Woodhaven DECA chapter had an opportunity to help younger children learn important life skills involving marketing and money management on Friday, November 8th. Some members of the advanced marketing class went over to Erving Elementary to go into classrooms and give a lesson about marketing skills and how to use them.
It is very important to make sure people of the younger generation are learning concepts about marketing. Students aren’t usually taught about marketing or finances unless they sign up for a marketing class in high school. It is something that should be regularly taught or even introduced in elementary and middle school since it is real-world knowledge and can be very helpful to them. Woodhaven kids talking about these marketing skills in fun ways that the kids will understand and relate to might give them an idea if it is something they see themselves getting more involved in marketing in the future. The kids being introduced to marketing and the fun side of it can give them time to think about some of the marketing classes they will have the option to take once they arrive at the high school.
At Erving Elementary, DECA students taught students about target markets, different platforms of social media, the importance of influencers, slogans for companies, how to design a package for a product, and how to price a product. The students were told to come up with a new flavor of Pringles that is not yet on the market, they were then told to pick a target market that will be their main selling point for their Pringles. They then have to choose a social media platform where they would promote their product, along with a celebrity influencer to help advertise their new Pringles flavor. Next, they had to come up with a unique hashtag or slogan for their Pringles along with a creative package design. Lastly, they had to come up with a final price for their Pringles.
At the end, all of the students were able to share their new unique pringle flavors and see what all of their peers ended up coming up with. Some of the flavors that were created were a Taylor Swift-themed pringle and a variety of hot spices Pringles. Students were then able to tape their designs to a small container of Pringles and were able to keep them. Sophia Varkas, who is a very involved senior at WHS, was one of the few students who taught at Erving on Friday. Sophia is involved in DECA, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Women of Woodhaven, and Link Crew. Sophia also participates in a club at her church, GOYA. Sophia Varkas said, “The kids really enjoyed sharing the ideas with us and working together to create a product they see themselves buying and it helped them to see what their peers were making and putting on the market and seeing how interested the students were in the project!” Being able to share and discuss what their peers have come up with was eye-opening to the students to see everyone’s creativity with this project and what they came up with. Sophia says, “I hope to teach Early Education in the future so this was a great opportunity for me to see what grade level I liked and know that I really enjoy teaching third graders and hearing their outlook on life.” So this was definitely a good learning experience for the students and Sophia. Sophia was able to see what it was like to be in a classroom and be in charge of a class, teach a class, and interact with students one-on-one. Sophia plans to attend Central Michigan University or Michigan State University to pursue a degree in Early Education.
The main goal of this project was to help the younger kids learn some new skills and concepts of marketing in a fun creative way that they will be able to enjoy yet still learn some knowledge about the marketing world. This project was able to give these kids a new view on marketing and allow them to interact with advanced marketing students and learn and ask questions with them. They were able to imagine if they picture themselves buying their product or someone else’s and compare the prices of everyone’s Pringles to each other.
