Choosing a Card Brand with a Tiny Budget
The art club has 120 hand-painted greeting cards to sell before winter break. Two teams propose branding. Team A suggests 'Warm Wishes': recycled brown paper, nature paintings, price $3 each or five for $12, sold at the school office and a weekend craft fair. Team B suggests 'Pop Cards': bright doodle patterns, glitter, price $2 each, sold mainly through social media and at lunch. A survey of 80 students finds that 52 would pay $2, 21 would pay $3, 33 care about recycled materials, and 46 say they buy cards for family. Teachers say they prefer sets and usually spend $10 to $15. The club has $25 for printing one sign and no budget for ads. The craft fair charges 15% of sales. The club must choose one brand and one main customer for the first sale.
1. Choose one brand and one main customer for the first sale. Use at least three data points from the survey and teacher comment to justify your choice.
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Choose 'Warm Wishes' and target teachers and family gift buyers for the first sale. The data support this: 46 of 80 students say they buy cards for family, teachers prefer sets and spend $10-$15, and the five-for-$12 bundle sits inside that range. The 33 students who care about recycled materials match the brown-paper, nature theme. 'Pop Cards' has real support-52 students would pay $2-but that price yields less per card and the plan has no bundle for teachers. The $25 budget also favors one clear brand rather than two. The first sale should focus on the school office and teacher preorders, where there is no craft-fair fee, then use the weekend fair for family buyers. This choice uses three data points and the teacher comment, and it matches the club's limited promotion budget.
2. Evaluate the two price plans on revenue per card and on fit with the target customer. Which price would you set for the first sale, and why?
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At $3 each, a single card earns $3; at the craft fair the 15% fee leaves $2.55. In the five-for-$12 bundle, revenue per card is $2.40; after the fair fee it is $2.04. The bundle earns less per card but fits the teacher spending range of $10-$15 and moves five cards at once. For the first sale, set $3 for a single card and $12 for five, but push the bundle to teachers and family buyers. If the club sells 20 bundles (100 cards), revenue is $240; at the fair the fee is $36, leaving $204 before material costs. Selling the same 100 cards as singles would bring $300, but that assumes 100 single buyers, which the survey does not prove. The bundle is a realistic way to sell volume to the chosen customer.
3. Recommend how to use the $25 and the free social media to promote the chosen brand. Include one message and one channel, and explain why not to split the budget.
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Use the $25 for one strong, reusable sign, not for several small ads. The sign should carry one message: 'Warm Wishes: five handmade cards for $12-ready for family and teachers.' Place it at the school office preorder table first, then at the craft fair. Add a simple preorder sheet and a QR code or short link only if the club already has a free page; otherwise use a paper list. Use free social media with three posts: behind-the-scenes painting, the bundle, and a thank-you to buyers. Do not split $25 across boosted posts and printing, because that is too little to measure and weakens the main message. One channel plus one clear offer is easier for a small club to execute and gives cleaner evidence about what worked.