Creating+a+Business+Identity

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 * ToMarketToMarket ||

//To Market To Market...How Do We Make Our Business Attractive to Consumers?//

(This plan is designed to be generic enough to apply across grade levels, and for any number of products or projects. Advanced activities designed for higher-level students are provided in italics.)

Individual Essential Question: What makes a business/product attractive to consumers?

Guiding Questions: What type of “business identity” will attract customers to our business/products? What type of business site and presence will differentiate our business from others that might be similar?

Purpose: Students develop product and business identities that directly relate to the product/service they are manufacturing or providing, as well as to the general business/social ethic of the company itself.

Objective: Students understand that location, signage, logos, and slogans differentiate businesses from each other and are designed to give companies a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Part A: Student “business teams” develop an “identity” for their business that includes a name and a sense of “uniqueness” for their business.

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// THINKING ABOUT YOUR "BUSINESS IDENTITY" // <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Businesses need an “identity” to help customers recognize them and what they are selling. A business “identity” is what makes a business DIFFERENT from other businesses...just like YOUR identity (name) makes you different from other kids. What type of “business identity” will attract customers to our business/products? Take a look at these photos. What do they tell you about the businesses and what products/services they are selling?

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Business Photo 1] [|Business Photo 2] [|Business Photo 3] [|Business Photo 4] [|Business Photo 5] [|Business Photo 6]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Discussion should center on:

Can we tell what the business is selling? What attracts us to this business? Is there anything that would keep you from visiting this business? What should these businesses do to become more attractive to customers? Is it important for a business to be attractive? Why or why not? Which is your favorite? Why? How can location affect business success? Explain. Which is your least favorite? Why?

Make a list of your favorite places to go (stores, offices, etc.). Why are they your favorites? What are these businesses doing to earn and keep your loyalty?

Independent/Group Inquiry: Think about your product...does what the public sees affect whether or not customers will come to your business? Now that you’ve done some thinking about your business, do some independent research on kid-run businesses, and ideas for starting and running a business of your own. These sites are good places to start:

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|The Lemonade Stand Project] [|How to Start a Kid Business] [|Business Ideas for Kids] [|Kids-in-Biz] [|She's a Charm Queen] [|Bags Revolt]

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">//NAMING YOUR BUSINESS// <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">A business needs a catchy name...a name customers will remember and have positive associations with.... Remember: you are manufacturing “green backpacks.” How will your business name reflect that?

Inquiry: Go through the local digital yellow pages...what catchy names do you notice? What does the name “Smart Cow” tell you about this business? What does the name “Imperial Martial Arts” tell you? How about “Curl Up and Dye” Catchy...is it good?

Inquiry: Take a look at some large, successful businesses, and see how they decided on their names. By now, these names are “household words.” That means we ALL know who they are, even if we don’t buy their specific products or services.

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|50 Big Company Names] [|The Meaning of Famous Company Names]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Work as a team to develop a name for your business. Write a brief paragraph describing the process your team went through to develop your business name.

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">Part B: Student business teams develop a slogan and logo for their business that relates to their product and their business ideals.

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// LOGOS // <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Another part of a business’s “identity” can be a logo. A logo is a symbol of your business. It tells customers what your business is without using words. Take a look at this video: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Discovery Education Video: Logos] <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Research some famous logos from all over the world:

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Famous Logos]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Can you see the arrow in this logo? What does this business DO? Why do you think the designers put an arrow in this design?

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Hidden Arrow]

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">//SLOGANS// <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Slogans are just like logos...they are catchy little phrases that remind you of the product or business and build a positive association with the business or product.

Think: “Nothing Runs Like a Deere” What does that mean? (Which literary devices do you notice here?) “We love to fly, and it shows.”

Take a look at the world of slogans and catchy phrases: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Discovery Education Video: Logos and Slogans] [|Catchy and Creative Phrases and Slogans] [|Ad Slogan Hall of Fame] [|Popular Slogans]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Combined Individual and Group Activity: Artists and designers develop many small “rough drafts” of their design ideas. Use the [|Logo and Slogan Thumbnail Templates] to help you brainstorm several design drafts. After you have several to choose from, pick the one your team likes best. Once you've made a final choice, produce a life-sized, beautiful, final draft. You may use pencils, markers, colored pencils, or computer programs. You are the designer...these designs will go on your business signs, labels, website, EVERYTHING involved in your business...plan and design carefully. Remember: you are manufacturing “green backpacks.” How will your logo and slogan reflect that?

//Higher grade levels: student design teams use computer design programs such as Quark and Adobe to design professional-grade corporate identity elements. These elements could be presented to an audience/market of local business owners who evaluate and comment upon the viability of the designs as if THEY were accepting/rejecting the designs for their own businesses.//

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">Part C: Student business teams develop a “physical presence” for their business by building a website and designing an attractive “storefront” (booth for Market Day).

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// WEBSITE // <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Do you or your family shop online? Market Day is just one day, and in real-life, people don’t stop at Target everyday...an online “storefront” is often a good idea. What advantages does an online storefront offer? As a team, spend some time researching business websites. Take a look at these:

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Smart Cow Yogurt] [|Target] [|Toys R Us] [|Chik Fil A] [|Barnes and Noble]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Take a look at website for some of your favorite businesses...perhaps even your dentist or doctor. Are they pleasing? Are they helpful? Are they easy to use and understand? Use this “website analysis” to help you organize your thoughts about website design. <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Website Analysis]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Now, your team is ready to make its own website. Go to <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Weebly] <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> and look at the different “design” tabs. As a team, choose a layout style...and design your website. REMEMBER: A website is a virtual storefront. You want it to convince customers to buy from you instead of from someone else.

A website should:

1. Highlight your business identity 2. Show the product/service 3. Tell your customers how your product or service is different and better than other similar products and services

Here is an example I made: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Trimarco's African Tours]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">What is included? What SHOULD I have included? How could I have made this better?

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">//STOREFRONT// <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">So, now you have a product, a logo, slogan AND website...where are you going to PUT your business? Does it matter where your business is and what it looks like? Explain your thinking. Examine photographs of various storefronts. Which one would you do business with? Make a + / - t-chart on which you list the positive and negative characteristics of each.

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Business Photo 1] [|Business Photo 2] [|Business Photo 3] [|Business Photo 4] [|Business Photo 5] [|Business Photo 6]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Work with your team to design a storefront that will attract your customers. For Market Day, you will need to establish your table or booth as a storefront...how can you make it attractive to customers? Your goal is to make customers want to spend their money at YOUR store instead of someone else’s.

//Higher grade levels: student design teams use professional-grade architectural computer design programs to design an attractive and affordable storefront.// //Students may additionally construct physical architectural mock-ups of these designs. These elements could be presented to an audience/market of local business owners// //who evaluate and comment upon the viability of the designs as if THEY were accepting/rejecting the designs for their own businesses.//

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">Part D: Student business teams reflect on the successes and/or shortcomings of the “identity” elements they developed. They determine whether or not to make changes based on the monetary and manpower costs of making such changes.

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// REFLECTION // <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">A business is a living, breathing, growing (or struggling) entity. Real business owners take a look at their businesses and analyze what works and what doesn’t. Your business has been running for a few weeks. Think about your business identity. Think about your website. Think about your storefront. What do you think worked well? What should you change? What should you tweak just a little bit? Use the reflection guide to help you with this analysis. <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Business Identity Reflection and Improvement Plan]

<span style="color: #3b8c9b; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">//RESOURCES//

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Websites: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Smart Cow Yogurt] [|Target] [|Toys R Us] [|Chik Fil A] [|Barnes and Noble] [|Trimarco's African Tours] [|Weebly] [|Catchy and Creative Phrases and Slogans] [|Ad Slogan Hall of Fame] [|Popular Slogans] [|Famous Logos] [|Hidden Arrow] [|50 Big Company Names] [|The Meaning of Famous Company Names] [|The Lemonade Stand Project] [|How to Start a Kid Business] [|Business Ideas for Kids] [|Kids-in-Biz] [|She's a Charm Queen] [|morguefile] [|Bags Revolt]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Images: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Business Photo 1] [|Business Photo 2] [|Business Photo 3] [|Business Photo 4] [|Business Photo 5] [|Business Photo 6]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Video: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Discovery Education Video: Logos] [|Discovery Education Video: Logos and Slogans]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Teacher-Created Templates: <span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> [|Logo and Slogan Thumbnail Templates] [|Website Analysis] [|Business Identity Reflection and Improvement Plan]

<span style="color: #1c0303; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Misc: Art supplies such as markers, pencils, construction paper, scissors Collection of magazines to support “business identity” inquiry Any flyers, etc., that advertise businesses and their products

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