The Gap vs. Old Navy: Mapping Brand Names Across the U.S.

Teaching Theme of the Week

by Gary Hopkins, Editor-in-Chief, Education World®

Students use an online mapping tool to compare various retail outlets in certain geographical location.

Subjects: Educational Technology, Mathematics, Social Studies

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Objectives
Students will:

• learn to use MapMuse, an online tool,
• understand the concepts of competition,
• compare the number of competitor retail locations across the U.S., and
• identify the retail establishment that is most common in their state.

Keywords
geography, brand names, retail, stores, restaurants, competition, competitors

Materials Needed

• access to the Map Muse Web site

Procedure
This lesson plan makes use of the Map Muse Web site. The activity is best used in your classroom computer center or in your school's technology lab.

MapMuse is a pretty interesting Web site that has many, many classroom uses. For this activity, students will focus on comparing how many retail outlets of a variety of types can be found in their state.

You might begin the lesson by instructing students in the use of the tool. Introduce them to the MapMuse Brand Directory. This alphabetical directory presents an A to Z of brand name retail outlets across the United States. You can find everything here from Baskin Robbins to Neiman Marcus. Since the first page of the MapMuse Brand Directory focuses on retail outlets that begin with the letter A, select Applebee's Restaurant as an example.

• Click the Applebee's Restaurant link. Clicking the link will reveal a map of Applebee's locations across the U.S.
• In the "Create Your Map" box, select your state name from the "Choose a region or state..." dropdown menu. Click the "Go" button to reveal a map of your state and its Applebee's locations. How many Applebee's are identified on the map?
• Point out to students the "Map Legend" beneath the map.
• Return to the MapMuse Brand Directory and choose another brand. For example, you might chose another brand that begins with the letter A -- Auto Zone, for example. How many Auto Zone stores are located in your state?
• Ask students to identify if there are more Applebee's or Auto Zone locations in their state."

Another way to compare the number of locations of a variety of retail establishments is to create a map of one brand name (Applebee's, for example). Then, instead of returning to the MapMuse Brand List, click the "Add Brands to Your Map" dropdown menu above the Applebee's map. Click another brand name, Auto Zone for example, and a new map will appear that shows both Applebee's and Auto Zone locations across your state. The new map, and its accompanying Map Legend, enables you to easily compare the number of outlets for each of those retail brands.

To give students a bit of practice finding information about a single retail brand's locations in your state, you might begin with names such as...

• Barnes & Noble Bookstores
• Best Buy
• Chevrolet Dealers
• Costco
• PETCO
• Starbucks

Once students are familiar with the tool, present an activity that challenges them to compare the number of outlets for a variety of retail establishments. Following are some combinations that you might assign students to check. These pairs of competitors have been selected because their brands are found in most states. However, you might invite students to "map" brands that are more specific to your state or more familiar to them.

• Applebee's or Olive Garden Restaurants
• Baskin Robbins or Dairy Queen
• Best Westerns or Comfort Inns
• Burger King or McDonald's
• Family Dollar or Walgreens
• Gap or Old Navy
• JC Penney or Sears
• Office Depot or Staples
• Target or Walmart
• The Home Depot or True Value Hardware

Assessment
Did students use the tool correctly as they compared competitive brands?

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