Article written by Amy Webb, AHS Teacher
Students in Introduction to Business/Marketing and Introduction to Entrepreneurship participated in an activity to compose a business letter to a business, sports, or entertainment professional or to a company whose brand they appreciate. In the lesson, students were introduced to the parts of a business letter, searched for the correct contact information and mailing address, as well as learned how to address an envelope.
Some students chose to write to sports heroes such as Dax Prescott, the Memphis Grizzlies, and Michael Phelps. Other letters were written to Bass Pro Shops, Elevated Faith, and True Religion brands.
In just a short time, the students began getting responses to their letters. The first responses came from Elevated Faith when two students received bracelets and stickers. One student received a response and journal from the Memphis Grizzlies. Fierce Headware sent a box of baseball caps for an entire class period. But, by far, our most impressive response was from True Religion. The CEO, Michael Buckley, was so impressed with the letter sent by one student that he directed the Senior Vice President of Human Resources to reach out to Mrs. Webb to request the number of students and sizes for students. On February 28th, a large box was delivered to our classroom. Kevin Amaro, a 10th grade student, opened the box where he received several gifts selected for him by the CEO, including a $100 gift card. Students in the class were all given a t-shirt from the brand. The students were all very impressed that Kevin had received such an incredible response.
This lesson supported the learning standards of professional communications in both classes, but also helped to support the district’s Portrait of a Graduate initiative to communicate professionally. The students also learned about brand recognition, brand loyalty and how businesses can promote their brand by simply supporting schools.
