Marketing

Category: Realise
Author: Christian Byrge
Facilited by the teacher
The aim is to help students develop skills in producing ideas/prototypes for potential customers by using the ‘principles of persuasion’.
5-10 min.
10-40 students 2-15 groups
A virtual room Teams/Zoom

Steps

1. The students pair up with someone who has a sibling the same age as them to complete the activity, get them to write the age of their eldest sibling in the chat, and match them up this way (those students who do not have siblings should pair up with each other).

2. The students should use a prototype from a previous activity.

3. The students must sell this idea/prototype to a relevant customer by using the following principles (of persuasion) and see how they impact on the customer’s perceptions of the students’ idea/prototype:

• The reciprocity principle: This principle of persuasion concerns the customer’s inclination towards purchasing/using your idea if they feel that they owe you this. A connection is created by giving them a small gift or token. This principle is sometimes employed by restaurants who might give the customer a chocolate or a sweet in anticipation of receiving a tip or gratuity.

• The scarcity principle: This principle of persuasion concerns the customer’s inclination towards purchasing/using your idea if they are told that it is scarce. This principle is frequently used by shopping websites telling customers how many products have been sold in the last hour and how many are left in stock.

• The authority principle: This principle of persuasion concerns the customer’s inclination towards purchasing/using your idea if it has been associated with a recognized expert/company. This principle is often employed by makers of toothpaste and toothbrushes, who might use a dentist (the authority) to emphasize that this specific toothpaste will ensure clean and healthy teeth.

• The consensus principle: This principle of persuasion concerns the customer’s inclination towards purchasing/using your idea if they are made aware of the number of people, who also use the same item. This principle is often employed by

• Facebook. This website makes people aware of their friends’ interests in events that are happening at a specific time.

4. The students are given 10 minutes to complete the activity. If necessary, students may repeat steps 3 and 4.

5. The teacher and the students reflect on the outcome of the activity in a virtual room.

Reflection

This activity is suitable for students trained in creative thinking.