Ad campaigns are made by teams, and each person has a job. In an advertising agency, the account manager knows the client's goals, the copywriter writes the words, the art director designs the look, and the media buyer decides where the ads run and what they cost. In this role-play, a team of students storyboards their agency pitching a campaign to a client, including the tough question the client asks and how the team answers it. It brings together everything from the unit and works as practice for DECA role-play events.
| CELL | WHO SPEAKS | EXAMPLE: PITCHING TAGBACK |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Account manager: the client's goal and audience. | "You want 60 packs sold by winter break, to parents and coaches. Here's our plan." |
| 2 | Copywriter: the big idea and the words. | "Our idea is Lost and Found Week. The headline: '142 hoodies. Zero names.'" |
| 3 | Art director: the look. | "Bright orange labels on the pile of gray hoodies. You can't miss them." |
| 4 | Media buyer: where the ads run and the budget. | "$60 to print the pick-up line banner, $40 to promote the Friday post, and the free announcements video." |
| 5 | The client's tough question. | Jordan: "Why not spend the whole $100 on social media?" |
| 6 | The team's answer and next step. | "Your buyers are parents and coaches; the banner reaches them in the car line every day. Approve today and we launch Monday." |
Account manager, copywriter, art director, media buyer, marketing coordinator, social media manager, brand manager, market research analyst, and storyboard artist. Ask students which role they enjoyed most and what skills it used.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
With your team, create a storyboard of your ad agency pitching a campaign to a client.
Each student takes one role: account manager, copywriter, art director, or media buyer.
Give each team a client product, its persona, a goal, and a budget.
Each role gets a cell, followed by the client's tough question and the team's answer.
Teams practice answering the client's question with evidence, not just enthusiasm.
Teams pitch to the client team in five minutes, then reflect on which role they enjoyed most and why.
A typical campaign team includes an account manager (the client's main contact, who knows their goals), a copywriter (the words), an art director (the look), and a media buyer (where ads run and what they cost). Bigger agencies add strategists, producers, and analysts, but these four roles cover what students need for the pitch.
DECA role-play events ask students to solve a business problem and present it to a judge acting as a client or manager, often with little preparation time. Storyboarding the pitch gives teams a structure: goal, idea, look, budget, then a tough question. Practicing the client's objection is especially useful, because judges often ask one.
In groups of three, the account manager also covers the media buyer's budget. In groups of five, add a market research analyst who opens with one finding about the persona, or have one student play the client and ask the tough question live. Every student should speak at least once during the performed pitch.
Using another team's product works best: each team becomes a client for one pitch and an agency for another, so students hear their own product pitched back to them. TagBack, with Jordan as the founder, works as a shared client if teams don't have their own products yet, and it lets you compare pitches directly.
Grade the storyboard and the performance separately. For the storyboard, check that each role adds something only that role would know and that the plan fits the budget and persona. For the performance, look for a confident answer to the client's question that uses evidence, and a clear next step at the end.