Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: Review existing campaigns

10 minutes

Part B: Analyse persuasive techniques

30 minutes

Part C: Develop a marketing campaign

OR

30 minutes

Part C: Develop an internal pitch

10 minutes

Reflection

Part A: Review existing campaigns

Step 1

Watch:

Check It! Before You Chuck It (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW0n3PafnTc)

Step 2

Discuss:

What was the slogan?
What was the call to action? What did the ad want you to do?
Does it work? That is, did students find it impactful and encouraging, or was it unappealing?
Offer some constructive criticism of the ad. What were elements of the ad that you liked? The music? The visuals?
What were some elements of the ad that didn’t appeal to you? Why?
Why do you think those colours/background/music/characters were specifically used? Why do you think the choice was made to animate this advertisement?
How did it make you feel?

Step 3

Before digging deeper into the ad reflect on the ARL.

The Australasian Recycling Labels with text to explain their meaning

Can students describe the purpose of the label?

Planet Ark knows Australians and New Zealanders care about the environment and want to do the right thing. But with hundreds of recycling labels out there, getting recycling right can be confusing and even recycling gurus get it wrong.

The ARL aims to remove this recycling confusion. It makes it easy to understand what we should do with this packaging in order to effectively recycle it. This ultimately improves our recycling behaviours.

Step 4

Ask students to reflect on the learning they have undertaken across this unit.

What were the main, most interesting or most impactful points that they studied? They’re likely to be the ones they can remember off the top of their heads.

You might like to make a list of these on the board.

Step 5

To clarify the purpose, ask students to list some of the benefits of recycling.

Suggestions might include:

When we dispose of our waste correctly we keep recyclable material away from landfill. By recycling correctly we make sure that our packaging can be turned into new materials instead of being lost to landfill.
If we use fewer materials at the start of the manufacturing process by recycling some that we have already used we will have more materials to work with in the future rather than constantly extracting finite raw materials from the environment.

Step 6

Finally, discuss:

Why might we as consumers want accurate recycling labels? A consistent recycling label allows consumers to be confident on where to look for the ARL on-pack. They clearly understand if the packaging is recyclable and exactly what is required of them in order to recycle it correctly - there is no guess work involved, or having to discern between different labels. This helps us protect the environment, as we’re not sending packaging to landfill when it can be recycled, and we can recover precious materials from recyclables rather than using finite raw resources. Finally, having a well-known recycling label in the ARL can encourage companies to change their packaging to more recycling-friendly alternatives.
Where do you look if you want to know how to recycle your packaging? Research shows that the package itself is the first thing that people look at for this information. This is why it is important to have a recycling label on there telling you what to do.

Step 7

Keeping all this in mind, return to the Check It! Before You Chuck It campaign. You might like to play the advert again.

Discuss:

Does this advert communicate the key messages of the ARL?
Does it inspire you as consumers to make change?
What is students’ preferred angle for a campaign? What do they think is most important to talk about?

Step 8

Remind students that ultimately the purpose of the ARL is behavioural change: we want consumers making more sustainable choices and companies and brands embracing the ARL in their packaging choices. To do this, companies have to both assess their packaging to understand and improve its recyclability, and communicate to consumers (via the ARL) how to dispose of the packaging correctly, whether via the rubbish or recycling bin.

Ads such as this are designed to inform audiences and persuade them to make these changes.

Part B: Analyse persuasive techniques

Step 1

Explain the persuasive techniques used by writers in the campaigns to help get their message across. Persuasive language is used for many reasons – for example, to help to sell products or services or to convince people to accept a view or idea. Persuasive language is a very powerful tool for getting what you want.

To analyse the persuasive techniques first we must identify:

the point of view;
the tone (the overall feeling);
The audience;
The arguments or facts presented; and
The language choice.

Step 2

As a class reflect on the campaign (or even view it again) and identify the points above. Suggestions might include:

The point of view supports the ARL.

The tone (the overall feeling) is positive and playful, not condescending It does not threaten people to follow the ARL, it is not ‘doom and gloom’ about recycling and the state of the environment.
The audience could comprise other kids. If so, what age? Your classmates? The school community?
The arguments or facts presented are
The language choice is simple, not technical, and engaging.

Step 3

Explain that there are a range of specific techniques used to persuade and that when students create their persuasive piece they need to think carefully about how these techniques are used to position the reader to accept their point of view.

Students at this age will be familiar with a range of persuasive techniques. Here is a list of some of these techniques to review and discuss together.

Alliteration: the repetition of words starting with the same to create emphasis.
Appeals: writers often appeal to different emotions.
Anecdotes: short personal stories that help to illustrate a point.
Cliches: overused expression.
Emotive words: words that provoke an emotional reaction from the audience.
Evidence: this might take the form of facts, figures, quotes or graphs.
Expert opinion: the opinion of experts to give further weight to the argument.
Hyperbole: exaggerating something to help persuade viewers of their point of view.
Inclusive language: the words ‘we’ or ‘us’ are often used to get a reader onside.
Imagery: describing something vividly.
Metaphor: when one thing is described as another.
Repetition: the repetition of words, phrases and ideas can be used to reinforce an argument and drive home the message to a reader.
Rhetorical question: a question to which the answer is obvious can help lead readers to a particular conclusion.
Simile: when one thing is compared to another.
Tone: an article’s overall feeling. Is it passionate? Logical? Reasonable? Mocking? Humorous?

Part C: Develop a marketing campaign

Step 1

For this activity students will assume the role of a marketing executive at Planet Ark. They will create an inspiring campaign with strong messaging to encourage consumers and/or brands to use the ARL.

The campaign could be in the form of a video, song, poster or persuasive letter.

Step 2

Using a think-pair-share strategy students discuss what they think is important to talk about in their campaign. What is their preferred angle of messaging? Why? This should be drawn from all their previous learning throughout this unit.

Step 3

Independently students write a short plan identifying the following:

The purpose of their campaign. This should be absolutely clear and show through. Remember what the ARL is trying to achieve.
The tone (the overall feeling) they want their campaign to convey.
The audience their campaign will be aimed at.
Any arguments or facts that will be presented in support of the campaign to convince the audience. Students should consider which audience will benefit most from their campaign.
Language choice, including both the appropriate language to match the tone and also the identification of a number of language devices they want to use.
Assets such as images and colours. Encourage students to stick to about three colours for a cohesive look. Students can access the Planet Ark ARL mascots and other assets to use in their campaigns.

Step 4

Independently students create their campaign piece.

Provisions for Learning Extension: Students might also want to focus on the ARL itself. Refer back to the 'Exploring the ARL' lesson for a more thorough analysis of the label. For example, do students think the ARL would benefit from being in colour? The ARL is able to be in different colours, dependent on the background colour of the packaging. Or would that disturb the clarity of the message?

Students could also analyse the ARL mascots using the structure above. Are these cartoon characters effective advocates for the ARL?

Part C: Develop an internal pitch

Step 1

For this activity students assume the role of a marketing executive member of an organisation as they put a pitch to their boss about why changes are needed to the packaging of a product from the company.

Examples could be considering whether something needs to be packaged in both a bag a box, whether something needs to be made out of lots of different materials instead of just one (e.g a cardboard box with a plastic window vs. just a cardboard box), including recycling bins at chain stores for old makeup products or clothes, or targeting manufacturers to encourage them to change packaging and materials to make their products more sustainable or recyclable.

Important: Keep in mind that changing materials is not enough. It is also important to know what systems are in place to collect these materials. It is pointless to change to wooden cutlery, for instance, if you do not have a bin locally that can accept compostable packaging and recycle it appropriately.

Step 2

Explain to the students:

Pitches are short persuasive stories targeted at potential investors, stakeholders or supporters.
A pitch should provide specific answers about:
- who you are;
- what problem you are solving;
- your idea;
- why this is important for the company; and
- what you need to make this happen.

To persuade someone that something is a good idea, they have to see what's in it for them, whether it’s feeling good for doing something nice for someone or getting some other benefit. Make the customer the centre of your pitch!

Explain that many people find it difficult to stand in front of an audience and speak. Even the most practised speaker can feel intimidated and nervous in front of an audience. The good news is that public speaking and persuasion are skills that can be practised and improved.

Step 3

Independently students conduct some research into what some brands are already doing to address this issue.

Examples include:

Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and big food manufacturers have committed to making all plastic packaging re-usable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
With over 36,000 restaurants in 122 locations, McDonald’s has committed to doing something across the globe and has already announced it is ditching plastic straws and single-use cutlery.
By 2025 the bottled-water company Evian has made the pledge to produce only bottles that are 100 per cent recycled.
Nestlé is working on a trial to collect soft plastics from people's kerbside.
Clothing brand The Iconic is using 100 per cent recyclable materials in their bags

Step 4

Independently students follow a five-step sequence when developing their pitch. The pitch should run for 3-5 minutes.

Introduce yourself and the ARL.
Explain what the ARL does and why it is important.
Tell us how the ARL started and how it can impact businesses.
Explain specifically what’s in it for the business.
Close with a question to engage your boss.

Students can choose to deliver their presentation to an audience or prerecord their pitch using a video recorder on their device.

Reflection and key takeaway

Give students an opportunity to present their campaign or pitch document to the class, to the school assembly or to parents. In addition, you could film each presentation and upload them to a school platform.

Students share and view the marketing campaigns and give and receive feedback using the ‘two stars and a wish’ strategy.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

ARL - Marketing Campaign (Assessment)

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