Lesson correlates with National Business Education Association National Standards for Business Education, 1995, Reston, Virginia.
·· Standard VII. International Marketing... Achievement Standard:  Apply marketing cocepts to international business.
         H. Promotional Activities
· Level 3 (Secondary) - Performance Expectations: Critique advertisements aimed at consumers in a foreign market.
Targeting the United States

 
TIME REQUIRED:
120 minutes
 
RECOMMENDED GRADE:
Grades 9-12


 
MAJOR CONCEPTS:
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:
 :  Students will be able to
 1. Recognize targeted marketing
2. Explain why some advertising is more successful than others
3. Explain how a company targets potential foreign customers
 
MATERIALS:
  • 1. Information on advertising strategies and how to target potential customers.  (suggested handout attached)

    • 2. Magazines from the United States which contain advertisements from companies based in other countries.  Note:  Magazines could be selected from countries which students have had an opportunity to study and are aware of the culture.
    3. A library or on-line resource that lists multinational corporations, such as 
    • Standard & Poors Register of Corporations, Standard & Poors, New York
    • America's Corporate Family and International Affiliates, National Register
    • Publishing Company, New Providence, NJ
    • U.S. Corporations Doing Business Abroad, Price Waterhouse
    • The Ernst & Young Resource Guide to Global Markets, Valentine, Lew & Poor,John Wiley & Sons
RATIONALE:
 Successful advertising targets the market for which it is intended.  Students need to be aware that successful companies will study the culture of a potential market to determine most successful advertising strategies.
 
PROCEDURE:
 1. Discuss advertising strategies and how companies target potential customers.
2. Provide a variety of magazines with printed advertisements.  Have students select at least 10 advertisements from companies that they believe are not based in the U.S. 
3. Using library or on-line resources students will determine the actual home-office location of the companies that have produced the advertisements that have been selected.  Additional advertisements should be selected until each student has advertisements from 10 different foreign companies.
4. Students will analyze why they beleive each ad has been successful or unsuccessful in the U.S. market.  
5. Class discussion:  What did these companies need to learn about the U.S. culture before they wrote the ad?  Are some companies or countries better at targeting the U.S. market?  Why do you feel this is the case?
6. Enrichment activity:  Have students study another culture and write a written advertisement that they beleive will appeal to consumers in that country.
 
 
EVALUATION: 1. Students will write a paper explaining why they feel each of the 10 advertisements has been successful or unsuccessful in the U.S.
2. Students will select one advertisement.  An oral report will be presented to the class explaining above.
 
 
AUTHOR:
  Dr. Lila Waldman, Murray State University, Murray, KY.
EDITORS:
Les Dlabay, Lake Forrest College, Wildwood, IL.
Robert Ristau, Eastern Michigan University (ret.), Ypsilanti, MI.

 
 
 
 
 

Click here to download Microsoft Word version of the plan including handouts.