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MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT
Keynotes
The various activities of the marketing
process are referred to as the marketing
mix and traditionally include the four Ps:
product (characteristics and features)
price (appropriate market price)
promotion (communicating the
product’s benefits)
place (distribution of the product in
markets).
In order to gain a competitive advantage
over rivals, companies create brands that
represent aspirations and a desirable image
of life that the customer would like to
identify with.
I.
What is marketing?
Marketing is in many ways the central activity in business management. In
commercial organizations, marketing is ‘everybody’s business.’
Marketing is the term given to all the different activities intended to make and
attract a profitable demand for a product. This involves:
- identifying consumer needs and wants in order to develop the product
- setting the price
- deciding on the best place to sell the product
- deciding on how best to promote the product
These four factors are often referred to as ‘ The four Ps’. These are special
techniques used to market a brand.
Product (or service): what you sell, and the variety or range of product you
sell. This includes the quality (how good it is), branding, and reputation (the
opinion the consumers have) of the product. For a service, support for the client
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after the purchase is important. For example, travel insurance is often sold with
access to a telephone helpline in case of emergency.
Price: how much the product or service costs.
Place: where you sell the product or service. This means the location of your
shop, or outlet, or the accessibility of your service – how easy it is to access.
Promotion: how you tell consumers about the product or service.
Today some marketers talk about an additional four Ps:
People: how your staff (or employees), are different from those in a competitor’s
organization, and how your clients are different from your competitor’s clients.
Physical presence: how your shop or website looks.
Process: how your product is built and delivered, or how your service is sold,
delivered and accessed.
Physical evidence: how your service becomes tangible.
For example, tickets, policies and brochures create something the customers can
touch and hold.
Reading 1
1 Before you start: What is marketing? Why is it important?
2 Read the article about marketing. Match the questions (1-6) with the
paragraphs (a-f).
1-How do I meet my objectives?
2-What do I want to achieve?
3-What is marketing?
4-How do I communicate my message?
5-How do I find out this information?
6-What do I need to know?
Marketing
a) Marketing is finding out about your customers and competitors so that you
can provide the right product at the right price.
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b) Think about people you want to sell to: your target market. Different
products have different target markets, for example, Swatch and Rolex
watches. Questions to ask are:
~Who are my customers- age, sex, income?
~What is the size of the market?
~Is it possible for the market to get bigger?
~What about product awareness? - do people know about my company’s
products?
c) You find out this information through market research. Market research uses
interviews to find out about people’s attitudes and questionnaires to find out
about their shopping habits.
d) When you know who your customers are and how big your market is the next
step is to set your objectives. Do you want to increase sales? To increase
market share? Or to make your product different from the competition?
e) Next, think about your strategy for meeting your objectives. If your objective
~
~
~
is to increase market share, you could:
find new customers by making your product more attractive
take customers from your competitors
persuade your customers to use more your product.
f) How will you make your strategy work? What message do you want to send?
There are many types of promotion and it is important to choose the right
one,e.g.
~ advertising on TV, in newspapers, etc.
~ direct marketing by post (mail shots)
~ telesales- selling to customers on the phone
~ point-of –sail material in shop- free samples of special offers.
Now you are ready to launch your product in the market. Good luck!
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Vocabulary
3. Match the highlighted words and phrases in the text with the definitions (1-8).
1 ways of telling people about your products
_________________
2 the part of the total market that buys your product
_________________
3
knowledge of your company’s products
_________________
4
other companies that sell similar products
_________________
5
finding out about the market
_________________
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to introduce a new product to the market
_________________
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the kind of people you are interested in selling to _________________
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a plan you use in order to achieve something
_________________
4. Look at the text again. Find and underline:
1 two market research methods
2 three marketing objectives.
Speaking
5. Work in pairs. Take turns to describe the marketing process. Use these phrases:
~First you have to… ~Then… ~Next… ~After that… ~Finally
6. Work in groups. Think of a product you would like to produce and sell. It could be
a new kind of snack or sweet or a new range of make- up. You decide. Give your
product a name.
7. You are ready to market your product. Draw up a marketing report. Then present
your report. Use the plan:
1 Product name, 2- Target market
3 Strategy, 4- Promotion , 5- Objectives.
! Do some research. Think of a product you
know or buy regularly, and about a company which produces it. Who is their target
market? Objectives? Market share? Who
are their competitors? Tell the class.
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II. GLOBAL BRANDS
1 Work with a partner. Look at the logos of some multinational companies.
What is the name of each company? What does it produce or sell?
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2
3
5
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2 Discuss the questions:
-Are these brand names well known in your country?
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-Have you ever bought or used any of their products?
-Do you buy particular brands of food or clothes? Why/ Why not?
-What are brands for?
®
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3 Answer the questions:
- What are your favourite brands of the following products: soft drinks, clothes, cars,
shampoo?
- Why do you prefer these to other similar brands?
4 Now choose one of the products you use and consider the marketing mix for that
brand. Express your opinion. Think and speak about the following:
product - what are the product's features?
place - where can you buy the product?
price - in comparison with similar products
promotion - where and how is it advertised?
Reading 2
1 Read the text which describes how Shell Oil developed a new brand image, and see
if it mentions any of the market research methods. What techniques did Shell Oil use?
Hello to the good buys
A new marketing campaign promising hassle*-free and faster fuel buying for customers
is under way in America. Suzanne Peck reports on the 18-month research project which
involves Shell Oil researchers ‘moving in’ with their customers to test their buying
habits.
Three years ago when Sam Morasca asked his wife what could be done to exceed her
expectations when buying gasoline, her answer ‘that I would never have to think about it
any more’ made him pause and think.
The marketing people from Shell Oil Products, of which Sam is vice-president, were
desperately seeking ways to increase the business, and to come up with a strategy which
would put them clearly ahead of their competition by differentiating the Shell Oil brands in
the eyes of consumers. ‘We are big business for Shell Oil, contributing US $7 bn of
revenue, and the leading retailer of gasoline, but it is a fragmented market and the mission
was to profitably expand the business,’ said Sam.
Today, after 18 months of cutting edge research, Shell Oil is on track to make buying
fuel at their 8,900 service stations clearly different with a new brand initiative. Its aim is to
deliver through facilities, systems upgrades*, and new operating practices, a hassle-free
fueling experience targeted at specific customer segments.
Over the past few years, the company has been developing detailed knowledge of consumer
needs and attitudes, which formed the basis for the new brand initiative. Team leader Dave
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Yard, manager of Strategy and Planning-Marketing, picks up the story. ‘We began with a
customer segment study of 55,000 people, who we stopped in shopping malls in six cities
for a 45-minute interview into their attitudes, especially regarding driving and cars. The
result was that everyone wanted three things from a service station: competitive price, a
nearby location and good quality fuel- something they all believed was already being
delivered by the industry’.
This meant their buying decisions were influenced by other factors – some wanted fullserve outlets like the old days, some chose a service station depending on whether it looked
safe or not. ‘There were ten different segments with different needs, and we wanted a better
understanding of each of these audiences.’
A focus group was set up for each segment; an anthropological study was carried out,
which involved team members spending waking hours with people from each segment,
watching them at home and accompanying them on shopping trips to see their buying
habits; and a clinical psychologist was hired to create a psychological profile of each
segment.
The study indicated that three groups, which comprised 30% of the driving public,
should be targeted:
- Premium Speeders – outgoing, ambitious, competitive and detail oriented. They drive
upmarket cars which make a statement* about them. Efficiency rules, plus fast pumps,
quick access and payment.
- Simplicity Seekers – loyal, caring and sensitive, frustrated with complexities of everyday
life want simple and easy transactions.
- Safety Firsters – control oriented, confident people, like order and comfort. Higher value
on relationships and go out of their way* to stations that make them feel comfortable.
Prefer to stay close to cars.
‘The common thread was that they all wanted a faster and easier service than anything
already available,’ said Dave, ‘so the study ended and the lunch began.’
*an upgrade: making something work better, and do more
*to make a statement about somebody: to show what kind of person somebody is
*to go out of one’s way: to make an effort
*hassle: problems
The field organisation and Shell Oil retailers combined forces to determine how to
eliminate the little hassles that customers sometimes face, such as improved equipment and
clearer instructions at the pump. New innovations are currently being test marketed. A new
advertising campaign was launched and a sophisticated measurement system introduced to
monitor satisfaction, behavior and perception of the brand. ‘Fueling* a car is a necessity of
life and I believe we are ahead of the game – but we won’t allow ourselves to stop and be
caught up.’
*fueling (up) (US ) = filling up (GB)
1 Read the text again and number the different stages in the research project in the
correct order.
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a They analysed the results, which showed that there were 10 different consumer
segments.
( )
b Focus groups studied the 10 segments.
( )
c Shell Oil’s marketing team decided to differentiate the Shell brand from the other brands
on the market. ( 1 )
d Shell launched a new advertising campaign.
( )
e They interviewed 55,000 people about their attitudes to driving and cars in general.( )
f Work started on improving products and services.
( )
g They carried out a detailed study of the market over 18 months.
( )
h Three groups were chosen as the target markets.
( )
2 Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.
1 to exceed
a a part or section
2 a mission
b a group of interested people
3 an initiative
c an important new plan with a particular aim
4 a segment
d an assignment or task
5 an audience
e to find out / to discover
6 a profile
f to check at regular intervals
7 to determine
g to be more than
8 to monitor
h a description of the characteristics of someone or
something
3 Find words and expressions in the text which correspond to the following
definitions.
1 Many different types of consumer who buy the same product
fragmented market__
2 The most advanced and up to date
c_________ e________
3 Conclusions people reach about which products to purchase
b_________ d________
4 An informal discussion group used for market research
f_________ g________
5 A shared characteristic
c_________ t_________
6 A method of evaluation
m________ s_________
4 Complete the passage using words from exercises 2 and 3. Change the form of the
words where necessary.
As more and more industries are marketing products specifically adapted to particular
(1)segments of the market, market researchers are being asked to conduct studies and to
compile more detailed (2)_________ of consumer groups. Broad classifications based on
sex, age and social class are not sufficient for companies operating in highly competitive
and (3)_________ _________ . Questionnaires are carefully designed to (4)__________
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the exact needs and demands of consumers as well as establishing what affects consumer
(5)_________ _________ when they choose one product instead of another. Advertising
campaigns can then be targeted to appeal to the identified (6)__________. Finally,
marketing people must (7)___________ the success of the campaign and modify it if
necessary.
Discussion
Consumers allowed Shell marketing people to ‘move in with them’ in order to
observe their habits and routine. In pairs, discuss the questions.
1 What are the advantages of this type of research over more conventional data collecting
processes?
2 Would you agree to participate (as a potential consumer) in this type of research? Why
(not)?
3 Why do you think some people do accept?
4 People's attitudes to brands and marketing can be very different. Which of these
statements do you agree with?
a) “Marketing transforms brands, making them stand for things that they just don't
stand for. They don't deliver.” Naomi Klein author of No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand
Bullies.
b) “Brands provide us with beliefs. They define who we are.” Wally Olins, a corporate
identity consultant.
Reading 3
1 Read the text and decide which of the above views is closest to that of the author.
Money can buy you love
Are we being manipulated into buying brands?
1 BRANDS are accused of all sorts of evils, from threatening our health and
destroying our environment to corrupting our children. Brands are so powerful, it is
said, that they force us to look alike, eat alike and be alike.
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This grim picture has been made popular by many recent anti- branding books.
The argument has been most forcefully stated in Naomi Klein’s book ‘No Logo:
Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies”. Its argument runs something like this. In the new
global economy, brands represent a huge portion of the value of a company and,
increasingly, its source of profits. So companies are switching from showcasing
product features to marketing aspirations and the dream of a more exciting lifestyle.
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Historically, building a brand was rather simple. A logo was a straightforward
guarantee of quality and consistency, or it was a signal that a product was something
new.
For that, consumers were prepared to pay a premium. Building a brand nationally
required little more than an occasional advertisement on TV or radio stations
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showing how the product tasted better or drove faster. There was little regulation. It
was easy for brands such as Coca-Cola, Kodak and Marlboro to become hugely
powerful. Because shopping was still a local business and competition limited, a
successful brand could maintain its lead and high prices for years. A strong brand
acted as an effective barrier to entry for competing products.
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Consumers are now bombarded with choices. They are also harder to reach.
They are busier, more distracted and have more media to choose from. They are
“commercials veterans” experiencing up to 1,5000 pitches a day. They are more
cynical than ever about marketing and less responsive to messages to buy. Jonathan
Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum, authors of “ Under The Radar- Talking To Today’s
Cynical Consumers, say “some of the most cynical consumers are the young”.
Nearly half of all US college students have taken courses and “know the enemy”.
For them, ‘shooting down advertising has become a kind of sport”.
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Marketers have to take some of the blame. While consumers have changed
beyond recognition, marketing has not. Even in the USA, home to nine of the
world’s ten most valuable brands, it can be a shockingly old- fashioned business.
Marketing theory is still largely based on the days when Procter & Gamble’s brand
dominated in the USA, and its advertising agencies wrote the rules. Those rules
focused on the product and where to sell it, not the customer. The new marketing
approach is to develop a brand not a product- to sell a lifestyle or a personality, to
appeal to emotions. (It is a much harder task than describing the features and
benefits of a product.) However, brands of the future will have to stand for all of this
and more. Not only will they need to be a stamp of product quality and a promise of
a more desirable lifestyle but they will also have to project an image of the social
responsibility.
2 Read the text again and match the headings a-f with paragraphs 1-5. There is one
extra heading.
a
Brands past
___________
b
Advertising brands
___________
c
The new consumers
___________
d
Guilty
___________
e
The case against brands _ ___________
f
The importance of brands ___________
3 Read paragraph three again. Are the statements true or false?
1 It was relatively easy in the past to create a new brand.
2 Buying a branded product did not cost customers more.
3 Brands were developed for the international market.
4 The government closely controlled the markets at home.
5 Brands deterred other companies from entering the market.
Speaking
1 The author suggests young people no longer believe advertisement. Do you agree?
2 What does influence young people’s buying decisions?
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III. ADVERTISING
Keynotes
“Advertising isn’t a science. It’s persuasion.
And persuasion is an art.”
William Bernbach, advertising executive
Advertise-to tell the public about a product
or a service in order to encourage people to
buy or to use it. Advertisement – ( also
informal ad or advert) a notice, picture or
film telling people about a product, job or
service. Commercial – an advertisement
on the radio or on television.
1 Look at these different ways of advertising and answer the questions:
~ newspaper ad
~ direct mail
~ TV ad
~ website ad
~ poster
1 Which do you think is best for contacting specific customers?
2 Which do you think is the most expensive?
2 Which way (or ways) of advertising do you think is most suitable
for these situations:
1 a travel company selling last–minute trip
2 a car company launching a new model
3 a bank telling customers about a new kind
of bank account
4 a local politician who wants people to vote for him
Reading 4
1 Read the business advice information.
2 Match the questions ( 1 - 4) with the paragraphs ( a - d).
1 Who does it say?
2 Why are you advertising?
3 Where will you advertise?
4 Who is it for?
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Choosing the right advertising for your product
or service is really important.
Here are some tips.
a) Understand your customers. Find out who they are ( their age, interests, lifestyle,
income, buying habits). Find out what is the best way to reach them. Which newspaper
do they read? Which TV programmes do they watch?
b) What do you want your advertising to achieve? What is its purpose? Do you want
to inform people about your product or service? Do you want them to buy it, or see
it in a different way? What is its USP (unique selling point)?
c) Keep your message simple and clear. Say just one thing, e.g. “This is better,”
“This makes life easier.” Make sure you have a headline that is eye-catching. Make
Sure the text tells the customer everything you want them to know.
d) Choose a method that will reach your target market. It’s no good having a brilliant
advertisement if the right people don’t see it. It’s useless to tell five million people
about something that only 100,000 people need to know: banks don’t use TV to tell
existing customers about a new kind of account.
Speaking
1 Work in pairs. Read the TALKABOUT advertisement.
GO THE DISTANCE
Stay totally in touch with Motorola’s TALKABOUT two-way radio. Wherever
your sport takes you – on the ski slopes, in the forest, on the water or in the
air – you’re in constant contact with your friends or your guide for up to three
kilometres. It’s simple to use, light and water resistant. And with hands-free
and voice activation, it works wherever you choose to take it.
Stay in touch with TALKABOUT.
It’s made for you.
2 Discuss the following questions:
1 What product is the advertisement for?
2 Who are the customers?
3 What is the purpose of the advertisement?
4 What is the message?
5 What is the method?
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3 Get real:
1 Collect some advertisements from newspapers,
magazines, or direct mail.
2 Choose one you think is good and present it to the class.
3 Say why you think it is good.
4 Make a class display of good advertising material.
IV. GLOBALISATION
Keynotes
Globalisation is the rapid increase in
international free trade, investment,
and technological exchange.
Globalisation is forcing business to make
cost savings by reducing operating costs.
One way to do this is by outsourcing –
transferring business processes such as
order processing or call centre management
to outside suppliers and service providers.
Offshoring is a new form of outscoring where
businesses relocate back-office operations in
overseas facilities
where labour costs are lower.
Reading 5
1 Work with a partner. What do you understand by globalization and
consumerism? What are their pros and cons?
2 Are these sentences facts (F) or opinion (O)?
1 There are severe environmental changes taking place in the world.
2 Globalization is the synonymous with Americanization.
3 Only 20% of the world's population lives in rich countries, but they
consume 86% of the world's resources.
4 The more people are in debt, the richer the banks become.
5 The United States is a target for the have-nots of globalization.
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6 Debt repayments by developing countries are nine times as much as the aid
they receive.
7 The global economy puts no value on morality, only profit.
8 Countries in the industrialized West exploit workers in poorer countries.
What is your reaction to the facts? Do you agree with the opinion? Compare
with the class.
3 Read the article. Which of the topics in exercise 2 are mentioned?
4 The author holds strong views on these issues. Can you present some counterarguments?
Multinational corporations keep price down.
Economic growth is the route to the global prosperity. Or is it?Jonathan Rowe examines the price we pay for this growth.
The Global Economy
I want to talk about the economy. Not 'the economy' we hear about endlessly in the news.
'The economy' is what men in suits play with to make vast personal wealth. The economy
is where the rest of us live on a daily basis, earning our living, paying our taxes, and each
day and in politicians' speeches. I want to talk about the real economy, the one we live in
day by day. Most people aren't particularly interested in 'the economy'. 'Share prices are
flying high, interest rates are soaring. The Dow Jones' index closed sixty-three points down
on 8472.35.' We hear this and subconsciously switch off. Notice that 'the economy' is not
the same as the economy. 'The economy' is what men in suits play with to make vast
personal wealth. The economy is where the rest of us live on a daily basis, earning our
living, paying our taxes, and purchasing the necessities of life.
Something wrong
We are supposed to be benefiting from all the advantages of a prosperous society. So why
do we feel drained and stressed? We have no time for anything other than work, which is
ironic given the number of labour-saving devices in our lives. The kids are always
hassling for the latest electronic gadgets. Our towns become more and more congested,
we poison our air and seas, and our food is full of chemicals. There's something wrong
here. If times were truly good, then you'd think we'd all feel optimistic about the future.
Yet the majority of us are deeply worried. More than 90 per cent of us think we are too
concerned about ourselves and not concerned enough about future generations.
Producing and consuming
The term 'economic expansion' suggests something desirable and benevolent, but
expansion simply means spending more money. More spending doesn't mean that life is
getting better. We all know it often means the opposite - greed, deprivation, crime, poverty,
pollution. More spending merely feeds our whole economic system, which is based on
production and consumption. Unless money keeps circulating, the economy collapses.
Airlines go bust, taking plane manufacturers and travel agents with them. If we don't keep
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consuming, then manufacturers and retailers go out of business. People don't buy houses,
clothes, washing machines, cars. The whole system goes into stalemate.
Creating need
As a leading economist put it, consumer societies are 'in need of need'. We don't
need the things the economy produces as much as the economy needs our sense of need
for these things. Why, in our supermarkets, do we have to choose from sixty different
kinds of toilet paper and a hundred different breakfast cereals? Need is the miracle that
keeps the engines of expansion turning relentlessly. In economics, there is no
concept of enough, just a chronic yearning for more. It is a hunger that cannot be
satiated. There is so much craziness in the world. There is an American company that
manufactures a range of food with a high fat content. This causes obesity and high
blood pressure. By coincidence, the same company also makes products that help
people who are trying to diet. Not only that, it even produces pills for those with high
blood pressure.
Nearly all of my mail consists of bills (of course), banks trying to lend me
money, catalogues trying to make me spend it, and charity appeals for the losers in this
ecstasy of consumption — the refugees, the exploited, the starving. Why is it possible
to buy strawberries from Ecuador and green beans from Kenya when these countries
can hardly feed their own people? It is because these are cash crops, and the countries
need the money to service their debts. Notice that servicing a debt does not mean
paying it off. It means just paying the interest. Western banks make vast profits from
third world debt.
Making changes
How do we break the cycle? We need to become far more aware of the results of
our actions. We buy clothes that are manufactured in sweat shops by virtual slaves in poor
parts of the world. We create mountains of waste. We demand cheap food, mindless of the
fact that it is totally devoid of taste and is produced using chemicals that poison the land.
We insist on our right to drive our own car wherever we want to go.
The evil of the consumption culture is the way it makes us oblivious to the impact
of our own behaviour. Our main problem is not that we don't know what to do about it. It
is mustering the desire to do it.
6 According to the article, are these statements true or false?
1 ‘The economy’ is not the same thing as the economy.
2 People feel optimistic because their lives are so prosperous.
3 The we spend, the better life is.
4 If people stop spending, the economy collapses.
5 Companies respond to the needs of consumers.
6 It’s good that we can buy cheap goods from around the world.
7 Many developing countries export food to pay back their debts.
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8 We know how to solve some of these problems, but we don't want to do it.
7 What do you understand by the words and phrases underlined in the text?
8 What do you think?
1 What are some of the examples of craziness in the world that Jonathan Rowe
mentions? Can you add any more?
2 Is it economic colonialization to sell Kentucky Fried Chicken to the world, or is it
just giving people what they want?
3 What do you think are Jonathan Rowe's attitudes to the following? What are your
attitudes?
~ multinational corporations
~ pollution and the environment
~ anti- globalization protesters
~ supermarkets
~ economics
~ Western banks
~ public transport
~ companies who use cheap
Reading 6
1 Before reading the text below about Philips, decide whether you think these
statements are true (T) or false (F).
1 It is the world’s biggest electronics company.
2 It has produced over 100 million TV sets.
3 Its headquarters are in Amsterdam.
4 It was the first company to produce compact disks.
5 It is active in a small number of specialised businesses.
6 It provides the lights for famous landmarks such as London’s Tower Bridge.
Read the text and check your answers.
The Philips Story
The foundations of the world’s biggest electronics company were laid in 1891 when
Gerard Philips established a company in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to
manufacture light bulbs and other electrical products. In the beginning, it concentrated on
making carbon-filament lamps and by the turn of the century was one of the largest
producers in Europe. Developments in new lighting technologies fuelled a steady
programme of expansion and, in 1914, it established a research laboratory to stimulate
product innovation.
In the 1920s, Philips decided to protect its innovations in X-ray radiation and radio
reception with patents. This marked the beginning of the diversification of its product
range. Since then, Philips has continued to develop new and exciting product ideas like the
compact disc, which is launched in 1983. Other interesting landmarks include the
production of Philips’ 100-millionth TV set in 1984 and 250- millionth Phil shave electric
shaver in 1989.
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The Philips Company
Philips’ headquarters are still in Eindhoven. It employs 256,400 people all over the
world, and has sales and service outlets in 150 countries. Research laboratories are located
in six countries, staffed by some 3,000 scientists. It also has an impressive global network
of some 400 designers spread over twenty-five locations. Its shares are listed on sixteen
stock exchanges in nine countries and it is active in about 100 businesses, including
lighting, monitors, shavers and colour picture tubes; each day its factories turn out a total of
50 million integrated circuits.
The Philips People
Royal Philips Electronics is managed by the Board of Management, which looks
after the general direction and long-term strategy of the Philips group as a whole. The
Supervisory Board monitors the general course of business of the Philips group as well as
advising the Board of Management and supervising its policies. These policies are
implemented by the Group Management Committee, which consists of the members of the
Board of Management, chairmen of most of the product divisions and some other key
offices. The Group Management Committee also serves to ensure that business issues and
practices are shared across the various activities in the group.
The company creed is “Let’s make things better”. It is committed to making better
products and systems and contributing to improving the quality of people’s work and life.
One recent example of this is its “Genie” mobile phone. To dial a number you just have to
say it aloud. Its Web TV Internet terminal brings the excitement of cyberspace into the
living room. And on travels around the world, whether passing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or
witnessing the beauty of the ancient pyramids of Giza, you don’t have to wonder any more
who lit these world famous landmarks, it was Philips.
2 Read “The Philips Story” again. Why are these dates important?
a 1891
b 1914
c the 1920s
d 1983
e 1984
3 Read “The Philips Company” again and find the figures that correspond to the
following pieces of information.
Example: The approximate number of designers working for Philips: 400
1 The number of people working for Philips worldwide
2 The number of countries with sales and service outlets
3 The number of countries where Philips has research facilities
4 The approximate number of scientists working in Philips’ research laboratories
5 The number of integrated circuits produced every day
4
1
2
3
Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.
an innovation
a a planned series of actions
a patent
b main offices
diversification
c a place or address
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4
5
6
7
8
a range
headquarters
a location
a strategy
a policy
d the introduction of a new idea
e a selection of series
f making different types of products
g an agreed course of action
h the right to make or sell an invention
5 In pairs, replace the words in italics with the words used in the text.
1 Gerard Philips set up (established) a company in Eindhoven.
2 The company initially specialised in (___________) making carbon-filament lamps.
3 Developments in new lighting technologies fuelled a steady plan for growth
(________________).
4 In 1983 it introduced (_____________) the compact disc onto the market.
5 Each day its factories produce (___________) a total of 50 million integrated circuits.
6 Royal Philips Electronics is run (____________) by the Board of Management.
7 The Supervisory Board carefully watches (____________) the general course of
business.
8 Policies are put into practice (______________) by the Group Management Committee.
9 The Group Management Committee consists or members of the Board of Management
and chairmen of most of the product sectors (______________).
10 The Group Management Committee serves to ensure that important matters
(_________________) and ways of doing business (_______________) are shared across
the company.
Now check your answers with the text.
6 Complete the passage using words from exercises 4 and 5 in the correct form.
The key to Philips’ success can be described by two words. The first is innovation; the
company designers are continually developing and creating new products. The second is
____________; Philips is active in about 100 businesses varying from consumer
electronics to domestic appliances and from security systems to semiconductors. With such
a wide ____________ of products the company needs a complex system of management.
Each product ____________ has its own chairman; most of these chairmen are members of
the Group Management Committee, which ____________ all company decisions and
plans. The Supervisory Board ____________ the general business of the group and it also
advises and supervises the Board of Management.
! NOW you have some extra activities to get ready to participate in the round- table
discussion “Modern society and global brands. My opinion”. You have some texts,
which can be good sources of information to participate in the discussion. You could be
divided into three groups and have different assignments. Just use the chance to express
yourself, to create new ideas and to protect your point of view.
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V. EXTRA ACTIVITIES
Text I
1 Read Parts A and B of the text quickly. Does the text come from an e-mail,
a newspaper article or an advertisement?
Part A
Big companies spend millions of dollars on developing their brand and designing
their logo. Market research shows that more and more people are paying attention to
the brand of the things they buy. Why? Because global brands like Pepsi have ideas
and values connected with them.
Some people are very loyal to one brand because of the ideas and values
associated with it. For example, some makes of car are associated with quality or
reliability.
Other people are buying an image of themselves- the brand you use says what
kind of person you are. Drinking Pepsi Max means you want to get the most from lifeyou want freedom and adventure, and that is why you are an exciting person.
Wearing Nike trainers or sports clothes is all about individual achievement; you can
do anything you want- just do it.
Part B
2 We asked some brand – conscious shoppers what brands they buy and why.
Kate, 16: I wear these trainers because all my friends wear them. It’s important to
be cool.
Tom, 27: This car tells people I’m successful. My business clients expect me to
drive an expensive car. It gives me the right professional image.
Jane 20: Yes, it’s the latest model. It’s got lots of new features and I love the
design. I use it to text my friends or call my boyfriend.
3 Read the text again and answer the questions.
Part A
1 Why do big companies spend a lot of money on brands?
2 Why do people buy a particular brand?
Part B
1 Can you guess which brands the three people are talking about?
2 What values or image do they associate with their brand?
4 Match the words and phrases from the article(1-6) with the definitions(1-6)
Then write the words and phrases in your language.
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1 logo
2 values
3 loyal
4 image
5 individual achievement
6 brand- conscious
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
________
________
________
________
________
________
the general impression you give to other people
something you do successfully, on your own
aware of different brands and what they represent
not changing, always buying the same brand
things that are important or that you believe in
symbol that appears on a company’s product
5 Work in pairs. Are you brand- conscious? Discuss these questions.
~ Are brands important to you?
~ What brands do you buy?
~ What values do you associate with them?
~ What image do you want other people to have of you?
~ Are there any brands you wouldn’t buy?
6 Design your own brand. Think of a product - anything you like. What ideas
and values do you want to be associated with it? Give it name design a logo.
7 Research a brand that you are familiar with and that you think has good
values associated with it. Find more information about it using magazines
or the Internet Explain your brand to your friends in a group and say why
you think it is successful.
Text II
Read the text. Speak about Coca-Cola brand as one of the most recognized
in the world. What made it so successful?
Building a global brand
Coca-Cola is the most recognized brand in the world. When the company began, it
was very small. For the first year, it sold only nine drinks a day. Today, the company
sells about 7,000 products every second John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in
1886. He made it in his back garden and took it to a shop near his house, where he
sold it for five cents a glass. He worked with a man called Frank Robinson.
Robinson invented the name Coca-Cola and the writing that is still used on the
bottles today.
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In 1891, a businessman in Atlanta bought the Coca-Cola company for 2,300
dollars. He helped the company to grow, and soon people were selling Coca-Cola in
every part of the USA. By 1917, the company was selling 3 million drinks a day. In
1919, the company was sold for 25 million dollars. In 1923, Robert W Woodruff
became president of the Coca-Cola company. He stayed in the job for more than
thirty years, and helped Coca-Cola to become one of the largest companies in the
world. In order to make Coca-Cola into a global brand, they had to advertise. In the
1930s, the company used film and radio, which were new and exciting, for their
advertisements. They paid famous film stars and sportsmen to advertise their
product. People began to think of Coca-Cola as a part of American life. During the
1939-45 war, the company started to make Coca-Cola in other countries. They
wanted the American soldiers to be able to get Coca-Cola anywhere in the world –
and the soldiers were happy to buy it because it made them think of home.
By 1945, there were sixty-four Coca-Cola factories across the world. If a
product is going to become a global brand, one thing is very important: it must look
the same everywhere in the world. Robert Woodruff realised this as long ago as the
1920s. He made sure that all the Coca-Cola factories used the same bottles. The
colours red and white have also been an important part of the brand since those days.
The company has changed its advertising slogan over the years. In the 1950s,
it was 'Coca-Cola, making good things taste better'. In 1970, this changed to 'It's the
real thing'; in 1979, 'Have a Coke and a Smile'; in 1993, it was 'Always Coca-Cola'.
Having the right slogan at the right time is important when you are building a global
brand.
In today's world, a lot of people travel from country to country for business or
holidays. They often want to buy goods that they recognize and use at home, and
they can do this with global brands. However, some people think that global brands
are making the world a less interesting place. They travel to other countries because
they want to see new things, but they find the same products and advertisements all
over the world. These are usually American products. Of the ten largest brands in the
world, nine are American. Can you guess what they are?*
Text III
1 Read the text about controversial advertising. Do you think the VW campaign was
successful?
Sacrilege
By Stephen Armstrong
Is Volkswagen bold or stupid? Across France, workmen have been busy scraping off
10,000 billboard advertisements for its new Golf following furious complaints from the
Catholic Church. In a series of posters, the German carmaker’s model was likened to a
religious revolution; one that showed Jesus at the last supper recommending the car to his
disciples.
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VW’s agency DDB Needham doubtless thought its advertising was ironic and extremely
up-to date. After all, the admen presumably figured, if outrageous* advertising worked for
the likes of Benetton, it could work to revive the image of the Golf, which is frankly rather
old-fashioned.
After the Catholic Church threatened to sue* for Ffr 3.3 m ($550,000) to obtain
reparation for the damage suffered by Christians, the agency and the carmaker confessed to
their sins and agreed to remove the ads. ‘We have no disrespect for the fundamental values
of society, nor for the beliefs of the faithful,’ said a spokesperson for DDB Needham. ‘We
decided to retract the posters immediately in order to show our respect for the faith and
feelings expressed by certain believers.’ The agency’s penance* has included making a
substantial donation to a Catholic charity.
European consumers are exposed to hundreds of commercial messages a day, but the
vast majority of these are ignored, so ads which shock have become more popular with
advertisers. It is believed that these ads force consumers to listen to their message. But
some adult thinkers argue that it’s a little more complicated than that.
Virginia Valentine, director of advertising’s foremost cultural analysis company,
Semiotic Solutions, argues that brands can no longer expect consumers to take sales
messages at face value*. Consumers challenge everything they are told, she believes, and
will prefer brands that give them something back, rather than the old-style ‘here’s our
product ain’t it great!’ philosophy which has dominated advertising since its inception.
Thus ads can deal with social issues and refer to the news agenda these days. Inevitably,
though, it can go horribly wrong. ‘The risk is, and I think this is true in the case of
Volkswagen, that if you use images of faith and prostitute them, people will take offence.
It’s all very well if you give them something back, but it its clear that Jesus could not have
benefited from that poster campaign.’
The ad agency, however, may well have done. The VW campaign might look like a
marketing disaster, but increasingly ad agencies are selling to clients not simply their
ability to write ads that generate PR. Some clients ask all agencies pitching for their
business to demonstrate their ability to garner* extra publicity.
A deliberately shocking ad is the simplest way to get additional media coverage, and
even if the media coverage is negative, it can still help to sell the product as advertisers like
Benetton have already proved.
One supporter of Benetton’s work is Leon Jaume, Deputy Creative Director of ad
agency Ogilvy & Mather, who believes its success lies in knowing its target. ‘In marketing
terms the only real taboo is upsetting the people you want to buy your product,’ he says.
‘As long as it’s legal and the client is OK with it, you can offend anyone else and in many
ways you should. I’d normally see outrageous advertising as a youth proposition though,
and I think VW’s mistake may have been in selling a product that isn’t a youth product
with this kind of style. Young people are receptive to taboo-breaking as they are more
open-minded than older people. I think they positively welcome advertising that annoys
their parents.’ Some agency creates argue that young people today are fundamentally
different from previous generations in their internationalism, and young consumers in Tel
Aviv are closer to their counterparts* in Paris, New York and Sydney than they are to their
parents.
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As this generation grows up, the argument goes they will continue to be more broadminded than their parents and will see the shattering of taboos as the norm. So outrageous
advertising will no longer be limited to those products which target youth.
Perhaps Volkswagen was just ahead of its time, advertising to a market that wasn’t
broad-minded enough in a country that still gets nervous when Church and State are
challenged. Or perhaps VW’s collision with Catholics shows that for all their claimed
acumen*, ad agencies are less in touch* with the public mood than they claim.
*a counterpart: a similar person in a different place
*acumen: the ability to make good judgments
*to be in touch with: to understand
*outrageous: very shocking
*to sue: to claim money because you have been harmed
*penance: suffering to show you are sorry
*to take something that face value: to accept something without thinking
*to garner: to collect
2 Read the text in more detail and choose the best answer.
1 Which of the following is least likely to be one of the reasons why Volkswagen ran a
deliberately provocative campaign?
a to generate media coverage of the campaign.
b to shock some members of society.
c to show their lack of respect for the Catholic Church.
2 Using taboo images in advertising has become popular with advertising executives
mainly because
a they only want to target young people.
b consumers have stopped paying attention to conventional advertising.
c products are becoming more international and sophisticated.
3 According to the text, shocking advertising is
a always damaging for the advertiser
b always damaging for the ad agency
c the simplest way to get media coverage
4 According to Leon Jaume, the young generation of consumers like ads
a with an international flavour.
b that offend them.
c that offend their parents.
5 The author of the text suggests that
a perhaps Volkswagen isn’t broad-minded enough.
b admen are not doing enough market research before running campaigns.
c Volkswagen wanted to break taboos in France.
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3 Find words and expressions in the text which correspond to the following
definitions:
1 a public space reserved for advertisers to put their ads on
billboard
2 large pictures or notices put up in a public place to advertise something
p_________
3 human interest subjects
s_________ i__________
4 people or companies who pay for a professional service
c___________
5 try to win a business deal
to p_________ f__ b_________
6 time and space given by the media to a particular news item
c___________
7 the person in charge of developing ideas for advertising campaigns
c__________ d___________
8 a social custom which means a particular activity or subject must be avoided
t__________
Vocabulary development
Look at the following examples from the text.
A The German carmaker’s model was likened to a religious revelation.
B … if outrageous advertising worked for the likes of Benetton, it could work to revive the
image of the Golf.
C The VW campaign might look like a marketing disaster …
D … it can still help to sell a product as advertisers like Benetton have already proved.
1 In which of the examples above are the words in bold used:
a as a synonym for ‘to appear’?
b to give an example?
c to refer to a type of person or group of people?
d as a verb to compare one thing to another?
Discussion The text begins with the question ‘Is Volkswagen bold or stupid? What
do you think? In groups, discuss whether the company was right to launch such a
controversial campaign.
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Text IV
1 Read the text.
One day in my life
Three years ago, Vanessa Stein and her husband Tom took up the fast food
challenge: they bought the franchise for a McDonald’s restaurant near Leeds.
EARLY MORNING is always an effort for me. The alarm goes off at 6.30 a.m. and
then I have 20 minutes’ ‘thinking time’ to make some mental lists before I get up. I live by
lists, actually – it’s the best way to keep things organised.
Recently I’ve been arriving at our McDonald’s restaurant around 8.30 a.m. I’ve mastered
the computerised accounts now so I’m training one of our floor managers to help me with
the administration. Eventually this should give me more time to get involved in other areas
of the business such as interviewing staff.
Our restaurant is in a retail park around five miles outside Leeds. Since we bought
the franchise in 1995, we’ve already expanded the seating and now we’re looking to
expand the restaurant itself. We have to conform to the McDonald’s standards (quality,
service, cleanliness and value) of course, but the restaurant is actually our own business.
We directly employ some 75 staff, order and pay for supplies (from ‘preferred suppliers’),
take care of any maintenance or refurbishment, arrange local marketing, and so on. Around
a quarter of all McDonald’s 800 UK restaurants are franchised.
Buying this franchise was a big move for us. Tom (my husband) had to do nine
months’ training before we could even be considered for a franchise. It paid off though, and
we are delighted with this place – it boasts* what was the first Drive-Thru in Yorkshire! –
and the surrounding countryside is truly beautiful.
By 9.30 a.m. I’m ready for a Bacon & Egg McMuffin and a cup of tea. I’ll have a
quick chat without regular breakfast customers before opening the post. This brings
invoices from suppliers, marketing and training information from McDonald’s (they run the
training courses but we pay for our staff to attend), bookings for parties, or perhaps the
monthly report from the ‘Mystery Diner’.
Mystery Diners make monthly checks on every restaurant and Drive-Thru in the
country. All aspects are assessed – food quality and presentation, atmosphere, quality and
speed of service, restaurant cleanliness and so on. Staff are often commended by name, so I
pass the news on to them and make sure any problems are tackled. We’re currently eighth
in the UK league which is pretty good.
We have an ongoing dialogue with McDonald’s. A field consultant visits us every
two or three weeks, and there are regular meetings with other franchisees to share ideas and
experience.
Much of the morning is spent updating computer records. Tax office queries,
training records, payroll, etc, have to be organised. Staff turnover varies but we can
sometimes lose our casual workers when they go to university or decide to go travelling.
There are McDonald’s all over the world now, so their training here really can open distant
doors.
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The lunchtime rush* starts around noon. On the race occasions that we’re short
staffed (e.g. flu season), I’ll muck in and serve customers (memories of my waitressing
days at university!). I’ve even been known to cook fries when necessary. As with any small
business, one has to be flexible but I think it’s also important to focus your energies where
they are most effective. For me, this is behind the scenes admin work.
My own lunch is a salad or chicken sandwich. By this time, my office looks like a bomb
site* to the untrained eye. I’ve usually divided the masses of paperwork into piles ready to
tackle them in priority order.
I have to head off around 3 p.m. to collect my two sons from school so I generally
end up taking work home. I’ll finish it in the kitchen, listening to Glenn Miller or the
Moody Blues, while also supervising the children’s homework, music practice or whatever.
If I’m doing the end-of-month figures, I generally have to work into the early
hours. Otherwise I’m in bed any time after 10 p.m. I always have three or four books on the
go, Walter Scott or Jane Austen for example, and usually one non-fiction – maybe an
autobiography or a political work.
*to boast: to have as a feature
*a rush: a busy period
*a bomb site: a place where a bomb has exploded
I’m glad to say Tom’s snoring was lasered away last summer, so now I can look forward
to some undisturbed sleep before another busy day at the restaurant. Now I think of it, I
used to have cravings for McDonald’s when I was pregnant. It must have been a
premonition!
2 Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.
1 a challenge
2 maintenance
3 a booking
4 a report
5 to tackle
6 to update
7 records
8 a payroll
9 to focus
10 paperwork
a a reservation
b a list of employees and the wages they are paid
c work involving written or printed documents
d to review and include recent changes
e a piece of writing giving information on a particular subject
f to pay special attention
g a difficult but exciting thing to do
h keeping equipment in good condition
i to deal with
j written documents containing information about the past
3 Complete the following questionnaire using words from exercise 1. Change the form
of the words where necessary. Answer about yourself - ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
1 When working with other people do you focus on the work that you can do best?
2 When preparing a written __________ do you list the different sections then make a brief
summary of what you will include in each?
3 Do you ___________ your address book as soon as people move?
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4 Do you organise your __________ so that documents are grouped according to subjects?
5 Do you enjoy the ____________ of doing new and perhaps more complicated work?
6 Do you regularly do ____________ work to make sure that equipment works efficiently?
7 Do you keep clear _____________ of the work that you have already done?
8 Do you _____________ the most difficult pieces of work first?
3 In pairs, interview each other. Suggest how your partner could manage his or her
time better.
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