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Day 1: Marketing Cluster + Marketing on the Move

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Explore the Marketing pathway in H&L; design a billboard or bus wrap advertisement using the Marketing on the Move workbook activity
TEKS d(1)(C)
Deliverable Billboard or bus wrap advertisement design (digital or paper sketch) meeting the workbook checklist
Materials Chromebooks, H&L accounts, H&L Workbook (Ch 5, pp. 73-75 Marketing on the Move), Canva accounts, printed ad templates, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Name a TV commercial, social media ad, or billboard you have seen recently and remember. What made it stick? Someone's JOB was to design that.

Take 4-5 student responses. Bridge to today: every memorable ad was designed by a marketing professional with a clear goal, get you to remember the product. The H&L workbook puts students in that designer's chair.

Activity 1: H&L Marketing Cluster Tour (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 5: Business, Marketing, and Finance (pp. 73-74)

Open by clarifying a key point: H&L does not have a separate "Marketing" cluster. Marketing careers live inside the Business, Marketing, and Finance cluster. Today and tomorrow students focus on the Marketing and Sales pathway specifically.

[H&L PLATFORM] From the workbook (Ch 5, p. 74): "Go to the Hats & Ladders app and click on the 'Business, Marketing, and Finance Cluster.' Spend some time exploring the cluster and pathways." Direct students to focus specifically on the Marketing and Sales pathway.

The workbook (Ch 5) lists six pathways in this cluster. Students will see them all in the app. The Marketing and Sales pathway is described as: "Finding ways to tell people about products or services and encouraging them to buy."

Use the Hat Finder to browse 2-3 marketing-specific Hats: Marketing Manager, Brand Manager, Market Research Analyst, Social Media Manager, Advertising Account Executive.

Facilitation Tip

Students often miss "Marketing" because it's nested under "Business, Marketing, and Finance" in H&L. Walk around for the first 2 minutes ensuring every student has clicked into the right cluster. The workbook explicitly says to use the Business, Marketing, and Finance cluster page.

Activity 2: H&L "Marketing on the Move" Activity (30 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 5, pp. 74-75, "Marketing on the Move" (Career Climb activity)

Introduce the activity using the workbook framing: "You will step into the role of a marketer and design an eye-catching advertisement for a product or event. Marketing helps businesses stand out and increase sales by getting people interested and excited."

Step 1: Choose a Product or Event (3 min)

Students pick ONE option from the workbook (Ch 5, p. 74):

  • A new aquarium opening soon
  • A smoothie company launching a new smoothie called "Cereal Crunch"
  • A car dealership promoting a new self-driving car

Step 2: Decide Where to Place Your Advertisement (2 min)

Students pick ONE format from the workbook:

  • Billboard: A large, bold ad along a highway or busy street. Must be readable in 5 seconds at 60 mph.
  • Bus Wrap: A creative ad that wraps around a city bus. Moves around town. Must grab attention from all angles.

Step 3: Create Your Design (20 min)

Using Canva, Google Drawings, or the printed sketch template, students design their ad. The workbook checklist (Ch 5, p. 75) is the rubric:

  • Catchy slogan: Short, memorable, hooks the reader
  • Images and colors that grab the audience's attention: Bright, bold, on-brand
  • Clear, short message so the audience knows what is being sold and what action to take (visit the aquarium, try the smoothie, take a test drive)

The 5-second rule: a billboard is only effective if a driver going 60 mph can read it in 5 seconds. Students hold up their final design and a partner times them, can they grasp it in 5 seconds?

Facilitation Tip

Project a side-by-side example on the board for 30 seconds: a cluttered ad vs. a clean ad. Show students that LESS is more on a billboard. The most common mistake is too much text. If a billboard has more than 7 words, it has too much.

Step 4: Discussion (5 min)

Pair up. Trade ad designs. Use the workbook's discussion prompts (Ch 5, p. 75):

  • How does your design grab people's attention?
  • Why would your ad make people interested in the product or event?
  • Apply the 5-second test: Can you read it in 5 seconds?

DOK 3: What did you have to LEAVE OUT of your ad to make it work? Why is "less is more" so important in billboard design?

DELIVERABLE: Billboard or bus wrap ad design (digital or paper) meeting all three checklist items. Submitted to Google Classroom.

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Mini-Case / Scenario Application) · Printable PDF:

Scenario: A DFW smoothie shop hires you to redesign their billboard. The old one has 24 words, 4 photos, and 3 colors. Drivers say they can't read it at 60 mph.

  1. ONE thing I would REMOVE from the old billboard (to pass the 5-second test):
  1. ONE thing I would KEEP or ADD (slogan, image, or color choice):
  1. Name ONE Marketing and Sales career from the H&L cluster that would LEAD this redesign:

Career: _____

  1. In one sentence, why that career fits THIS job (not a different marketing role):

(d(1)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide 3 sample slogans for each product option ("Explore Adventure," "Cereal in a Cup," "Drive Yourself Different"). Students pick one and modify it. Pre-built Canva templates with empty text boxes ready to fill.
  • Extension: Students design TWO ads for the same product, one billboard, one bus wrap. They compare the differences in design choices required for each format.
  • ELL: Pre-teach: Advertisement = Anuncio, Billboard = Cartelera, Slogan = Eslogan, Audience = Audiencia. The visual nature of the activity is very accessible. Spanish-language slogans are a strong creative choice for DFW marketing, encourage them.