Vocabulary notes

• Issues – проблемы, проблемные вопросы

• the digital divide – зд. разделение на пользователей и не пользователей Интернетом

• to bridge the gap… – ликвидировать разрыв …

• brought about by … – реализованные благодаря …

• to rely on the Internet,,, – полагаться в работе на …

• to get themselves … – научиться работать в

online Интернете/в диалоговом режиме

• to be engaged online – заниматься Интернет общением

• …not relevant to… – не имеет значения/важности для …

• …how you run your life – как вы управляете своей жизнью

• …what they are missing – что они теряют/упускают

TEXT 4

Advertising

Introduction

Advertising is the promotion of goods and services for sale. It is actually a form of communication used to persuade televiewers, readers or listeners to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Virtually any medium can be used for advertising: newspapers and magazine, television and radio commercials, the Internet and other electronic media. The following material for independent reading is concerned with different forms and strategies in advertising goods and services.

These days we are bombarded by advertising and marketing messages. Advertising reaches people through various types of mass communication. In everyday life, people come into contact with many different kinds of advertising. Printed ads are found in newspapers and magazines. Poster ads are placed in buses, subways, and trains, web pop ups appear suddenly on our computer screen to advertise some goods and services when we browse the internet, junk mail is constantly sent to our homes or spam to our email. Neon signs are scattered along downtown streets. Billboards dot the landscape along our highways. Commercials interrupt radio and television programming. We receive lots of marketing messages every day. We often ignore advertising because we are sick and tired of it and we don’t really trust it. In many countries, advertising is the most important source of income for the media through which it is conducted.

One genuine and honest way we get information is through word of mouth. This expression means we hear about something because other people have been talking about it. Maybe family or friends recommend something to us, tell us a film is good. We trust their opinion so we go to see the film. We might also learn about things because we overhear other people talking about them – on the train, in a café or in the pub, for example. But now it seems that even this form of information may not be entirely genuine.

Advertising companies have become more creative and imaginative in order to sell us things. One new form of advertising that is becoming more and more common is known as buzz marketing or stealth marketing.

What is it? Well there is a clue in the name. Stealth is an adjective for something that is very difficult to detect. Stealth bombers, for example, are planes that can’t be seen by radar. Stealth marketing is advertising that can’t be detected, the people being advertised to do not know that what they are experiencing is actually advertising. We think it’s genuine.

For example, you might be in a café or a pub and you hear people talking about something, maybe it’s a new mobile phone or a new service of some kind. You think they are ordinary people so you might consider that what they are recommending to each other is an honest source of information. But, you could be wrong. Stealth marketing companies employ actors to go to places where people are and they act out a script which involves talking about particular products or services. Sony Ericsson used stealth marketing in 2002 when they hired 60 actors in 10 major cities, and had them come up to strangers and ask them: “Would you mind taking my picture?" The actor then handed the stranger a brand new picture phone while talking about how cool (attractive and fashionable) the new device was. And thus an act of civility (polite behaviour) was converted into a branding event.

The most recent media development, the Internet, was advertisement-free until the first banner advertisements were sold in 1994. Ownership of computers and use of the Internet advertising are both increasing rapidly

Direct-mail advertising or marketing is also widely used now. The term "direct mail" refers to communications sent to potential customers via (traveling through) the postal service. Direct mail is sent to customers based on criteria such as age, income, location, profession, buying pattern, etc. For example, a person who has demonstrated an interest in golf may receive direct mail for golf-related products or perhaps for goods and services that are appropriate for golfers. This use of database analysis is a type of database marketing. The United States Postal Service calls this form of mail "advertising mail".

Direct mail includes advertising circulars (рекламный проспект, рекламное объявление), catalogs, free-trial CDs, pre-approved credit card applications, and other unsolicited (добровольные) merchandising invitations delivered by mail to homes and businesses. Bulk mailings are a particularly popular method of promotion for businesses operating in the financial services, home computer, and travel and tourism industries.

Advertising is a multibillion dollar industry (more than $100 billion a year) in the U.S. In many businesses, sales volume depends on the amount of advertising done. Manufacturers try to persuade people to buy their products. Business firms use advertising to promote an "image" for their company. Businesses use advertising to gain new customers and increase sales.

Individuals, political candidates and their parties, organizations and groups, and the government also advertise. The armed forces use ads to recruit volunteers. Special interest groups promote a cause or try to influence people's thoughts and actions. Politicians use ads to try to win votes.