The Marketing Mix
At a Glance
Unit Summary:
During this unit, students will be introduced
to fundamental marketing concepts,
specifically the marketing mix (product,
price, place, promotion). Each lesson is
specifically broken down to include multiple
aspects of the marketing mix that students
must understand in order to complete their
culminating task project. The culminating
task will help students develop skills in
decision-making, time-management, and
teamwork. These skills will be essential for
students within the 21st century work place.
Grade Level: 9-12 Grade
Subject: Business Education
Topics: Price, Place, Promotion, Product
Higher-Order Thinking Skills: Application, Creating,
Understanding, Evaluation
Key Learning:
• Marketing Mix
•Product
•Price
•Place
•Promotion
Time Needed: 2 weeks, 50 minutes daily
Curriculum-Framing
Questions:
Essential Question
Why is the marketing mix important for
companies when launching a new product?
Background: The Marketing Mix was created by
Amanda Digan and Mike Saxton, students who are
pursuing their master’s degree in education to enrich
our future generation with business skills that will
better prepare students within the 21st century work
place.
Unit Questions
Why is the target market for a product the first thing a company needs to know when developing a
product?
Why is it important for companies to use multiple distribution channels when selling a product?
Sample Content Questions
Things You Need
What are the various ways to market a product to a consumer?
Materials (Appendix A)
Standards (Appendix B)
Online Resources (Appendix C)
What types of pricing strategies do companies use for a
product throughout the product life cycle?
Assessment Process:
Cumulative Assessment: Working in teams, students will act as marketing executives and create a
new, innovative product and market it. Students will be responsible for inventing a name and image for
the product as well as a PowerPoint presentation that will detail the products development, price,
distribution, and promotion. They will present the PowerPoint to the class as well as some parents and
small business owners from the community. Students will also present a commercial that they have
created for their product. Students should be prepared to answer questions from the panel of parents
and business owners.
Assessment Timeline
Before project work begins
Students will
create a product
and apply the
marketing
strategy
Students will 
identify their
target market
for their product
Students work on projects and
complete tasks
Students will
work with their
partners to
develop a
product by using
the marketing
mix
Through
research and
project
development,
students will
enhance their
understanding
of the marketing
mix
After project work is completed
Students will
present their
project to the
class and
possible
business owners
Students will
receive
constructive
feedback and
students will
answer questions
from panel in
regard to their
project
Instructional Procedures:
Lesson 1 - Intro to the Marketing Mix
The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand that basic foundations of the marketing mix.
(More commonly known as the 4 P’s of marketing.)
Standards:
BMA-IBT-5. Demonstrate understanding of the concept of marketing and its importance to business
ownership.
BMA-IBT-6. Use professional oral, written, and digital communication skills to create, express, and
interpret information and ideas.
Activator: Students will be shown a picture of the newly released PlayStation 4 and will write down on
a sheet of paper what questions need to be answered before Sony could effectively put the PlayStation
4 on the market. Students will share their questions with the rest of the class through group discussion.
Instruction:
1. Students will get into groups of no more than three and think of an innovative product that they
would like to develop for their group project. They will individually write down a brief
description of the product and their team members to be handed in at the end of the class.
2. Students observe, listen, and take notes on the teacher’s MS PowerPoint presentation on the
foundations of the marketing mix.
3. Students will be shown two clips on YouTube from the show Shark Tank on products called “Mr.
Tod’s Pies” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQWgTv3kSfw) and “LipStix Remix.”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEj-YDzJXgI)
4. As they watch the clips, students will write down details regarding the marketing mix (target
market, product, price, place, promotion) for the products on the marketing mix worksheet.
5. The completed worksheet will be turned in at the end of class.
Closing: Students will answer in a class discussion the following questions asked by the teacher: Why is
it important for companies to define the 4 Ps in their market? How might this help them be more
successful?
Lesson 2 - Product Development
The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand how product development plays in important
role in the marketing mix. Students will be able to define and describe the importance of product
features and branding.
Standards:
BMA-IBT-1. Demonstrate employability skills required by business and industry.
BMA-IBT-2. Apply technology as a tool to increase productivity to create, edit, and publish industryappropriate documents.
BMA-IBT-3. Master word processing software to create, edit, and publish, professional-appearing
business documents.
Activator: Students will research on the internet the product specifications and features of the iPhone
6, Nike KD basketball shoe, and Chevrolet Corvette. Student will type their findings in a MS Word
document. Students will share their findings with the rest of the class through group discussion.
Instruction:
1. Students observe, listen, and take notes on the teacher’s MS PowerPoint presentation on
product development.
2. Students will complete an assignment titled “Product Positioning Pyramid” using MS Word.
Students will design a pyramid with 3 tiers. Place the logos of competing brands for a product in
the pyramid. The top of the pyramid should have the brand that students believe has the
strongest position in the market and descending tiers should include competing brands with less
influence in the market.
3. Students will get into their groups for the Marketing Mix Presentation project and design a logo
and package for their innovative product. Students will use www.DesignMantic.com to create
their logo, and MS Publisher to create the labeling of the package. Students will also work on
this assignment all of next class and it will be due at the end of the next class period.
Closing: Students will answer in a class discussion the following questions asked by the teacher: Why is
branding so important? Why do companies put so much effort into their packaging design? How
companies differentiate their products from their competition?
Lesson 3 - Pricing Strategies and Distribution
The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand how businesses price their products and how
they are distributed to the customer through multiple channels.
Standards:
BMA-IBT-2. Apply technology as a tool to increase productivity to create, edit, and publish industryappropriate documents.
BMA-IBT-4. Analyze and integrate leadership and management functions within the business
environment.
Activator: Students will watch the YouTube clip of the dumbest Price is Right contestant ever.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAukf5gMSBc) Students will then go to
http://www.priceisright.com/games/ and play the various games they’ve seen on television on the Price
is Right.
Instruction:
1. Students observe, listen, and take notes on the teacher’s MS PowerPoint presentation on the
next two foundations of the marketing mix, price and place (distribution).
2. Students will complete the “Pricing Strategy Research” assignment. Students will use the
internet to research the pricing strategies for the iPad and a Jamaican vacation package.
Students will record for each product the price range and pricing strategy used, and give
suggestions on alternative pricing strategies that could have been used.
3. Students will play the “Supply Chain Management: Root Beer Game” simulation.
(https://forio.com/simulate/forio/root-beer-game-demo/simulation/login.html) Students will
play the role of the factory, distributor, wholesaler and retailer working in the supply chain for a
root beer company. They will be in charge of properly managing all shipments and orders. Their
goal is to minimize inventory while preventing an order backlog, thus keeping overall costs low.
Closing: Students will answer in a class discussion the following questions asked by the teacher: Define
three pricing strategies. Is it possible for a company to use multiple pricing strategies on a product?
Why? Why is it important for companies to use multiple distribution channels?
Lesson 4 - Promotion
The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand the basic foundations of promotion in regards to
the marketing mix, or 4 P’s of marketing.
Standards:
BMA-IBT-4. Analyze and integrate leadership skills and management functions within the business
environment.
BMA-IBT-5. Demonstrate understanding of the concept of marketing and its importance to business
ownership.
BMA-IBT-7. Demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurship through recognizing a business
opportunity, how to start a business based on the recognized opportunity, and basics of how to operate
and maintain that business.
Activator: Students will get into groups of 4 and share and list the 5 most interesting or outrageous
stories they have witnessed or heard from a company promoting a new product. Students will share
their stories with the rest of the class through group discussion.
Instruction:
1. Students observe, listen, and take notes on the teacher’s MS PowerPoint presentation on the
foundations of the promotional mix.
2. Students will get into their groups and work on their marketing mix project by creating their
commercial storyboards on www.storyboardthat.com.
3. Students will also create a promotional plan using MS Word.
4. Students will listen to the teacher’s instructions on how to play GoVenture
(http://goventure.net/gv_flash/mb/index.html).
5. Students will play the Micro Business Go Venture simulation game to better understand all four
elements of the marketing mix. The 3 students with the most profit at the end of class will
receive 5 extra credit points on their end of unit test.
Closing: Students will discuss the results of the Go Venture simulation game and how it relates to the
Marketing Mix.
Prerequisite Skills:
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Students must understand the marketing concepts and terminology.
An introductory lesson will provide students with brief background knowledge in order to fully
acquire content knowledge.
Basic computer skills
Basic MS Word, Publisher, and PowerPoint skills
Differentiated Instruction:
Special Needs Learners:



Provide more support by supplying the student with typed out notes on the PowerPoint.
Accommodate extra time for students to complete assigned tasks/projects.
Reduce amount of steps within the activities to decrease the amount of work assigned.
Accelerated/Gifted Learners:



Increase levels of rigor on assignments/projects.
Differentiate the objective that requires students to complete the task more in-depth.
Have the students complete their PowerPoint project with more detail, pictures, and live audio.
ELL Learners:



Provide students with shark tank videos/ business examples in their native language.
Students have the option to express their learning through an oral interview instead of
text.
Activities and project rubrics/directions will be written in simpler form for easy
understanding.
Appendix A
Materials
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Microsoft Office
Worksheets
Internet Access
Computer Lab
Textbook
Appendix B
Standards
Intro to the Marketing Mix
BMA-IBT-5. Demonstrate understanding of the concept of marketing and its importance to business
ownership.
BMA-IBT-6. Use professional oral, written, and digital communication skills to create, express, and
interpret information and ideas.
Product Development
BMA-IBT-1. Demonstrate employability skills required by business and industry.
BMA-IBT-2. Apply technology as a tool to increase productivity to create, edit, and publish industryappropriate documents.
BMA-IBT-3. Master word processing software to create, edit, and publish, professional-appearing
business documents.
Pricing Strategies and Distribution
BMA-IBT-2. Apply technology as a tool to increase productivity to create, edit, and publish industryappropriate documents.
BMA-IBT-4. Analyze and integrate leadership and management functions within the business
environment.
Promotion
BMA-IBT-4. Analyze and integrate leadership skills and management functions within the business
environment.
BMA-IBT-5. Demonstrate understanding of the concept of marketing and its importance to business
ownership.
BMA-IBT-7. Demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurship through recognizing a business
opportunity, how to start a business based on the recognized opportunity, and basics of how to operate
and maintain that business.
ISTE Standards incorporated within the unit:
1. Creativity and innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and
processes using technology.
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities
2. Communication and collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a
distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and
formats
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources
and media
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific
tasks
d. Process data and report results
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and
make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
Appendix C
Online Resources
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEjYDzJXgI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQWgTv3kSfw
http://www.designmantic.com
http://www.priceisright.com/games/
https://forio.com/simulate/forio/root-beer-game-demo/simulation/login.html
http://goventure.net/gv_flash/mb/index.htm
http://www.storyboardthat.com