Sesame Street, Los Alamitos

Sesame Street, Los Alamitos

Directions: You will be creating two new Sesame Street characters (one local and one foreign) that will help expose young children to the basic ideas of globalization. These characters must be reflective of the demographics of their communities as well as issues that are relative to their respective locales; thus, the goal of this project is to convey the message to young children that even though you may be different, people all over the world are generally the same.

Your two new characters will be presented using basic strategies of marketing. In other words, your presentation of your characters must be taken seriously, and there must be careful consideration as to what types of characters are universally recognizable as well as culturally relatable to both kids and adults. Your grade will be reflective of the amount of time and thought you put into developing the background of your characters as well as how believable it would be that your character would actually appear on Sesame Street.

Character Requirements

Character 1 (Local – from Los Al, Seal Beach, Rossmoor, etc.): (15pts)

Create a character (POSTER) – it must reflect issues of importance in the local community. Brainstorm to decide what issues you think are most relevant to kids growing up around here. Remember, there are no ‘Stoner’ Sesame St. characters…..you must create characters that will be positive role models for children!

Character Biography (minimum ½ pg) – In complete sentences, provide the details, ethical concerns, and point of view of your character. Consider the following questions:
What makes your character unique/interesting?
What makes this character distinctly identifiable as being from this community?
What does he/she look like? (you may put clothes on your character)
What issues does he/she deal with that ultimately make them a positive role model?
What are some things the character loves about living where he/she does?
Does the character speak a certain way? Catch-phrases? Slang?
What kinds of messages does this character convey to kids?
How is your character conceived by people who watch the programs? Do they think he/she is funny? Scary? Serious?
How does your character represent issues in subtle way?

Character 2 (Foreign – from a country other than the US) (15pts)

Create a character (POSTER) – it must be from a country you know a lot about. It must also be a character that reflects issues of importance in that country (is it a country at war? Is it an impoverished country? Is it a country like the US? Is it a country that limits freedom of women? Is it a country that is wealthy?). Brainstorm and decide what issues you think are most relevant to kids growing up in that country. You must create a foreign character that US kids can relate to, but can also learn important lessons from. **AVOID NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES!!!**

Character Biography (minimum ½ pg) – In complete sentences, provide the details, ethical concerns, and point of view of your character. Consider the following questions:
What makes your character unique/interesting?
How does this character distinctly identifiable as a member of the country from which it is from?
What does he/she look like?
What issues does he/she deal with that ultimately make him/her a positive role model?
What are some things he/she loves about their country?
Does the character speak a certain way? Catch phrases? Slang?
What kinds of messages do you want this character to convey to kids?
How is your character conceived by people who watch the program? Funny? Serious? Scary?
How does your character represent issues in a subtle way?
How does your character represent GLOBALIZATION?

THE PITCH (15 pts)

In marketing, one of the most important skills to have is effective presentation/pitch skills. A marketing pitch includes an explanation of your ‘product’ as well as why you think others NEED your product. For this assignment, you will be pitching the ideas of both of your characters and try to convince me that these two characters should be added to Sesame Street. You must incorporate as many ‘hints’ below into your presentation for full credit on this assignment.

Helpful hints for the sales pitch:

1. Make the presentation relevant – modify your presentation to meet the needs of the ‘customer’. (what do you think I would most like in terms of your pitch??? Hint: I would like you to incorporate what you have learned about globalization and I want you to be CREATIVE/FUNNY while remaining academic!!!!)

2. Create a connection between your ‘product’ and your ‘customer’ – prepare samples, charts, VISUALS, etc. to make the ‘product’ come alive for the customer. Also, remember to discuss the benefits of your ‘product’, not just the features/requirements. In other words, SHOW, NOT TELL.

3. Get to the point.

4. Be animated and enthusiastic!!! The majority of sales presentations I have heard have been boring and unimaginative. If you really want to stand out from the crowd make sure you demonstrate enthusiasm and energy. Use voice effectively and vary your modulation. A common mistake made when people talk about a product they are very familiar with is to speak in a monotone - causing the other person to quickly lose interest in your presentation.

5. Leave a Little Something.
Leave your audience something to remember you by. This goes beyond business cards and could include bound copies of your presentation or handouts with the pertinent information highlighted. It could even include pens or stationery with your company's information

6. Tell a Story.
Before getting to the cold, hard facts of your presentation, help your audience warm up to you by telling a personal story. It could be related to the product or service you are selling or it could simply be a general story about a shared life experience. Whatever the story, making it personal and relatable will help to engage your audience. **REMEMBER TO INCLUDE HOW YOUR CHARACTERS INTERACT IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD**

7. Humor is good.
Catch your audience off guard by starting with a humorously off-topic slide or a funny story. This will help loosen up the audience and hopefully open them up to what you have to say. Humor is subjective, so keep clear of any subjects remotely questionable.