Student Guide | AdPrax

Everything you need to run your first marketing simulation.

Your instructor has enrolled your class in AdPrax, an AI-powered marketing simulation. You will run a simulated marketing campaign, make strategic decisions each round, and receive personalized AI feedback on your performance.

Getting Started
Joining Your Course
Making Decisions
Understanding Your Results
Using the AI Mentor
Boss Check-In
Tips for Success

1. Getting Started

Option A: iOS App (Recommended)

Download AdPrax from the App Store
Tap Sign Up and create your account with your university email
You can also sign up with Apple or Google

Option B: Web Browser

Go to the AdPrax website and click Student Sign Up
Enter your name, university email, and a password
Check your email to verify your account

Note: The iOS app is the primary student experience with full features including offline support and push notifications. The web works for signing up, joining a course, and Boss Check-In sessions.

2. Joining Your Course

Your instructor will give you a 6-character enrollment code (e.g., MK3A7X).

On iOS

Open the app and sign in
Tap Enter Code on the home screen
Type your enrollment code
Confirm the course details (name, scenario, difficulty) and tap Join

On Web

Sign in and go to the Join page
Enter your enrollment code
After joining, you can switch to the iOS app at any time — your progress syncs automatically

Once enrolled, you will see your course dashboard with the scenario name, difficulty level, and your current round.

3. Making Decisions

Each round, you make marketing decisions for your simulated brand. Decisions are organized into categories that unlock progressively as the simulation advances.

Early Rounds (1-2): Foundation

| Category | What You Decide | |----------|----------------| | Product Positioning | Place your brand on a perceptual map (e.g., Value vs. Premium) | | Product Features | Choose 2-3 features that define your product | | Pricing | Set your price within the scenario range | | Basic Promotion | Allocate your marketing budget across initial channels |

Mid Rounds (3-4): Expansion

New categories unlock:

| Category | What You Decide | |----------|----------------| | Distribution | Choose channels (DTC, Online, Retail, Specialty) and intensity | | Full Promotion Mix | Access all channels — social, search, influencer, content, traditional, PR | | Target Audience | Select primary and secondary customer segments | | Message Theme | Choose your messaging angle (Quality, Value, Lifestyle, or Innovation) |

Late Rounds (5+): Competition

| Category | What You Decide | |----------|----------------| | Line Extension | Launch a second product targeting a different segment | | Market Research | Purchase optional data reports to inform strategy |

How to Submit

Navigate to the Decide tab
Complete each unlocked category (a checkmark appears when done)
Your work auto-saves as a draft — you can close the app and come back later
When all categories are complete, tap Review & Submit
Review your decisions on the summary screen, then confirm

You cannot change decisions after submitting. Take your time and review carefully.

4. Understanding Your Results

After each round is processed, your results appear in the Results tab.

What You Will See

Financial Summary — Your key numbers for the round:

Revenue, Net Profit, and Market Share (with trend arrows showing improvement or decline)
Marketing ROI, units sold, and other detailed metrics

Competitor Comparison — How you stack up against AI-driven competitor brands. Your row is highlighted so you can quickly see your ranking.

Segment Performance — Your market share within each customer segment, sorted from strongest to weakest. This tells you which groups of customers you are winning.

Brand Health — Aided awareness (how many people know your brand) and customer satisfaction.

Market Events — Things that happened in the simulated market this round, such as economic shifts or trending consumer preferences. These affect everyone and may explain unexpected changes in your results.

AI Feedback

After each round, you receive personalized AI feedback with five parts:

Result Summary — What happened this round in plain terms
Decision Assessment — What worked and what did not, with specific reasons
Concept Connection — How your decisions relate to marketing theory (e.g., STP, the 4Ps)
Socratic Question — An open-ended question to push your thinking deeper
Forward Hint — A nudge for next round (more specific at lower difficulty, more open-ended at higher difficulty)

You can rate each piece of feedback with a thumbs up or down.

Your Score

Your overall simulation score (0-100) is based on four components:

| Component | Weight | What It Measures | |-----------|--------|-----------------| | Financial Performance | 40% | Profit, ROI, growth over time | | Decision Quality | 25% | Consistency, use of data, strategic adaptation | | Learning Objectives | 20% | Demonstration of marketing concepts | | Boss Check-In | 15% | Oral defense of your decisions |

You can also see a concept mastery chart showing your progress across eight marketing areas like pricing strategy, competitive analysis, and promotion mix.

5. Using the AI Mentor

The AI Mentor is your in-simulation coach. It guides you with questions — it will not give you direct answers.

How to Access

Tap Ask the Mentor from the Decide tab toolbar
Or access it from the Results tab after reviewing feedback

How It Works

You have 10 questions per round
The AI knows your current decisions, results, and round context
Ask about strategy, concepts, or help interpreting your data

Example Conversation

You: Should I lower my price?

AI Mentor: That is a strategic question worth thinking through. Before I share some considerations — what is your reasoning for wanting to lower the price? What outcome are you hoping for?

You: I want to get more market share.

AI Mentor: Market share growth is a valid objective. Looking at your data, you are strongest with Trend Followers at 23% share. Here is the tension: penetration pricing and price skimming serve different strategic goals. Which segments would you gain by lowering price, and which might you lose? Check your Consumer Survey data for price sensitivity by segment.

6. Boss Check-In

The Boss Check-In is a voice conversation with Alex Chen, VP of Marketing — a simulated executive who asks you to explain and defend your marketing decisions. It is framed as a workplace meeting, not an exam.

When It Happens

Your instructor sets the schedule (typically twice per simulation — a midpoint and a final check-in). You will see a Boss Check-In card on your home screen when one is available, along with the deadline.

What to Expect

The conversation lasts about 15-20 minutes and covers:

Decision Review — "Walk me through your strategy this round"
Results Discussion — "How do you explain these results?"
Conceptual Probing — "How does this relate to STP?"
Forward Planning — "What would you do differently next round?"
Closing — Brief summary and encouragement

A live transcript appears on screen during the conversation.

How You Are Graded

| Criterion | Weight | |-----------|--------| | Decision Explanation | 25% | | Conceptual Understanding | 20% | | Results Interpretation | 20% | | Strategic Reasoning | 15% | | Self-Reflection | 10% | | Communication Clarity | 10% |

Preparation Checklist

Know your numbers — market share, revenue, profit
Explain the why, not just the what
Use marketing terminology — STP, 4Ps, competitive analysis
Connect your decisions to your results (cause and effect)
Be honest about mistakes — it shows self-awareness
Have a plan for next round

Accessibility Options

Written alternative — Available if you cannot use voice
Extended time — Your instructor can grant 1.5x or 2x time
Slower speech rate — Available for non-native English speakers
Practice mode — A non-graded short session you can try at any time

7. Tips for Success

Be consistent. Pick a strategy and commit to it for a few rounds. Constantly changing direction ("strategy whiplash") hurts your scores and confuses your brand positioning.

Use your data. Purchase market research reports when available. Students who use data to inform decisions consistently outperform those who guess.

Think in frameworks. The simulation is built around real marketing concepts — STP, the marketing mix, pricing strategies, channel management. Use the terminology and apply the frameworks from your course.

Read your feedback carefully. The AI feedback after each round tells you specifically what worked and what did not. The Socratic question is designed to help you improve — take time to think about it before making your next set of decisions.

Use the AI Mentor wisely. You have 10 questions per round. Do not waste them on yes/no questions. Ask for help understanding why something happened or how to think about a trade-off.

Prepare for Boss Check-In early. Review your decisions and results before the conversation. The best responses connect specific decisions to specific outcomes and reference marketing concepts.

Watch the market events. External events (trends, economic shifts, competitor moves) affect everyone. The students who adapt to changing conditions stand out.

Do not try to "game" the simulation. There is no single winning formula. The AI evaluates your reasoning and consistency, not just your financial results. A well-reasoned strategy that underperforms financially can score higher than a lucky strategy with no rationale.

Need Help?

In the app: Go to Profile > Help for guides and FAQ
Your instructor: Ask about course-specific deadlines and expectations
Support: Email pilot-support@adprax.com for technical issues

Student Quick-Start Guide

Table of Contents