Day 4: Brand, marketing and ethics
Trust is your most valuable asset, so build it honestly and within the rules.
Today's goal
By the end of today you can create a simple honest brand, label promotions correctly, name the rules to check before selling and structure a pitch.
Agenda
- Warm-upThree words10 min
- LearnHonest marketing basics15 min
- ActivityName, promise and look35 min
- LearnAds must look like ads15 min
- BreakBreak15 min
- Case studyCase: three tempting shortcuts20 min
- LearnLegal basics, in general terms15 min
- LearnHow to structure a 3-minute pitch10 min
- ChallengeDraft and first run-through30 min
- ReflectThe founder you want to be10 min
- QuizDay 4 quiz5 min
The session
Three words
Brands are the feelings people connect with a name. This warm-up shows how quickly those feelings form.
- Someone names a well-known café, airline or shop.
- Everyone writes three words they associate with it, without talking.
- Compare: how many words overlap?
- Ask: what did the company do to earn those words?
Solo
Do it for five brands you know, then ask a family member to do the same and compare.
Group
Play three rounds in teams. The facilitator notes how often words like 'reliable' or 'friendly' appear.
Honest marketing basics
Small ventures win customers through clarity and trust, not big budgets.
- Describe your first customer in one sentence: 'My first customers are [who] who struggle with [problem] and currently [workaround].'
- Use your customers' own words from Days 1 and 2.
- Choose one or two places where those people already gather, and do them well.
- Only make claims you can back up. Do not say 'best in Dubai', 'organic' or 'halal certified' unless you can prove it.
- Show the full price up front. UAE consumer protection law, as summarised on u.ae, gives consumers the right to correct information and to buy at the declared price.
- Never write fake reviews or ask friends to review things they have not used.
Related lessons: Marketing on a shoestring, honestly, Content creation, influencing and brand deals
Name, promise and look
Create a simple, honest brand for your idea.
- Brainstorm 15 possible names in 5 minutes, then shortlist three.
- Check each: search online and on social platforms to see if someone already uses it. Never copy another brand's name, logo, characters or music.
- Write a one-line promise that you can keep, for example 'Ten-minute revision packs that fit your bus ride.'
- Choose two colours, one font style and a simple logo sketch.
- Draft one honest social post or poster using a customer's exact words, and list the evidence behind every claim.
- Produce: name, promise, simple visual identity and one draft post.
Solo
Show your three names to two people and ask which one tells them what you do.
Group
Teams create their brand, then pin it up for a 5-minute gallery walk where others leave one sticky note: 'I trust it because...' or 'I'm not sure because...'
Related lessons: Doing it properly: business structures, licences and visa rules
Ads must look like ads
Promotions that hide what they are break trust and can break the rules.
- The US Federal Trade Commission tells influencers to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand, including free or discounted products.
- The FTC says to use clear words such as 'ad', 'advertisement' or 'sponsored', place the disclosure where it is hard to miss, and not rely on a profile page. In videos, the disclosure should be in the video itself.
- The FTC also says not to talk about a product you have not tried and not to call a product great if you think it is bad.
- In the UAE, The National reported in July 2025 that the UAE Media Council introduced an Advertiser Permit for people posting promotional content, paid or not. The report lists exemptions, including promoting your own product or service, or one from a company you own, on a personal account, and under-18s doing educational, athletic, cultural or awareness activities. Other reports give a minimum age of 18 with limited exceptions (see ea-06).
- Rules can change, so check the UAE Media Council's official website with a parent or guardian before posting any promotion.
- Lessons ea-06 and en-06 cover this in more depth.
Related lessons: Content creation, influencing and brand deals, Marketing on a shoestring, honestly, Gaming, social media and giveaway scams
Break
Rest and reset.
- Rest for 15 minutes.
- Think about a time an advert made you feel tricked.
Case: three tempting shortcuts
Realistic situations where the easy choice is not the honest one.
- Scenario A: Layla, 17, in Abu Dhabi, sells hand-decorated phone cases. A friend offers to post ten five-star reviews from different accounts. What should she say, and why?
- Scenario B: Karim's cousin has 20,000 followers and offers to post about Karim's study planners in return for a free set, with no label. What does honest disclosure look like here?
- Scenario C: Sara, in London for the summer, wants to write 'the healthiest snack in the UAE' on her energy-ball labels. What claim could she make instead that she can prove?
- For each, write: the shortcut, who could be harmed, and the honest alternative.
- Bonus: which customer data would each of them need to protect?
Solo
Answer in your notebook, then explain one scenario aloud to a family member.
Group
Each team takes one scenario for 10 minutes, then presents its honest alternative in 1 minute.
Related lessons: How scammers think: the red flags behind every scam, Claims, Evidence and Weak Arguments
Legal basics, in general terms
This is general education, not legal advice. The aim is to know which questions to ask before anyone sells anything.
- A one-off school charity sale or selling your own old things is different from selling regularly for profit. Regular selling is a business, and businesses have rules.
- u.ae says that to sell products or services online on the UAE mainland you need a commercial licence that includes eCommerce activity, and that all eCommerce licences need TDRA approval. Free zones have their own rules.
- u.ae's summary of consumer protection law says suppliers must give a dated invoice in Arabic (other languages can be added), avoid misleading prices and false claims, and protect customers' data.
- If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must be involved in any licence, bank account, contract, payment or real sale.
- Food, cosmetics and anything for children carry extra safety rules. Check them first.
- Lessons en-05, ea-02, ea-03 and ea-05 explain UAE licensing, working as a teenager and selling online in more detail.
Related lessons: Doing it properly: business structures, licences and visa rules, Working as a teenager in the UAE and abroad, Contracts, payslips and your rights, Selling things and running a small online business
How to structure a 3-minute pitch
A simple structure keeps you clear and on time. This is practical guidance built on what you have done this week.
- Hook (15 seconds): a real moment or quote from a customer.
- Problem (30 seconds): your point of view and who has it.
- Evidence (30 seconds): what you observed, heard and measured.
- Solution (40 seconds): show your prototype and what changed after testing.
- Numbers (30 seconds): price, cost per unit, break-even.
- Honesty and next steps (35 seconds): rules you will check, how you will market honestly, your next three steps and what help you need.
Related lessons: Public speaking and presentations, Getting support: university incubators, competitions and UAE programmes
Draft and first run-through
Write your pitch and say it out loud for the first time.
- Write your pitch as bullet points on six small cards, one per section, not a full script.
- Prepare one or two simple visuals: your prototype photo and your numbers table.
- Do a timed run-through. Note where you went over time.
- Cut anything that does not support the problem, evidence or numbers.
- Do a second run-through and aim for 2 minutes 50 seconds.
- Produce: six pitch cards, visuals and a timed recording or notes.
Solo
Record yourself on your phone, watch it back once and note one thing to improve.
Group
Teams decide who presents which section, then run through for another team, who give one strength and one improvement.
Related lessons: Public speaking and presentations, Feedback: giving and receiving it well
The founder you want to be
Values decide what you do when nobody is checking.
- Write three promises you will keep to customers.
- Write one line you will never cross, even if it would make money.
- Complete the journal prompts.
Solo
Write for 10 minutes.
Group
Write for 6 minutes, then share one promise per team.
Day 4 quiz
Five questions on honest marketing and the rules.
- Answer the questions below.
- Check any explanation you are unsure of.
Block timer
Your journal
Private, saved on this device only. Your answers stay in this browser. They are never sent to us, even when you are signed in.
Day 4 quiz
Score 80% or more to complete Day 4.
1. According to the FTC, which label clearly shows a post is an advert?
2. What does the FTC say about promoting a product you have not tried?
3. According to u.ae, what do you need to sell online on the UAE mainland?
4. According to u.ae's summary of UAE consumer protection law, which language must an invoice be in?
5. The National reported which exemption from the UAE Advertiser Permit?
Overnight challenge
Do two more timed run-throughs of your pitch, one in front of a family member. Ask them to tell you the one thing they remember most.