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Demographics Do Matter

High School, Interdisciplinary

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Description of Unit

In this grade 9–12 CTE/ELAR (Career and Technical Education/English Language Arts and Reading) task, students will research demographics of marketing based on different generations, cultures, gender, and areas. Students will identify certain advertisements that are targeted for a specific generation, cultures, gender, and areas. Students will create a product and several advertisements that market to a variety of different demographics. 

This guide links the Demographics Do Matter unit to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for high school students. Demographics Do Matter is a Career and Technological Education unit that allows students to study how generations, cultures, gender, and areas can affect marketing. Demographics Do Matter also has an interdisciplinary connection to the English Language Arts and Reading TEKS. For example, students will research, synthesize, organize, and present ideas and information. The following document includes the applicable TEKS and the details of the Demographics Do Matter unit. The concluding section of this document presents the applicable Texas College and Career Readiness Standards adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THEBC) on January 24, 2008. 

Phase I. Learning Experiences

  1. Introduce the unit by asking students to write down their favorite commercial. Alternatively, they may choose their favorite commercial from any of the following websites:

    Ask students why they like this commercial—is it the product, the music, or the people? Have them explain what makes them interested in the products. Then have students guess the demographics for the ad they chose and ask if they fall into that demographic themselves.

  2. Vocabulary: Have students work in groups to define the following words: demographic, marketing, advertisement, culture, and gender. At the end, they will share their results with the class. They will give a visual meaning of the word (e.g., a drawing, a pose), define it in their own words, and find at least two examples of the word being used in magazines, newspapers, or journals. They will share their meanings with their peers, who will keep a record of the word meanings in their Research Journals.
  3. Individually or in teacher-created ability groups, students will watch the following video and answer the questions in their Research Journals. (Please refer to the TPSP Research Proposal form and Primary and Secondary forms on TPSP website.)

    Introduction to Marketing: Definition and Applications:

    • What is marketing?
    • What are some marketing activities?
    • What is the main function of marketing?
    • Why do companies spend time with consumer-oriented markets?
    • What are some companies that use creative or leading-edge marketing techniques?
    • What are the four P’s of marketing?

    When students are finished watching the video, they will read and analyze Finding Your Audience Through Market Segmentation*  and answer the following two questions. The students will share their results with the class.

    • What is market segmentation?
    • How are the demographics separated?

    Students will complete a Turn and Talk with their neighbor.

  4. Yearbook Advertisement

    Students will individually create a visual to promote the sales of the yearbook in order to reach their classroom’s demographics.

  5. Have students work in small groups and look through multiple magazines to find advertisements. They will then create a poster using flip-chart paper with the advertisement in the middle. Around the advertisement, students will list the demographics they believe the advertisement is targeting. When they are finished, the class will complete a gallery walk. Students will circulate around the room, discussing each group’s poster and listing their thoughts on sticky notes. Students will analyze and determine which groups the ad is appealing to.

Phase II. Independent Research

A. Research process 

  1. Selecting a topic. Depending on interest, students will pick one product that offers a service or type of name-brand food. Then the students will pick two different countries. They will explore at a deeper level through independent research how their product may be marketed differently in the two countries.
  2. Asking guiding questions. Students will develop 3–5 questions to guide their search, such as the following:
    1. What differences are there between product advertisements in the two countries?
    2. How is the product marketed? Through radio, television, movie, magazine, newspaper, billboards, or social media?
    3. How can a person tell that the advertisements are sold in different countries?
    4. Which demographic does each product sell to?
    5. Do the ads in each country focus on the same demographics or are they different?
    6. How can you tell what demographics are being marketed?
    7. What are the top demographics that each country markets their products to?
    8. What are some ways consumers affect marketing techniques?
    9. What steps are needed to create consumer-driven advertisements?
    10. How are advertisements related to marketing?
    11. How does the use of different mediums affect the amount of the product sold?
    12. What information can you gather to support your ideas about marketing compared to marketing in the United States?
    13. What current trends are in each country and how does that impact marketing?
    14. Are there specific rules and guidelines in each country regarding advertising?
  3. Designing and submitting a research proposal (Please refer to the TPSP Research Proposal form and Primary and Secondary forms on TPSP website). Students will include these components in the Research Proposal:
    1. The product and countries they will study
    2. The reasons for selecting the product and the country choices
    3. Three to five guiding questions they will use to investigate and form a hypotheses
    4. Primary and secondary sources to be used to conduct research
    5. Knowledge and skills needed
  4. Conducting the research. After the teacher has approved student proposals, students will keep a log that maintains sources used. Students will also keep a Research Journal that will show progress and student thinking if needed.
  5. Developing conclusions. Students will develop a theory about demographics in marketing.

B. The product 

Students will create a Product Proposal (Please refer to the TPSP Product Proposal form on TPSP website). Each student will choose to create one of the following and present using multimedia (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides, video, Adobe PDF): 

  • Create a new product that would be beneficial to today’s world.
  • Write a page that explains the product’s usefulness.
  • Create an advertisement (e.g., infographic, paper advertisement, billboard, television ad, radio ad, or social media ad) that demonstrates knowledge of demographics to sell the product.
  • Include a slogan or saying on the advertisement.
  • Write a page to summarize how knowledge of demographics would be useful in selling the product and explain how the advertisement is marketing to a specific demographic.

Students will present their advertisement to the class.

C. Communication 

Each student will present his or her advertisement to the audience (gifted and talented parent night/fair or to peers in the classroom). The advertisements should meet these criteria: 

  • Presentation
    • 5–10 minutes in length
    • Multiple graphics
    • A speech with multimedia presentation
    • Correct spelling, punctuation, and mechanics
    • Time for Q&A from their peers
  • Peers will complete an evaluation of the presentation (Handout 5).
  • Audience members will review and follow proper audience etiquette.
  • Each student will write a self-evaluation (Handout 6).

D. A completed project consists of:

  1. The research proposal with guided questions
  2. Research Journal notes
  3. A research log
  4. A multimedia presentation
  5. A self-evaluation paper
  6. A Works Cited Page

This unit may address the following TEKS.

110.31, English Language Arts and Reading, English I

110.31(b)(1)
Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing.
110.31(b)(9)
Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding.
110.31(b)(12)
Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts.
110.31(b)(13)
Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text.
110.31(b)(14)
Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing.
110.31(b)(15)
Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes.
110.31(b)(17)
Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity.
110.31(b)(18)
Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions.
110.31(b)(20)
Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them.
110.31(b)(21)
Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather.
110.31(b)(22)
Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information.
110.31(b)(23)
Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into a written or an oral presentation that:
110.31(b)(24)
Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity.
110.31(b)(25)
Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to give presentations using informal, formal, and technical language effectively to meet the needs of audience, purpose, and occasion, employing eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.
110.31(b)(26)
Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, building on the ideas of others, contributing relevant information, developing a plan for consensus-building, and setting ground rules for decision-making.

130.132, Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance

130.132(c)(5)
The student relates to the impact of international business on the U.S. economy.
130.132(c)(5)(B)
compare domestic and world trade;
130.132(c)(7)
The student classifies types of businesses that market goods and services.
130.132(c)(7)(A)
explain the importance of different marketing strategies for goods versus services;

130.382, Advertising

130.382(c)(2)
The student knows the importance of marketing as well as the functions of marketing.
130.382(c)(3)
The student knows the impact and value of diversity.
130.382(c)(5)
The student knows that advertising requires knowledge of demographics.

This unit may address the following Texas College and Career Readiness Standards.

Cross-Disciplinary Standards:

CDS.I.A.1
 Engage in scholarly inquiry and dialogue.
CDS.I.B.2
 Construct well-reasoned arguments to explain phenomena, validate conjectures, or support positions.
CDS.I.B.4
 Support or modify claims based on the results of an inquiry.
CDS.I.C.1
 Analyze a situation to identify a problem to be solved.
CDS.I.C.3
 Collect evidence and data systematically and directly relate to solving a problem.
CDS.I.D.1
 Self-monitor learning needs and seek assistance when needed.
CDS.I.D.2
 Use study habits necessary to manage academic pursuits and requirements.
CDS.I.D.3
 Strive for accuracy and precision.
CDS.I.D.4
 Persevere to complete and master tasks.
CDS.I.E.1
 Work independently.
CDS.I.E.2
 Work collaboratively.
CDS.I.F.1
 Attribute ideas and information to source materials and people.
CDS.I.F.2
 Evaluate sources for quality of content, validity, credibility, and relevance.
CDS.I.F.3
 Include the ideas of others and the complexities of the debate, issue, or problem.
CDS.I.F.4
 Understand and adhere to ethical codes of conduct.
CDS.II.A.1
 Use effective prereading strategies.
CDS.II.A.2
 Use a variety of strategies to understand the meanings of new words.
CDS.II.A.3
 Identify the intended purpose and audience of the text.
CDS.II.A.4
 Identify the key information and supporting details.
CDS.II.A.5
 Analyze textual information critically.
CDS.II.A.6
 Annotate, summarize, paraphrase, and outline texts when appropriate.
CDS.II.B.1
 Write clearly and coherently using standard writing conventions.
CDS.II.B.2
 Write in a variety of forms for various audiences and purposes.
CDS.II.B.3
 Compose and revise drafts.
CDS.II.C.1
 Understand which topics or questions are to be investigated.
CDS.II.C.2
 Explore a research topic.
CDS.II.C.3
 Refine research topic based on preliminary research and devise a timeline for completing work.
CDS.II.C.4
 Evaluate the validity and reliability of sources.
CDS.II.C.5
 Synthesize and organize information effectively.
CDS.II.C.6
 Design and present an effective product.
CDS.II.C.7
 Integrate source material.
CDS.II.C.8
 Present final product.
CDS.II.D.1
 Identify patterns or departures from patterns among data.
CDS.II.D.2
 Use statistical and probabilistic skills necessary for planning an investigation and collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data
CDS.II.D.3
 Present analyzed data and communicate findings in a variety of formats.
CDS.II.E.1
 Use technology to gather information.
CDS.II.E.2
 Use technology to organize, manage, and analyze information.
CDS.II.E.3
 Use technology to communicate and display findings in a clear and coherent manner.
CDS.II.E.4
 Use technology appropriately.

English Language Arts:

ELA.I.A.5
Edit writing for audience, purpose, context, and style, assuring that it conforms to Standard American English, when appropriate.
ELA.I.A.2
Generate ideas, gather information, and manage evidence relevant to the topic and purpose.
ELA.I.A.1
Determine effective approaches, genres, rhetorical techniques, and media that demonstrate understanding of the writer’s purpose and audience.
ELA.II.B.1
Identify new words and concepts acquired through study of their relationships to other words and concepts.
ELA.II.A.2
Use text features to form an overview of content and to locate information.
ELA.III.A.5
Plan and deliver focused, coherent presentations that convey clear and distinct perspectives and demonstrate sound reasoning.
ELA.III.A.4
Adjust delivery, vocabulary, and length of message for particular audiences, purposes, and contexts.
ELA.III.A.2
Engage in reasoned dialogue, including with people who have different perspectives.
ELA.III.A.3
Understand how style, register, and content of spoken language vary in different contexts and influence the listener’s understanding.
ELA.IV.A.3
Develop an awareness of rhetorical and stylistic choices used to convey a message.
ELA.V.C.1
Integrate and organize material effectively.
ELA.V.B.3
Assess the relevance and credibility of sources.
ELA.V.B.1
Explore and collect a range of potential sources.
ELA.V.A.1
Articulate and investigate research questions.
ELA.V.A.2
Explore and refine a research topic.
ELA.V.B.2
Distinguish between and among primary and secondary sources.
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