Connected Activities
- Decisions!
- Digital Deal or No Deal Detective
- Digital Marketing Strategies – What You Should Know!
- Power of the Ad
- Would You Rather: Rewards and Incentives
What Is It All About?
Students create a media product to educate others about how to make informed purchasing decisions and avoid being manipulated by marketing strategies that influence purchasing choices. The task encourages students to think critically about advertisements and understand the connection between marketing influence, personal decision-making, and overall well-being.
Why Do It?
Marketing and advertising can influence people’s decisions in ways that may not be fair or transparent. By learning to identify marketing tactics, persuasive techniques, and incentives, students can make informed choices and help others do the same.
This activity will allow students to make smart financial decisions and build confidence in navigating the digital and consumer worlds responsibly.
What Do We Need?
- Access to digital ads, flyers, or online shopping platforms (for examples of marketing strategies)
- Digital document or poster paper
- Markers, pencil crayons
- Paper
How Do We Do It?
- As a class, generate a list of considerations when purchasing a product or service, including strategies to be aware of in marketing and incentives that influence decision-making. Access the Marketing Strategies List (refer to Materials) for examples of marketing strategies.
- In groups, pairs, or individually, have students create a media product (e.g., infographic, radio ad, poster, website, brochure, commercial, or platform of choice) to share tips on marketing strategies to be aware of. The goal is to help others make informed purchasing decisions and avoid being manipulated by marketing strategies. Encourage students to include both “red flags” of manipulative marketing and positive strategies for responsible consumer choices.
- Post the student-generated products around the room and invite students to take part in a gallery tour to view everyone’s work.
- As students observe others’ work, have them record one new strategy or insight they learned about making informed purchasing decisions.
Teachers Notes
- Exploring different online flyers or advertisements can help activate students’ prior knowledge about marketing strategies.
- Connect to the Financial Literacy expectations (Gr. 7–8 Mathematics) by emphasizing comparison shopping, evaluating incentives, and understanding value for money.
- Connect to the Health and Physical Education expectations (Strand A: Social-Emotional Learning Skills; Strand C: Healthy Living) by linking decision-making and consumer awareness to emotional well-being and responsible choices.
- Assessment Opportunity: Evaluate students’ understanding of how marketing influences decision-making and their ability to propose strategies that promote informed, healthy, and financially responsible choices.
