Frequently asked questions

It depends entirely on which engagement model fits: a Strategy Sprint is a fixed-scope, fixed-price 2-4 week engagement; Executive Advisory runs as a flexible monthly retainer; Fractional Leadership and Transformation Programs are scoped against the specific role or program. We don’t publish a rate card because the right starting point (and cost) depends on the problem, not a generic package – the free consultation exists specifically to work that out before any commercial conversation happens.

It’s a genuine scoping conversation, not a disguised pitch. The point is to understand your situation well enough to tell you honestly whether a Strategy Sprint, Advisory, Fractional Leadership or Transformation Program is the right fit – or whether none of them are, in which case we’ll say so.

Strategy Sprints and Playbooks are fixed-price for a fixed scope, so there’s no surprise at the end. Executive Advisory runs as a retainer. Fractional Leadership and Transformation Programs are scoped and quoted against the specific engagement once the requirements are clear.

The shortest structured engagement is a Strategy Sprint or Playbook, typically 1-4 weeks. Below that, the free consultation itself is often enough to point you in the right direction without a paid engagement at all.

Advisory retainers are designed to be flexible rather than locking you into a long fixed term, with the specific notice period confirmed in your engagement agreement.

You’ll hear back directly from Tim, not a generic inbox response, usually within a couple of business days, to arrange the free consultation. There’s no automated sales sequence or account manager hand-off before that first conversation happens.

Both, depending on the engagement. Strategy Sprints and Advisory work run effectively remote/hybrid from Sydney. Fractional Leadership and embedded Transformation Program roles typically involve more regular in-person time with the team, scoped based on what the organisation needs.

Yes – the practice is Sydney-based but engagements run nationally across Australia, and remotely with organisations further afield where the engagement model supports it.

Strategy Sprints and Playbooks can typically start within a couple of weeks of the scoping conversation, sooner if there’s genuine urgency. Fractional Leadership and Transformation Programs take longer to properly scope and align internally before kicking off.

It depends on the engagement type – a Strategy Sprint or Playbook ends with executive recommendations, a prioritised roadmap and a business case; Fractional Leadership and Transformation Programs are measured against agreed delivery milestones and benefits realisation rather than a single document. The specifics are agreed upfront as part of scoping, not left ambiguous until the end.

No – part of the value is coming in vendor-agnostic. Where there’s no existing MarTech/CDP/analytics stack, that’s factored into the roadmap; where there is one, we work with what’s already there rather than assuming a rebuild.

Cadence is agreed as part of scoping and matched to the engagement type – Advisory and Fractional Leadership typically involve regular standing time with your team; Strategy Sprints run on a tighter, more front-loaded schedule given the shorter timeframe.

Unlikely – engagements flex from boutique publishers and startup marketplaces through to enterprise transformation programs. The relevant question isn’t company size, it’s whether there’s a genuine commercial or transformation problem worth solving properly.

No – MVP-stage planning and early platform selection are explicitly in scope, not just optimising an existing stack. Coming in before decisions are locked in is often when independent, vendor-agnostic advice adds the most value.

No – FSI is a genuine depth area, not the only focus. Publishers, brands, agencies, marketplaces and technology vendors across property, automotive and general marketplaces are all core client types.

That’s what the free consultation and the readiness questionnaire are for – most engagements start as a business problem, not a specific service request, and get matched to the right service line once the problem is properly understood. The Strategic Calculators & Decision Tools page is another way to get oriented beforehand, several of its decision tools point toward a starting structure or approach before you’ve even had the conversation.

Yes – that’s essentially what Executive Advisory and the shorter Strategic Playbooks are built for: focused input without committing to a larger transformation program.

The core capability – cross-functional business cases, MarTech and data strategy, operating model design, commercial strategy – applies more broadly than the five sectors with the deepest career experience behind them. Worth a conversation regardless of industry.

Yes – a mutual NDA before any detailed scoping conversation involving commercially sensitive or customer data information is standard practice and happy to be put in place on request.

Direct conflicts of interest are flagged and discussed openly before any engagement begins – worth raising explicitly during the initial conversation if this matters for your situation.

In FSI and other regulated contexts especially, data handling is treated with the same rigour the client organisation itself requires – this is a core part of why the governance work is delivered in partnership with FMA Consulting for the specialist privacy layer.

Never without your explicit agreement. Existing case studies on the Selected Work page are all Tim’s prior career experience at named former employers, not Media Guides client work – client engagements are treated as confidential by default.

Tim leads every engagement directly – there’s no account management layer between the person scoping the problem and the person accountable for delivery. Where specialist regulatory or AI governance depth is needed, that’s delivered in partnership with FMA Consulting rather than a junior team stepping in.

Yes – Fractional Leadership and Advisory engagements are specifically designed to embed with and build the capability of an existing team, not replace it or work in isolation from it.

Yes – particularly for Fractional Leadership and Transformation Programs, a structured handover of documentation, governance frameworks and institutional knowledge is part of how the engagement wraps up, not an afterthought.

Fractional and advisory engagements give you senior-level capability without the cost, hiring timeline or risk of a full-time executive search – particularly useful when the need is real but not yet a permanent, budgeted headcount. Some clients use an engagement as the bridge while a full-time search is underway.

This varies by situation, which is exactly what a Strategy Sprint or the free consultation is designed to surface – several of the case studies on the Selected Work page started from a plateaued or declining position that got materially worse the longer it went unaddressed.

A generalist agency is often well suited to campaign delivery and media buying, but the engagements here are cross-functional business cases, operating model design and stakeholder alignment work – closer to enterprise in-house experience than agency delivery, particularly for regulated or complex transformation problems.

The Selected Work page is explicit about which figures are actual measured results versus business case/program targets, and clearly separates Tim’s career experience at named employers (Domain, eBay/GCA, IAG) from Media Guides client work. That transparency is intentional.

Nothing formal is required – a rough sense of the problem you’re trying to solve and who else in the business cares about it is enough. The readiness questionnaire is a useful optional starting point if you’d like to think it through beforehand, and if the problem has a number attached to it (a retention target, a synergy assumption, a compliance timeline) the Strategic Calculators & Decision Tools page can help you arrive with a clearer starting figure.

A short self-assessment tool to get a quick read on where your marketing, product, data and media operations stand before a conversation – useful if you want structure going in, but entirely optional; going straight to a free consultation works just as well.

Yes – the Strategic Calculators & Decision Tools page has 21 free calculators and decision tools across retention, M&A integration, FSI compliance, data strategy, operating models and growth. No email required, and several of them are built to give you a starting-point recommendation as well as a number, useful groundwork before the free consultation, not a substitute for it.

Not required for the initial conversation, though it can help if the problem spans multiple functions (e.g. marketing and technology, or commercial and compliance) and those stakeholders are available.

The contact form on the About page, or directly via guides@mediaguides.com.au – both reach Tim directly, not a shared inbox.