Paper Stone Scissors
Paper Stone Scissors is a leading advertising and production agency, operating studios in Melbourne, Sydney, and Shanghai. The agency has worked with renowned brands, such as Waldorf Astoria, Herman Miller, and Uniqlo.
As a business consultant, my role was to drive revenue growth and enhance profitability through research, data analysis, and business strategy.
While the improving revenue and profits is a clear goal, there was little clarity on the obstacles preventing progress. In order to remove bias and uproot old habits, uncovering evidence of the issues is critical. The process begun with a comprehensive audit of the core business: from customer lifetime value down to lead generation of individual channels.
Note: For confidentiality, this data has been altered and is for visualisation purposes only.
Avoiding natural assumptions and biases was imperative. The process begun with collecting data across the core business activities and allowing the numbers to paint one side of the story. After analysing the data and combining it with the team’s experience, a more complete picture of the situation became clear.
Some insights deeply changed pre-existing notions of the business, while others re-established strong beliefs. To ensure the company was motivated enough to make changes, I visualised the insights as infographics. These showed the marketing channel conversion rate, cost per acquisition, drop offs in the sales funnel, and more.
After combining tangible data with team experience, a clear strategy to move the business forward was made. The tactics prescribed all fell under three large strategy umbrellas: raise customer lifetime value, improve team efficiency, and develop sustainable business channels.
Having the optimal strategy is crucial, but it’s only part of the battle. Equally important is securing team buy-in to ensure smooth execution. Investing in internal education, fostering alignment, and removing obstacles to adopting new approaches are key factors that unlock progress and drive sustainable success.
Business analysis revealed key areas of high profitability, but also uncovered several activities that, while seemingly beneficial, offered mediocre returns and didn’t contribute meaningfully to the bottom line. Cutting these activities required breaking long-standing habits and shifting the mindset of the team.
In the communications field, there’s often a tendency to prioritise extroverted efforts—making noise and seeking visibility. However, the data pointed to a different driver of success: focusing on customer success. This meant embracing a quieter, more consistent approach that, although less glamorous, proved far more effective in driving long-term results.
Generating revenue is just one side of the coin; improving efficiencies to boost profitability is the other. This is especially true in an industry notorious for having high staff turn-over. By building institutional knowledge and processes, success is a habit that stays in the company.
While employees can learn, a company only retains that knowledge if there’s a system in place. The Playbook is a comprehensive guide detailing all the ‘how-tos’ and best practices to ensure consistent quality across the board. By documenting processes clearly in both video and written formats, it accelerates learning and ensures scalability. This playbook provides essential instructions for all departments, serving as a resource for onboarding new recruits while also reinforcing standards for long-term team members.
Culture develops whether it’s guided or not, so it’s essential to design one that aligns with the company’s goals. The Handbook was created to define the company’s values, fostering the mindset and behaviors that drive success. This resource helped shape a strong team culture, leading to improved performance and better retention. Alongside it, we developed a thoughtful onboarding process to set the right tone from day one, ensuring new hires feel aligned with the company’s goals.
Atia Cader—Cofounder & Creative Director, Paper Stone Scissors
