Let's do a role-play. I am a senior stakeholder from marketing who is resistant to your proposal to shift budget from traditional TV ads to more targeted digital campaigns for a new product launch. Try to convince me in 2 minutes. I'll push back. Ready?

Situation

During my internship at a local FMCG company, I was asked to present a digital campaign recommendation for a new snack brand targeting Gen Z consumers. The brand manager (acting as this stakeholder) was skeptical about moving budget away from TV, which had been their traditional channel for years.

Task

I needed to persuade her to allocate at least 30% of the launch budget to digital, based on our target demographic's media consumption data.

Action

I started by validating her concern: 'I understand TV has delivered strong results before, and I am not saying replace it entirely.' Then I showed a one-page infographic with clear data: 80% of our target audience watches video on mobile, and our pilot digital ad got a click-through rate double the industry average. I proposed a test: allocate 10% first, track conversions for two weeks, and then decide on the remaining 20%. I offered to personally monitor the test daily and report back.

Result

She agreed to the 10% test. After two weeks, the digital campaign delivered a cost-per-acquisition 40% lower than TV. She then approved the full 30% shift for the launch, which eventually contributed to a 25% increase in trial rate among Gen Z.