What's your angle?

In this world, there are certain things that just shouldn't be mixed:  money and friends, Carly Rae Jepsen and STYX, ice cream and ranch dressing...

As a very young teacher, I agreed with my colleagues about the fundamental un-truth of teaching:  that education and business should never mix.  That is until Sunkist changed my whole way of thinking (and of teaching, for that matter).

On a particularly dreary and rainy Tuesday afternoon during my second year of teaching, I walked through the crowded high school cafeteria.  Okay, I'm lying...I SPRINTED with the determination to not inhale the scent of (ok, let's say food) that mysteriously didn't change whether it was Macho Nachos or Penzoil Pizza.  Unfortunately, the nearest source of carbonated caffeine was there and I wasn't entirely sure I would make it through fifth period without it.

After a few quick swigs I noticed a student of mine standing with her friends.  It was hard not to notice, actually, she was covered in orange.  Donned with a Sunkist T-shirt and guzzling said beverage, I told her she looked particularly sunny on this bleak day.  She appeared particularly delighted that her well-planned efforts were successful.  "I know.  I thought this was a really good day for Sunkist."

After telling her I was never a huge fan of orange soda myself, her expression turned from cheerful to empathetic.  "Oh, I'm not either.  It just seemed like a good day for a Sunkist."  While I'm normally amused by slightly odd behavior in teenagers, this one really perplexed me.  Why would someone voluntarily purchase and drink a soda they didn't like just because it seemed to fit what they were feeling at the time (or in this case wanted to feel)?

As I walked back to my room, the smell of (geez, what were they serving that day?) still clinging to my clothes, I realized that we teachers had a lot to learn from marketers.  Yes, the two worlds appear on the surface to be quite different.  But they can accomplish something we quite often can't:  get them to buy what we're selling.

Now it's true that Sunkist is inherently more interesting to a 17-year-old than the Anti-Federalists.  In a quick review of some of the company's ads in the past, they all have one simple, consistent message:  Sunkist + you = FUN.  This 1978 ad began a decades-long concept that remained largely intact for years.

In fact, change a few hairstyles, maybe add a little diversity, and switch to plastic bottles (since it's little un-PC to bring glass onto the beach) and this could be 2004.

How do the marketers make it look so easy?  In the next few posts, I'll explore how some of the tactics and basic principles of business can be used to our advantage as teachers.