Reading comprehension 2 (units 3-5)

1. Read the article and questions to it.

2. For each question 1-5 choose one answer (a, b, c or d).

(From W.Kincaid. Jr. Promotion: Products, Services and Ideas. Columbia. Ohio. USA.)

Types of advertising

Selecting the right type of advertising to accomplish a particular objective is signif­icant in the selection of media and the development of promotional strategy. The following three pairs of concepts describe different types of advertising: Product versus corporate advertising, primary demand versus selective demand advertis­ing, and national versus local advertising.

Product versus Corporate Advertising

Most advertising is product advertising, and when used in this sense, the term product includes services and ideas. Corporate advertising, however, is becoming increasingly prevalent in today's business environment.

Product Advertising

The subject of product advertising is the product itself (or service, or idea), and the advertising is aimed at informing people about the product in a persuasive way. It is often subdivided into direct-action and indirect-action advertising. Direct-action advertising attempts to generate an immediate response from the consumer by such methods as including a coupon in the advertisement or distributing a flyer to residential doorsteps advertising a five-day sale.

With indirect-action advertising, it is assumed that people are not going to rush right out to buy the product but can be persuaded to retain the information presented in the advertisements and use it when the time comes to make a buying decision.

Corporate Advertising

Corporate advertising (also known as institutional, or image) is concerned with enhancing the image of the company. Such advertising may not even mention the product, or at least the major product, but strives instead to create favorable impressions about the company.

Selective Demand Advertising

The purpose of selective demand advertising is to stimulate demand for the com­pany's brand. This is the most common type of advertising, probably because there appears to be a more immediate pay-off with its use than with the use of primary demand advertising. However, some selective demand advertising prob­ably stimulates primary demand, too. It is quite possible, for example, that the advertising for Scotch brand transparent tape increases the sale of all brands of such tape and that advertising Kleenex increases the sale of all brands of facial tissues.

National versus Local Advertising

The terms national and local identify the level of the advertiser. National advertis­ing (also called general) is advertising placed by a manufacturer or other producer. Even if a manufacturer restricts an advertising effort to a single city, it is called national advertising. One explanation for the use of the term is that if the adver­tised brand has the potential of being sold nationally the advertising can be con­sidered national.

Local advertising (also called retail) is advertising placed by retailers and other local businesses such as banks and service businesses, in local media. Some large retail chains actually engage in both local and national advertising. Retailing giants such as Safeway and Sears Roebuck & Company not only advertise locally, but also advertise on a national scale to the extent that their private brands become, in effect, national brands with sales restricted to their own outlets.

The objectives of national and local advertising are usually different. The national advertiser is promoting the product and does not really care when it is purchased as long as it is purchased. The local advertiser is not promoting products, as much as he or she is promoting the store and does not really care which products are purchased as long as they are purchased at the store. Such differences in objectives are reflected in the respective promotional strategies.

1. In the first two paragraphs, the author states that

   1. spending on product advertising is diminishing as it increases the price of a product which is unprofitable for any business.

   2. corporate advertising is to promote the image of a company by both paid and non-paid methods.

   3. the term "product advertising" has a broad meaning as it includes services and ideas along with a product itself.

   4. the type of advertising used by a company is determined prior the promotional strategy development.

2. In the third and forth paragraphs, the author agrees that

   1. good advertising should by any means push people into buying a product.

   2. both direct and indirect action advertising is to make people aware of a product and its benefits.

   3. indirect-action advertising will allow prospective customers to collect freebies and coupons.

   4. direct-action advertising allows to collect more information about the product than indirect.

3. In the filth and sixth paragraphs, the author argues that

   1. corporate advertising maintains both product and company image.

   2. the disadvantage of selective demand advertising is that along with an increase in sales of the company's brand, it also promotes competitors" products of the same type.

   3. institutional corporate advertising is designed to improve the image of a product.

   4. primary demand advertising attracts prospective clients quicker than the selective one.

4. According to the last three paragraphs, the author declares that

   1. advertisers should combine both national and local advertising to promote a product efficiently onto the national market.

   2. the objectives of national and local advertising should contradict.

   3. local advertising is used only by retailer companies.

   4. local advertisers promote their product along with their points-of-sale.

5. According to the article, the author states that

   1. a company should combine both product and corporate advertising to promote a product.

   2. the type of advertising used is determined by the objectives a particular company sets.

   3. institutional advertising is implemented for several reasons: to promote a product, convey a message of goodwill and to increase sales of goods with no regard to the brand.

D. the term "advertising" stresses the personal quality of an advertisement and includes different promotional techniques.