketing campaign.

After reaching out to Landon, Agitate Marketing Agency Client Manager you are keen to negotiate a good deal. As part of the negotiation, there are many aspects of the marketing campaign that you needed to consider and agree on. You will need to agree on the overall budget, the duration of the marketing video ad for distribution on YouTube and Facebook, the number of TikTok videos to be developed, the use of some of Agitate Marketing Agency’s social media influencers that they have signed on to assist with the marketing campaign, the number of the press events and the deadline for the deliverables.  The value of the negotiable items is as follows (see table below). You are aiming to get the highest score possible. You are now meeting with Landon to negotiate the terms of the contract. Good luck! 

This brief should only be read by the person playing the role of Landon.

Read through the following brief to provide context to the scenario you are role-playing as Landon.

Agitate Marketing Agency is a modern marketing agency that prides itself on meeting and exceeding their client marketing requirements. As a digital disrupter, it is well known for its tongue-in-cheek advertising that generates millions of clicks, views, likes, and comments. As the client manager, you Landon have been approached by NewKicks to assist with an advertising campaign. As a sneaker lover and customer, you are very excited to be involved with NewKicks. As with all new campaigns, there are many aspects to negotiate and you are looking forward to meeting with Jerome, NewKicks Product Manager. The value of the negotiable items is as follows (see table below). You are aiming to get the highest score possible. You are now meeting with Jerome to negotiate the terms of the contract.

As the observer, your role in the scenario is to observe the relationship and conversation between the two players in the negotiation. Part of your role is not to make judgments or interrupt the role play, but rather take notes on the negotiation. Taking observation notes will be a critical part of the debrief, where you are able to provide the role players with your perspective on how the negotiation went. To assist with taking observational notes, here are some questions to consider:

1. Were non-verbal cues utilised? If so, what and by whom?
2. What was the highest score achieved in the negotiation?
3. Were any negotiation tactics utilised? If so, what and how did the other party respond?
4. What negotiation skills were evident?
5. Did one/both parties need to compromise and if so, explain what and how?
6. Was an agreement reached? What was it?
7. What could the role players do differently in the negotiation?

At the conclusion of the role-play, it is imperative that the participants are given the opportunity to debrief with each other and other role-playing groups. It is also important for the observer to provide the role players with feedback on what they observed in the relationship and conversation between the two players in the negotiation. The debrief should be prefaced by first outlining the importance of feedback in the spirit of learning through action and reflection and not seen as the opportunity to highlight weaknesses or communicate criticism. The following questions can be utilised to guide the debrief process, with the ability to include further content-specific questions on the negotiation process and/or skills in accordance with your curriculum.

1. How did you find the role-play exercise?
2. What went well in the role-play?
3. What did you find difficult about the role play?
4. What would have helped improve your experience in the role play?
5. What would you do differently next time you negotiate?
6. What skills were evident in the role play?