6. Duration of Play & Curriculum Planning
6.1 Recommended Scope and Sequence
The program includes three modules:
Marketing Simulation where students quickly learn the fundamentals in a realistic and engaging role-playing scenario. 5 hours per play.
Marketing Content Creator where students design marketing content using a simple and convenient interface. 4 to 8 hours per play.
Advertising Simulation where students practice placing ads, tracking performance metrics, and optimizing an ad budget to maximize profit. 2 hours per play.
At minimum, the Marketing Simulation should be played one time. It is recommended to have students play at the very start of a course to give students an immediate foundation for everything they need to know about digital marketing and provide a context for everything that will come later in the course. There is no prerequisite knowledge required.
For better learning, play all three modules — estimated total 13 hours
For maximum learning, follow the sequence below (22 - 30 hours):
- Marketing Simulation — 5 Hours (at the very start of the course)
- Marketing Content Creator | Hoverboard — 4 - 8 Hours
- Advertising Simulation | Hoverboard — 2 Hours
- Additional Videos — 1 Hour
- Marketing Simulation — 5 Hours
- Marketing Content Creator | Any Good/Service — 4 to 8 Hours
- Advertising Simulation | Any Good/Service — 2 Hours
6.2 Learning Resources
Marketing Simulation
Simulates an engaging narrative story that places students in the role of an inventor of a new product. Students learn the basics of digital marketing while building and optimizing a marketing funnel to maximize sales and other metrics.
Requires 5 hours to complete (on average).
Can be played over multiple sessions on any schedule.
If time allows, instructors should have students play the entire Simulation twice to help reinforce the concepts. Create two separate Groups for this.
If you are teaching a marketing course, consider having students play the Simulation at the very beginning of the course as this will quickly equip them with the knowledge and wisdom to fully engage with the rest of the course content that you plan to deliver. Then have students play the Simulation again at the end of the course to apply everything that they have learned to improve their results.
Marketing Content Creator
An activity where students create their own marketing content to sell a good or service. This includes identifying the product, consumer profile, brand, and marketing strategy and then designing a website, landing pages, and various advertisements.
Time to complete can range from 4 to 10 hours, depending on the amount of content assigned by the instructor and the effort made by each student.
It is best to assign this activity after the Simulation has been completed.
Having students create marketing content for the hoverboard product that they experienced in the Simulation activity may be a good choice for the first time they do the Marketing Content Creator activity. Or Instructors may allow students to choose their own good or service. Or have students do the activity twice to cover both options.
Advertising Simulation
Students practice placing ads, tracking performance metrics, and optimizing an ad budget to maximize profit. Students identify a good or service to market, set the selling price and cost of sales, define a marketing strategy, and then place ads to achieve the highest Profit and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Requires 2 hours to complete (on average).
Can be played over multiple sessions on any schedule.
If time allows, instructors should have students play the Advertising Simulation twice to help reinforce the concepts. Create two separate Groups for this.
Additional Videos, Book, and Glossary
- Provide additional learning opportunities.