Use more than just lesson plans in the classroom to teach marketing skills.

For those who teach courses in marketing, there is plenty of information available regarding topics for lesson planning. A truly immersive course, however, consists of more than just rote instruction, no matter how impressive the lesson plan. Activities are a great way to get students involved and to lighten the mood of the classroom while still providing for an educational experience.

Field Trips

Anyone who teaches courses in marketing knows that no matter how much theory one learns in a classroom, the ultimate test of skill comes from working in a real-world agency. One of the best ways to expose your students to an agency setting without putting too much on their shoulders is to organize a field trip. Many small and mid-sized agencies are more than happy to entertain a class of potential marketing majors for a short while, explaining a typical day in the office and the role of each department in the agency.

Case Study Analysis

Teaching a marketing course is all about trying to pull in real-world situations while maintaining your ability to teach all of the necessary theory involved, and bringing in case studies is a great way to create a balance between the two. One effective activity for a marketing class is to assign a case-study to each student, tasking them with researching whether or not the campaign worked and why. This is a great way to teach students which techniques work better in textbooks than in the real world. Most people find that true-to-life scenarios are immensely helpful in understanding the industry; activities that highlight case studies are a great addition to anyone’s lesson plan.

Mock Campaigns

While analyzing case studies is an excellent way to learn about the real-world application of marketing techniques, organizing a mock campaign is the next step in understanding what works and what doesn’t in marketing. Organize an activity in which each student receives a fake business, their marketing goals and their current marketing initiatives. The task for the student will be to create a strategic plan that sets the business on track to meet their goal. Each student will present their “case study” to the class, explaining why each marketing technique works in the given situation. Mock campaigns can make for an interesting, unique final exam format.