Marketing Activities for Middle School

Marketing is a very broad term that includes fields of work such as product development, consumer research and advertising. Helping young students understand the field of marketing will give them a better idea of the influence of marketing in their own life. In addition, exposing middle school students to marketing activities can encourage them to pursue a career in the field.

Because television is a common leisure activity for young students, they are already familiar and comfortable with commercials. Working either in groups or as individuals, require the students to create a commercial for pre-assigned products. Review the features and benefits of each product as possible areas of focus for the commercials, but allow the students to use their imagination as to how to present the product in the advertisements.

Cut out magazine ads and go over the common features of print advertisements such as the headline, call to action, graphic element and contact information. In addition, you can use the classroom computer to review the websites for the various companies and show how the online information supports the magazine ads for the same products. The students can then create a magazine ad that supports the television commercial they recently made and presented to the class.

Because of the broad reach of email and Internet marketing, use the classroom computer to track the location of an emailed letter. Although few people like email chain letters, this email could be presented as a class project. Ask the recipients to reply to the email simply listing their geographic location and asking them to forward the email to someone they know who would support the activity. Track the results on a world map to demonstrate how the Internet allows fast and far-reaching marketing efforts.

Research is a significant part of marketing. In class, develop a marketing campaign for a new product made specifically for middle school students. Start by brainstorming ideas and hone the project down to three or four potential products. Create a brief survey and ask the students to survey their friends about which product they would buy. Gather the data and analyze it to determine the best product. Ask the students to generate a print ad and television commercial to promote the new product. Finally, you can send a emailed letter via the classroom computer to see how many people would be interested in buying the product.