10. Read information about different techniques to affect a consumer and persuade him to buy the product: Persuasive Advertising:

1. Repetition. The simplest way of advertising. A slogan is repeated so often that we begin to associate a brand name with a particular product or service.

2. Endorsement. A popular personality is used in the advertisement. He or she endorses a product.

3. Emotional appeal. Advertising often appeals to basics such as mother, love, sex, masculinity, femininity, etc.

4. Scientific authority. Sometimes the advert shows a person in a white coat (i.e. a scientist) telling us about the product. More often it mentions ‘miracle ingredients’ or ‘scientific testing’ to persuade us.

5. ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’. An appeal to pure snob value. You want to appear to be richer or more successful than your neighbours.

6. Comparison. The advert lists the qualities of a product in direct comparison with rival products.

7. An appeal to fear or anxiety. This type is similar to 3, but works on tears.

8. Association of ideas. This is usually visual. Until it became illegal in Britain, cigarette advertising showed attractive, healthy young people, smoking in beautiful rural places.

9. Information. If a product is new, it may be enough to show it and explain what it does.

10. Special offers/free gifts. This is a very simple and direct appeal – it half price!

11. Anti-advertising. This modern version which appeals to the British sense of humour. It makes fun of the techniques of advertising.

12. Shock tactics. Most advertisers use humour or fantasy to attract our attention, but these ones try to shock us so that we remember their message. Some adverts use unusual images with unexpected message. Some use serious and frightening images and can be deliberately offensive.

11. Read the texts about translations of slogans and brand names, note the problem in each case:

2. In Taiwan the translation of the Pepsi slogan ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ came out as ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead’.

3. When Parker marketed a pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you’. However, the company translated ‘embarrass’ as ‘embarazar’, which means ‘to become pregnant’. So the ads said ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant’.

4. In Italy a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name as Schweppes Toilet Water.

5. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a French pornographic magazine.

6. When Braniff Airlines translated a slogan for its comfortable seats, ‘fly in leather’ it came out in Spanish as ‘fly naked’.

12. Advertisement activity:

Advertising is the basis of any business. That’s why the exchange of advertising materials, giving complete information about product or service, leads to establishment of close business relations and successful co-operation in future.

The most popular means of advertisement are advertising leaflets, brochures, catalogues, press-releases, etc.

If the list of your goods and services is rather extensive and you have many kinds of catalogues it would be polite to emphasize that you are sending them in case of interest.

Later on when you know your partner’s interests better you may continue offering advertisement of your goods. You may also enquire for your partner’s advertising materials. It will show that you are interested in your partner’s company as well.

At the end of the letter you should thank your partner and express your hope for future negotiation.