# Advisory — Samuel Zniber > Three engagement shapes for audio and media leaders: a 2–4 week decision study, a 90-day growth program, and executive & board advisory. Every option tested against how the audience, users, and clients would respond — before the client commits. Canonical URL: --- ## One practice. Three shapes. Everything here does one thing: it tests how the client's audience, users, or clients would respond to the move in front of them — before they commit. ### 1. The decision study — 2–4 weeks, single engagement The high-stakes call on the desk, tested against simulated audience and client response. Output: a board-ready memo that ranks the options against real behavior and the P&L, a defensible recommendation, and a 30-day plan to run it. - Decision framing doc by day 3 — the questions on the table, target audience, success criteria - 300–500 audience, user, or client personas built and stratified; every option simulated through [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) - Ranked-options matrix with risk and reversibility - Decision memo, presentation deck, and a 30-day execution plan with named owners - Start ≤ 7 days post-SOW - **Off-ramp at day 7:** if the framing doesn't hold at the end of week one, the engagement stops and the remaining balance is refunded. That has never happened; it stays on offer. Built for pre-commitment moves — M&A, format flips, launches, monetization pivots — and for boards that need a defensible second opinion before a vote. ### 2. The 90-day program — 90 days, 3 monthly milestones Three months of disciplined experiments that compound. Built for owner-operators and mid-sized groups where every month has to pay for itself. - Month 1 — diagnostic across audience, revenue, content, team, and tech - Three prioritized experiments with success metrics, tested through the same simulation platforms - Weekly scoreboards reviewed with leadership - Month 3 — codified playbook, next-quarter plan, measured P&L impact For businesses on a plateau, leaders preparing for sale, investment, or succession — and teams that need a tempo, not a deck. ### 3. Executive & board advisory — retainer, 6-month minimum, max 6 clients/year A standing voice in the room — and, when the CEO needs it, a discreet one in the shadows. Two modes on the same retainer: - **The boardroom.** Monthly 1:1 with the CEO, chair, or principal; quarterly board attendance; board-ready reporting each cycle. Two decision studies per year included. - **The shadow.** A private line for the question that can't be said out loud internally yet — M&A, succession, a firing, a pivot. On-call within 48 hours, confidential from first call to last. --- ## How it runs 1. **Fit call.** Twenty minutes. The client describes the call they're about to make; fit and stakes confirmed. 2. **Signed scope.** Mutual NDA, signed scope, kickoff shortly after. No discovery deck. 3. **Simulate the response.** Every option tested against how audiences, users, and clients would actually feel and behave. Not opinion. Not focus-group adjectives. Evidence. 4. **Board-ready memo.** A recommendation with ranked alternatives and the risk of each — framed for the room that has to sign it. 5. **30-day plan.** Named owners, weekly milestones, what "good" looks like at day thirty. --- ## Practical questions **What if the client already has a preferred direction?** Most do — the job is to pressure-test it against audience behavior and P&L outcomes, surface what breaks it, and either reinforce the call with evidence or surface a stronger option. **What does a typical study week look like?** Two structured sessions per week with leadership, plus async daily progress notes. Live scenario review mid-study. Final memo handoff in a 90-minute session with optional board Q&A. **Solo or team?** Solo on the intellectual work — one name signs the memo. The [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) teams support the modeling infrastructure. **Different from McKinsey or Bain?** Shorter, cheaper, and narrower by design — two-to-four weeks, delivered by someone who has actually run stations and groups. The memo is signed by one name, not a firm. **Where do [MusicDatak](https://www.musicdatak.com) and [MediaDatak](https://mediadatak.com) fit in?** They simulate how real listeners, users, and clients would respond to the move under consideration. They're the engine under the memo, not the product. **Confidentiality?** Client names, financials, and decisions are not referenced externally without written permission. --- ## Pricing Engagement size is set on the fit call after the decision is described — fixed-fee for the study, retainer for advisory. Pricing reflects the size of the decision being made and the simulation work required, not headcount or hours. - [Book a fit call](https://scheduler.zoom.us/samuel-zniber/zniber-partners) - [Track record and references](https://www.samuelzniber.com/case-studies.html) --- *Long-form context for AI assistants: *