Professional English for economists. Учебное пособие

8.2 Useful words and phrases

8.2.1 Words and phrases

beverage – напиток;

premium brands - лучшие бренды; consumption – потребление;

massive shifts - массивные сдвиги, радикальные изменения; currently - в настоящее время;

marketing tactics - маркетинговая тактика; retailers - продавцы (розничная торговля); to dominate - преобладать (доминировать).

8.3 Vocabulary skills

8.3.1 Use the letters in brackets to form a word to complete each sentence

1)Last year __________(NAMDDE) for our products decreased slightly as.

2)some of our customers switched to cheaper, alternative products.

3)We are now processing the answers to our most recent _______________.

4)(ITSQEUNERNOIA) which was used to interview more than five thousand customers.

5)The new display units, which take up less space, have been designed specifically

6)for use in small-sized ____________ (STUOELT).

7)A ____________ (VRUSYE) of existing customers has shown that a significant proportion are unhappy with the quality of our after sales service.

8)We have signed an agreement which will allow us to distribute through a

__________ (TWENOKR) of supermarkets across Europe.

9)The promotional campaign will be centered on ______________ (RITCED LIMA) which will be sent to potential customers in major towns in this area.

10)This is a completely new product so we will be promoting it with a series of

__________ (LEPSAIC FOERFS) during the launch period.

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11) When customers place an order, we guarantee ______________ (VYREDLIE).

8.4 Reading skills

8.4.1 Guess who wants to make a splash in water. Will Coke and Pepsi leave smaller bottlers high and dry?

By Dean Foust in Atlanta First came the Cola Wars. Next, the Juice and Iced Tea Wars. Now beverage giants Coke and Pepsi are about to fight another beverage battle: the Water Wars. And the market

may never be the same. The $4.3 billion bottled-water business has been divided among countless small regional players producing brands such as Alaska Ice Age Premium and McKenzie Mist. There are a handful of premium brands such as Evian and Perrier. But the biggest, Poland Spring, has only a 7.5 % share. And with bottled-water consumption increasing 10 % annually -triple the growth rate of the much larger but more mature soda business - it's a tempting market for both Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. Pepsi jumped in two years ago and its Aquafina brand has become one of the top 10 brands. Now Coke is taking the plunge.

Dasani, which Coke plans to unveil on February 19, isn't the product of some newly discovered spring but municipal tap water that is purified and distributed by Coke bottlers. Coke says it plans to tiptoe into water "to be careful that we don't replace high-margin soft drinks with low-margin water," as CEO M. Douglas Ivester has put it. But analysts nonetheless expect the Atlanta-based beverage giant's entry to cause massive shifts in the US water business. "Coke will be a big player - and fast," says Gary Hemphill, vicepresident of Beverage Marketing Corp, a New York research firm.

Indeed, analysts predict that Coke's move will dramatically hasten the consolidation already occurring in the water business. At risk are Vermont Pure, Evian, Naya and the dozens of bottled-water makers that are currently distributed by Coke's vast network of bottlers. Naya, for instance, depends on Coke distributors for 60 % of its sales. Also vulnerable are thousands of small regional players that can't match Coke's marketing tactics. Whispering Springs Inc., which only distributes its product within a 40-mile radius of its headquarters, has already felt Coke's power, says company president Rebecca Kelly.

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A Coke bottler who was distributing another Indiana water offered retailers a free cooler to stock the product, and merchants expected Kelly to do the same. "We couldn't afford that, so it cost us a couple of accounts," she says. HUGE PROBLEM? Still, for all the soda giants' marketing muscle and distribution might, there's no guarantee that they'll be able to dominate the business. It's one thing to convince consumers that Coke's secret formula is unique, but it may have a harder time proving that its water is the real thing. And it could turn out that Coke's success as a purveyor of soda could give it an image problem among consumers who buy water as a healthy alternative to the fizzy sweet stuff. "When you think of Coke, you don't think of water," notes Stephen Monaco, beverage buyer for Tedeschi/Lil Peach Food Stores, a Massachusetts-based chain of 136 stores.

Monaco has already dropped Aquafina. The Pepsi product, which like Dasani is treated local water, did not outsell a half-dozen other brands he stocked. He offered to keep selling Aquafina if he could stock it in the coolers the soda giant had provided. Pepsi refused; it didn't want to sacrifice cola space for water. For Coke and Pepsi, that's the dilemma: how to give water a place on the shelves and in the grocery bags without displacing soda sales. But they have managed that trick with teas and juices. And given the gusher of demand for water, Coke and Pepsi won't retreat from this battle.

8.4.2 Decide whether the following statements about the bottled-water business are true (T) or false (F)

1)The demand for bottled-water is rising.

2)The market for bottled-water is growing but at a slower rate than the market for

sodas.

3)In a short period of time Pepsi has been able to position Aquafina among the top brands of bottled-water in the US.

4)Aquafina and Dasani were launched on the market simultaneously.

5)Aquafina and Dasani are spring waters.

6)Companies can make more money from selling soda than from selling water.

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7)The entry of Coke and Pepsi will probably mean that smaller companies will have to change their distribution networks.

8)Most small bottled-water producers provide retailers with free coolers to stock their products.

9)Some people may feel uncomfortable about buying bottled-water produced by Coke or by Pepsi.

10)The danger for Coke and Pepsi is that customers may buy their bottled-waters instead of their colas.

8.4.3 Retell the text

8.5 Grammar practice

8.5.1 Ask 5 type questions to the following sentences

1) Monaco has already dropped Aquafina.

2) Analysts predict that Coke's move will dramatically hasten the consolidation.

8.5.2 The extracts below contain various suggestions made by different people for facilitating international merger negotiations between two companies. Complete the extracts using must, have / has to, should or ought to. Note that more than one of the modals may be possible and you may need to use the negative form (consult appendix if necessary)

1)'There _________ no doubt in people's minds that the two organisations fit well together and can form a coherent business entity.

2)If there is no commercial logic behind a deal, then you ___________ do it.'

3)'If you are doing a deal with a company which uses a different national language to you, you ___________ assume that what is written in the contract in another language is an exact translation of what you had expected.

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4)You __________ get a professional translator to give you a version of the document in your own language before you sign anything.'

5)'Pay close attention to the vocabulary that you use.

6)You _____________ try to avoid using expressions that make you appear as the winner or as the partner who calls all the shots. Also you _______________ be in too much of a hurry to conclude a deal as in some cultures it takes a lot of time to come to a final decision.'

7)'You ___________ make sure that your contract contains a clause allowing for re-negotiation in the case of problems.

8)This means that if conflict does arise then you will not __________________ go back and do the whole thing all over again.'

9)'If you are negotiating with a foreign partner, it's advisable to use the services of an interpreter but you _______________ do this. In fact there are other alternatives.

10)For instance some experienced negotiators say that you _________ use your laptop instead. You can then type in information and comments in simple English and then show these to the other participants to see if they agree.'

8.6 Rendering

8.6.1 Render the text from English into Russian using the dictionary. Pay attention to the meaning of the underlined words and phrases

Money can buy you love

Are we being manipulated into buying brands?

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.

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 biggest

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source of profits. So companies are switching from showcasing product features to marketing aspirations and the dream of a more exciting lifestyle.

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 a handful of television or radio stations 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.

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 1,500 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 cynnical consumers are the young."

Nearly half of all US college students have taken marketing courses and "know the enemy". For them, "shooting down advertising has become a kind of sport.'

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 brands dominated 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 social responsibility.

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The Economist

8.6.2 Read the text 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.

8.6.3 Retell the text using the following words and phrases

to look alike - выглядеть похожими (одинаково); lifestyle - стиль жизни;

consistency - состав, согласованность, консистенция; advertisement – реклама;

competition limited - ограниченная конкуренция; distracted – отвлеченный;

recognition – узнаваемость; valuable brands - ценные бренды; promise – обещание;

social responsibility - общественная ответственность.

8.7 Discussion

8.7.1 The author suggests young people no longer believe advertisements. Do you agree? What influences young people's buying decisions?

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9 Unit 9 Advertising

9.1 Speaking drills

9.1.1 Answer the following questions:

1)What is advertising?

2)What is the difference between advertising and advertisement?

3)What is an advertising campaign?

4)What is necessary for a successful advertising campaign?

9.2 Useful words and phrases

9.2.1 Words and phrases

to tolerate – относиться терпимо; commercial – рекламный ролик;

repeatedly interrupted for - постоянно прерываемый; target – цель;

public relations - общественные отношения; ad – реклама;

advertising agency – рекламное агентство

9.3 Vocabulary skills

9.3.1 Combine a word from A with one from В to match each of the definitions

below

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1)______________________an aggressive, persuasive way of selling a product

2)______________________ the marketing and advertising effort that is organised to promote a new item when it goes on the market

3)________________________ a printed symbol that stands for a business or their brand

4)______________________ an organized gathering to get media coverage for a brand, product or store opening

5)______________________the demographic group that an advertising campaign is aimed at

6)_______________________ well-known people promoting a particular product

7)______________________ a firm that specializes in creating advertising campaigns for businesses

8)_______________________an unusual, sometimes shocking action intended to attract people's attention in order to promote a brand or product

9.4 Reading skills

9.4.1 Read the following article

Would you call your friends if it meant hearing ads every three minutes - er, make that free minutes?

You pick up the telephone, dial the number and before it rings a cheerful voice says, "Hello! This call is sponsored by ..."

1) _____________ We've come to tolerate (maybe) TV ads that cut into movies just at the dramatic moment, or intrude on soccer matches right when a crucial play begins. In American football, referees even halt play for commercials. But how many people would be willing to have a phone call repeatedly interrupted for "a brief word from our sponsor"? Answer: plenty. That's the verdict from Sweden, where an outfit called

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Gratistelefon is offering free, advertising-supported calls in a two-month trial Lines are

overloaded.

2)___________________.They are not, it seems. A caller dials a toll-free number, then dials any other number in Sweden.

3)_________________. There's no charge for as long as the caller - or the person called - wants to talk, or is willing to have conversation punctuated by chirpy jingles.

4)_______________ But giveaways know no age barrier, says Broden. "We were a bit amazed, but we're getting lots of middle-aged and older people. For them it's no bother." He wouldn't confirm published reports that the system is getting 30,000 callers a day, but did say it is so popular that on some evenings the circuits are jammed. And what's in it for advertisers in this brave new medium?

5)__________. "Because the ad is only 10 seconds long and your friend is waiting on the line, you can't really go to the bathroom," says Broden. "It's very cost-efficient." A handful of organizations, including a movie theater chain, a radio station, a snacks company and a charity, are already running ads, which cost about 13 cents per spot, and dozens more have expressed interest. Gratistelefon has bigger, not to mention Big Brotherlike plans.

6)___________ .Then, different callers might hear different ads, tailored to the advertisers' needs. There's even the technology to play separate ads to each person on the line - the caller from the rural north might hear a pickup truck pitch, while the recipient in Stockholm could listen to one for a local restaurant. The company plans to extend the service nationwide in Sweden in the next few months, and it has been deluged by inquiries from other countries. If the (READ TIME!) idea catches on and (READ TIME!) consumers elsewhere prove tolerant (READ TIME!) of such interruptions, who knows where it may lead?

By Jay Branegan

9.4.2 Choose the best sentence (a-i) from the list opposite to complete each gap

a) Each ad has a very small - but equally captive - audience.

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