Make DECA Month Unforgettable: Fun Activities to Complete DECA Campaigns and Energize Your Students!
Feeling the pressure to make DECA Month stand out this year? Whether you’re a veteran DECA advisor or just getting started, turning this month into something memorable for your students doesn’t have to be overwhelming. National DECA Month might seem like just another item on your to-do list. But what if I told you it could be one of the most exciting months of the year for your students—and for you?
DECA Month officially kicks off on November 1st bringing with it a time to celebrate more than just your favorite school organization. Whether you've participated in DECA’s campaigns for years or you’re new to the scene, I’ve got some fun, easy-to-implement ideas and activities that will energize your classroom, align with DECA’s campaigns, and help your students develop skills they’ll carry with them for life. Ready to dive in? Let’s make DECA Month unforgettable together!
What is DECA Month?
DECA Month is a month-long celebration of DECA’s core values that is celebrated each November. Throughout the month, National DECA will host challenges and campaigns to help you and your students to actively engage in various aspects of DECA. Participating in the DECA campaigns allows you to not only celebrate DECA Month, it also earns your chapter some serious recognition! If you’re wondering how to make these campaigns come to life for your students, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with classroom-friendly suggestions that we’ll break down together…
Classroom Activities for DECA Month
When DECA introduced chapter campaigns, I knew my chapter was going to work hard to achieve ALL of them.
Our chapter wanted the recognition and those extra allocations to ICDC that come along with reaching the highest level of each campaign. But let’s face it, the campaigns can be A LOT of work, which is why it’s important to have a plan of attack that allocates your time and resources in the best way!
There are five main DECA campaigns that you and you members can strive to achieve through various activities:
Membership Campaign
Community Service Campaign
Promotional Campaign
Ethical Leadership Campaign
Advocacy Campaign
Let’s dive into some practical, easy to implement activities that can help your chapter earn that recognition! This is my “grocery style” list of activities I have used in the past, and I hope that by sharing your chapter can also achieve campaign success!
Be sure to check DECA’s website for official campaign submission rules and deadlines!
Membership Campaign
Turn your classroom into a DECA membership recruitment hub with different tasks assigned to small student groups. These activities work especially well if you’re teaching a lesson on advertising or promotion.
Classroom Tip: This is a great opportunity to talk about the basics of branding and persuasion. Let your students explore how they can “sell” DECA to their peers while reinforcing key marketing concepts.
Membership Campaign ideas you could use include:
Create a landing page for your chapter website explaining DECA and the benefits of joining
Create a series of Tik Toks or Reels promoting membership to your student body
Create an email marketing funnel to send to interested students, alumni, and professionals to promote joining
Reach out to recently graduated alumni members through personal contact or create an alumni Facebook group
Hold a contest to see which of your classes can recruit the most alumni or professional members
Create a series of testimonial social media posts from current and alumni members sharing their DECA experience & reasons for joining
Hold a “Find a Freshman” competition where each current upperclassmen member invites a freshmen to join and mentor throughout the year
Host an ice cream social or pizza party for current members and potential new members
Create a membership package that includes a t-shirt, framed membership certificate, and other school swag to incentivize professionals to join
Alumni & Professional Member Hack: Getting alumni and professional members can be a real challenge! One way my chapter combated this was to get our seniors to actually pay alumni dues for the next year before they graduated. On our chapter banquet RSVP form, we had a section where students could check a box to join as a “future alumni” member and go ahead and pay dues along with their banquet payment. Doing this allows you to start the next year with an alumni roster already in place! (and your devoted DECA parents can also join as professional members!)
Community Service Campaign
Service Project Showcase
Get your students involved in community service by having them research and pitch their own service project ideas. They can present these ideas in class, and you can even implement the winning project in your local community! Not only does this tie into DECA’s community service campaign, but it also teaches your students about project management, social responsibility, and entrepreneurship.
Classroom Tip: This is the perfect opportunity to introduce students to cause marketing or corporate social responsibility. It’s a great way to show how businesses can give back to their communities while also reinforcing brand values.
Pro Tip: Community Service events work best when they have a significant impact on meeting a need in your local community. Think outside of the box; what is an underserved group or a need that often goes unmet in your local community? Start there to build a plan for a creative, original community service campaign!
If your chapter is participating in the Community Service Project Management competition event, create an easy way for 75% of your chapter to participate so that you also meet the requirements for the Community Service Campaign. For example, my chapter always held a 5K to raise awareness around Halloween about the importance of organ donation. Members who could not work a shift on race day were required to bring in bottled water, trick or treat bags of candy, or bananas, apples, etc. for post race snacks. This helped us to ensure that 75% of the chapter still participated in some way. (Work smarter not harder here folks!)
Promotional Campaign
DECA Spirit Week
Who doesn’t love a good spirit week? You can create a week of themed days focused around DECA like “Dress Like a CEO Day,” “DECA T-Shirt Day,” or “Disney Day” (always popular during an Anaheim or Orlando year!) Not only does a spirit week boost school-wide visibility and awareness of DECA, but it also gives your students a chance to flex their leadership muscles by helping plan and execute the event. You can even tie this into lessons about event planning or leadership development.
Classroom Tip: Have students lead each day's activities. This allows them to practice project management skills in a fun, hands-on way!
Want more ideas you can use for DECA’s promotional campaign?
Create a DECA chapter promo video
Host a DECA competitive event information session or mock competition
Launch a DECA themed podcast or blog from your upper level class or with your officer team
Run a DECA “social media takeover” for your school’s social media accounts
Set up a DECA “Wall of Fame” in your classroom highlighting present and past member accomplishments
Host a DECA alumni panel & invite your alumni back to speak at a chapter meeting. Alumni can share competition success tips & how skills learned in DECA are helping them in their current phase of life.
Partner with a local business to offer “DECA Day.” DECA members could help out at the local business & the business could give a percentage of profits back to your chapter.
Create and display a DECA themed bulletin board in a prominent, high traffic location at school
Set up a booth at your school’s club expo/fair
Run a contest/giveaway through your chapter social media accounts
Have members share a DECA fact each day on your school announcements
Ethical Leadership Campaign
Ethical Leadership Debate
One of DECA’s newest campaigns is the Ethical Leadership Campaign. Inspire your students to explore the importance of ethical decision-making by hosting an Ethical Leadership Debate in class. Divide the class into small groups and assign them real-world business scenarios that challenge them to balance profitability with ethical considerations. Each group can present their case, and the class can debate the best course of action. This sparks thoughtful discussion and helps students understand the complexities of ethical leadership in the business world.
Classroom Tip: Tie this debate into lessons on corporate social responsibility or business ethics. You can even invite local business leaders to share real-life examples of ethical dilemmas they’ve faced, giving your students insight into the real-world application of ethical leadership!
Other ideas your chapter could include to meet DECA’s Ethical Leadership Campaign include:
Create a code of ethics for your DECA chapter or another school organization
Invite local business leaders to sit on a panel and speak about ethical leadership and share real examples of ethical dilemmas they’ve faced in their industries. Students can prepare questions and reflect on the lessons learned.
Challenge students to design and launch a social media campaign promoting ethical leadership in business, using real-world examples and DECA’s ethical values.
Partner with one local business, one school organization, and one community organization to create an ethical principles campaign for their social media
Highlight local ethical business leaders and community officials and the impact they’ve made on school announcements and social media channels
Award local business members and community organizations with a special certificate or other award highlighting their commitment to ethical business practices
Advocacy Campaign
(Even though DECA’s Advocacy Campaign isn’t due until the Spring semester, it’s never too early to start planning!)
Social Media Advocacy Challenge
We all know how much our students love social media. Why not channel that energy into a DECA-focused activity? Here’s how you can do it: challenge your students to create and share social media posts about DECA. It could be anything from why they love DECA to how DECA has helped them develop leadership skills. Have them use relevant hashtags like #DECAMonth or #DECAAdvocacy, and even encourage tagging local businesses or community leaders.
Classroom Tip: Tie this into lessons on digital marketing or personal branding. Students can analyze what types of posts perform best and why, which links perfectly with social media marketing strategies you might already be teaching.
Here are some additional ideas you could use for DECA’s advocacy campaign:
Present a DECA project to your local school board, city council, or county commission
Have your mayor sign a proclamation declaring a “DECA Day” in your town
Write letters to your school administration and district leaders advocating for the importance of CTE classes and CTSOs like DECA
Plan a project showcase and invite your DECA parents and local community members to watch your students present their DECA projects
Coordinate a visit to your state capitol to meet with legislators and advocate for CTE funding
Create short PSA videos for middle school students about signing up for CTE classes
Coordinate a social media campaign to share facts about DECA and CTE throughout the month
Host a luncheon for your chapter business partners
Have your officer team visit other classes, feeder middle schools, and feeder elementary schools to talk about DECA
Encouraging DECA Leadership in Your Classroom
One of the best things about DECA Month is that it’s a built-in opportunity to help your students develop leadership skills. Encourage them to take ownership of these activities. Whether it’s leading the planning of DECA Spirit Week or heading up a community service project, put the “heavy-lift” of planning on the students to help them to gain real-world experience in management and entrepreneurship.
Classroom Tip: Assign specific leadership roles to students—event planner, social media coordinator, project manager—so they can see how these roles function in the real business world.
Conclusion: Let’s Make DECA Month Unforgettable!
National DECA Month is a fantastic opportunity to bring the excitement of DECA into your classroom and to watch your students grow as leaders, marketers, and entrepreneurs. Whether you’re launching a social media campaign, organizing a spirit week, or starting a community service project, there are endless ways to make DECA Month engaging and educational for your students.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s celebrate DECA Month in a way that leaves a lasting impact. And don’t forget—share your success stories with your fellow DECA advisors and your local community. You’ve got this!
Resources for DECA Month Success:
DECA Resources Bundle in my TPT store
P.S. – I’d love to hear how you’re celebrating DECA Month in your classroom! Share your ideas in the comments or tag me on social media using #DECAAdvisors.
By making DECA Month both fun and educational, you’re not only hitting those important business and marketing standards but also creating unforgettable experiences for your members. Happy DECA Month!
Want content like this delivered straight to your inbox each week? Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter!