Question

Foundations in Personal Finance High School EditionCHAPTER
6Marketing Madness
Activity: Small groups
or individual
žž 2 0 M I N U T E S
Materials: Students will
need the activity handout
and creative/art supplies.
Objective: The purpose of
this activity is for students
to apply information from
the Consumer Awareness
chapter and create an
advertising poster for
a product.
S TA N D A R D Planning and
Money Management
Standard 4: Apply
consumer skills to
purchase decisions.
• Give examples of how
external factors, such as
marketing and adver-
tising techniques, might
influence spending
decisions for different
individuals
Procedure

Answer 1

Here’s a ready-to-use procedure, student handout text, checklist, and quick rubric you can print or paste into your lesson plan for the “Marketing Madness” 20-minute activity.

Teacher procedure (20 minutes)
- 0:00–0:02 — Hook/overview (2 minutes)
- Briefly remind students what marketing techniques are (emotional appeal, bandwagon, scarcity, celebrity, price appeal, repetition, etc.). State the objective: create an advertising poster that uses marketing techniques and shows awareness of consumer protections/ethics.
- 0:02–0:05 — Assign groups and product (3 minutes)
- Students work individually or in small groups (2–4). Option A: teacher assigns a product category (soda, sneakers, phone app, local service). Option B: students pick a product (teacher approves to avoid inappropriate choices).
- 0:05–0:17 — Create poster (12 minutes)
- Design and produce a poster on paper or digitally. The poster must include: product name, target audience, a clear persuasive message, at least three different marketing techniques, and one truthful disclaimer or safety/price fact.
- 0:17–0:20 — Share/closure (3 minutes)
- Quick gallery walk or 1–2 groups present their poster (30–60 seconds each). Wrap up with 1–2 questions: Which marketing technique was most effective? How could a consumer check if claims are true?

Student handout (printable)
Title: Marketing Madness — Poster Project
Objective: Use skills from the Consumer Awareness chapter to design an advertisement that persuades a specific audience while practicing consumer protection awareness.

Materials: poster paper or digital tool, markers/colored pencils, scissors, glue, magazines/images (optional).

Instructions:
1. Choose a product (or accept the teacher’s assignment).
2. Identify the target audience (age, interests, income level, etc.).
3. Decide on a central message or slogan.
4. Include at least three different marketing techniques (see list below).
5. Add a truthful fact or disclaimer (e.g., price, ingredients, safety warning, or return policy).
6. Create your poster and be ready to explain:
- Who is the ad aimed at?
- Which marketing techniques did you use and why?
- How could a consumer verify the ad’s claims?

Marketing techniques (use at least three)
- Emotional appeal (evokes happiness, fear, nostalgia)
- Bandwagon (everyone’s doing it)
- Scarcity/urgency (limited time or supply)
- Celebrity/endorsement (trusted person recommends it)
- Price/value appeal (sale, low price, “best value”)
- Repetition/slogan (repeated phrase or jingle)
- Beautiful imagery/sex appeal (attractive visuals)
- Social proof (testimonials, reviews)

Checklist (turn in or show to teacher)
- [ ] Product named
- [ ] Target audience identified
- [ ] Slogan or central message
- [ ] At least 3 marketing techniques used (list them)
- [ ] Truthful fact/disclaimer included
- [ ] Poster is neat and readable

Mini rubric (use for quick grading — total 12 points)
- Creativity & visual appeal — 3 points
- Use of at least 3 marketing techniques (and correctness) — 3 points
- Clear target audience & message — 2 points
- Inclusion of truthful fact/disclaimer — 2 points
- Teamwork/participation (if group) — 2 points

Teacher tips and variations
- If many groups, do a gallery walk instead of individual presentations. Students leave posters up and groups rotate for 2 minutes each.
- Longer class: extend creation to 25+ minutes and require a 1–2 minute presentation that defends technique choices.
- Digital option: let students create a slide or Canva ad and submit electronically.
- Differentiation: Struggling students can adapt an existing ad to point out the techniques and change one element; advanced students can create a 30-second storyboard/commercial script.
- Assessment focus: emphasize that ads can be persuasive but not necessarily truthful — include consumer-protection questions in follow-up discussion (How would you verify claims? What red flags suggest misleading advertising?).

Closure questions (use for quick class wrap-up)
- Which technique do you think is most likely to influence you personally and why?
- What’s one way a consumer could check if an ad’s claim is true?

If you want, I can:
- Create a printable single-page handout with this content formatted for printing.
- Provide 10 sample product prompts or scenario cards for groups.
- Draft a short grading rubric with point descriptions for each score level.