Freedom Regained This Day in 1986

A bit of history. Today is the 29th anniversary of the culmination of the Filipino people's struggle against Ferdinanad E. Marcos and his authoritarian regime. This day in 1986 is the day when People Power gained world wide attention-- a template for non-violent regime change that has since been emulated in other parts of the world.

For young people like you who were born after 1986, the lessons of dictatorship under Marcos and freedom/liberty after EDSA should not be taken for granted. Stay critical. Question everything.

Here is a song to remember EDSA 1986, from the album Lean Alejandro: The Musical.

Back to School Work. Here are your assignments for Saturday, 28 February. Note that ALL GROUPS are given a task assignment. Persuasion/Influence assignments should also be turned in by Saturday.

Links to the source documents are as follows:

Trends 1: How Our Brain Determines if the Product is Worth the Price
Trends 2: The Business of Behavioral Economics
Text:        Beyond Price Tag
Tools:      Behavioral Event Modeling

For the Think-Pieces, topics are as follows:

Marketing Lessons from Presidential Elections
Top 3 Instagram Trends for Marketers
A Breakup Letter to Facebook from Eat24
The Dawn of Marketing's New Golden Age
Social Media without grassroots action not enough for winning a campaign
Customer Experience is a High-Wire Act and Customer Service is the Net

Bonus 1. Watch this full episode of Crowd Control, a National Geographic (NatGeo) production hosted by Behavior Expert Daniel Pink. This episode is also related to the Tools Topic: Behavior Event Modeling.

Bonus 2. First 5 correct answers to this question will get a token from me: Who is Lean Alejandro and what role did he play in Philippine political history? Tag me with your answers in 140 characters via Twitter.

That's all for now. See you on Saturday.

Step Up Your Game! Assignments for January 31

We are halfway through the semester, and the first month of the year is almost over.

That's good news!

The bad news is this: I'm not happy with the group reports/presentations. We need to step up. 

I'd like you to read this short article on making effective presentations. The last part (Section 3- After the Presentation) is not anymore relevant. Skip that part.

As I have told you before, presentations should be short and sweet, focusing on the most important items of your report. Not everyone in your group need to stand up and deliver (more like read!) his/her spiel. Your teammates are your resource, use them wisely. Divide the work. Rotate roles. 

Here are the things that I will be expecting starting next week:

1. Reporting groups should read the Chapter Readings (for Text) or the assigned article/s (for Trends and Tools)
2. Assign a reporter (maximum of 3 reporters per group; rotate the reporting roles)
3. Other group members may be given special roles by the group leader (prepare the visuals, look for additional learning matnerials- video, photo, drawing, etc., add spice to the reporting (games, quizzes, demonstrations). Non-reporting group members can join the discussions during Q&A. They may also be asked to explain/expound some parts of the report.
4. Reporting members should present their report to the Reporting Group 1 or 2 days before Saturday (class time). Treat it as a rehearsal- ask questions, clarify concepts, test your understanding of the topic. Help the reporting members deliver an excellent presentation. Do this as many times until your group is satisfied.
5. Rotate reporting roles. Those who have reported this week should not be reporting next week.

Specific reminders:

1. Whether preparing for an oral presentation or a write-up (Think-Piece), it is important for you to first understand your material or topic.
2. Outline your report/ write-up before you finalize it.
3. A good report/write up should have three main parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion.
4. In Introduction, you give your audience the purpose of your presentation, a background of your topic, and some definition of terms/ concepts.
5. The Body contains the meat of your report. Concentrate on the most important items. Use graphics/drawings/charts/etc to get your message across.
6. In Conclusion, you sumarize your presentation, give your audience 3-5 takeaways or things that they should remember, and end your presentation. 

This Saturday's topics are as follows:

Text (Learning Group 1): Chapters 8,9 and 10, Consumer Behavior by Solomon, et al

Trends (LG 5): Behavioral Economics and our Brain's Predisposition Towards the Negative, IPSOS

Tools (LG 3): We will extend the discussions on Tools: Laddering. Your Test assignment is also extended until next week. Reporting Group is given 15-30 minutes to explain and provide examples. Meantime, all of you are required to read more about Laddering. See this article, "Understanding Consumer Decision-Making with Means-Ends Research.

Think-Piece (LG 4) Topics can be found below. Email or hard copy is acceptable. Drive document preferred. 

What Top Sales Organizations Have in Common

Why Fear Spreads Faster than Facts on Social Media

10 Biggest Money-Making Opportunities in Metro Manila for 2015

PBA as a Marketing Platform

Feel the Love

Less Ab, More Flab

When to Sell with Facts, and When to Appeal to Emotions

Good luck, see you on Saturday!

As always, questions and clarifications should be posted below for everyone to see.