Vocabulary Notes

hand over - передавать

prototypes - образцы

breakthrough - открытие, крупное достижение, прорыв

rush out - поспешно выполнять, выбрасывать (на рынок)

inferior - худший, недоработанный

sales forecast - прогноз сбыта

set-ups and changeovers - (зд) реорганизации и перестройки

production run - партия изделий; массовое производство

tiny production runs - производство крошечных партий товара

anticipate - ожидать, рассчитывать (на что-л), прогнозировать

4. Role – play. Create your version of a meeting between managers from

Marketing, Research and Development, Production and Finance.

The topic under discussion may concern any issue of the company’s

marketing strategy.

5. Imagine that you’re Marketing Manager in one of the symbolic

firms listed below. Your company has just launched a new product

and you managed all the marketing operations concerning this

product. Make up a story about everything you had to do while

managing the marketing process.

Issues to be discussed in your story:

1. the product ( brand name, features, quality, packaging, services, guarantee)

2. the target market

3. the price ( your pricing strategy )

4. the distribution channels ( or the outlets available in case of direct sales)

5. the promotional tools

1. “Ester & Loder” manufactures high quality cosmetics. The firm is a market

leader. Its new product is an intensive lifting and moisturizing cream

composed of rare natural components.

2. “L J” is a relatively new firm but it proved to be a market challenger. “L J” is

a large-scale manufacturer of high-tech electrical and electronic products.

The firm’s new product is a TV plasma panel, an improved and more

economical model.

3. “Nazda” is a car producer which may be referred to as a market follower. It

has just launched a two-door sport coupe economy model.

4. “Dreamland” is a market sharer in food industry. A fermented milk drink

with strawberry and raspberry juice is the firm’s new item.

5. “Phoenix” is known worldwide for its stylish office furniture. A four-piece

leather suite has been introduced as a novelty.

6. “Exotic Tours” is a market nicher in the travel business. The agency offers

a new tour to the Mariana Islands. The program includes extreme sports

and an “all inclusive” hotel system.

7. Make up your own version of a firm’s description and its new product.

6. Diamonds are Forever

Do you like diamonds? Is there anybody in the world who doesn’t like them? Diamonds are known to be the most valuable of all gem stones. They are said to be forever and their shining is exciting and miraculous. The price of these precious stones is extremely high nevertheless people desire to possess them as possession of diamonds is believed to be prestigious and a

good investment. In Europe and America the diamond is the traditional jewel for engagement and wedding rings. But what is so special about diamonds and why are they so expensive? Have you ever got a diamond as a gift? Have you ever bought anyone a diamond as a present? How do you know if it was worth what you paid for? For in the world of diamond dealing nothing is quite what it seems …

Try the quiz below and then check your answers in the dialogue between Cindy and her fiancé Philip.

1. How many companies control 3. How valuable are diamonds?

the world diamond market? a. Priceless

a. Hundreds b. Extremely valuable

b. A dozen c. Less valuable than people think

c. Three d. Almost worthless

d. One

2. How rare are diamonds? 4. Are diamonds a good investment?

a. Extremely rare a. Yes, they always appreciate in

b. Rare value

c. Fairly rare b. It depends on the state of the

d. Not rare at all economy

c. They always hold their value

d. No, you never get your money

back on a diamond

Cindy and Philip are talking after the engagement luncheon.

Cindy – Look Phil, this engagement ring seems perfectly wonderful. If you

could know how I adore diamonds! Nothing stands comparison with

them.

Philip - I’m glad you like the ring, Cindy. Diamonds really seem attractive,

especially when adorning such a beautiful girl. But what do you know

about diamonds, darling?

C - Quite a bit, I guess. Diamonds are thought to be valuable and rare, that’s

why they are so expensive.

Ph – That’s a delusion, Cindy. Diamonds are neither valuable nor rare.

Though fabulously expensive, they are actually one of the most common

minerals on earth. In the West cut diamonds outnumber cars. They are

almost untradeable as a commodity. Their resale value is significantly

lower than their original cost, and nowadays they can easily be

substituted in all their industrial uses. In fact, without the tradition and

romance which have always given diamonds their sentimental value,

they would be almost worthless.

C - Good Lord! But why on earth are diamonds so expensive? Perhaps the

mining and cutting of diamonds turns out to be rather costly?

Ph - Most of the diamonds traded internationally are mined by the African

poor or bought on the cheap from the Russians. And three quarters of

the world’s gems are cut in poverty-stricken Surat in India, often by

young children earning as little as four American cents per stone.

C - I can’t believe that! If everything you say is true diamonds should be

very cheap. But nothing of the kind! They are very expensive. What’s

the secret of such a paradox?

Ph - This secret is called marketing, darling. In fact, marketing is everything.

As Peter Drucker, a famous economist put it:” The aim of marketing is to

know and to understand the customer so well that the product fits him

and sells itself.”

C - I want you to explain to me why diamonds are so expensive, Phil and

nothing more!

Ph - But I have explained what you want me to explain to you, sweetheart.

The high price of diamonds is a triumph of the commercial clout and

marketing genius of De Beers, the South African conglomerate that has

an 80% stake in world diamond supply. By strictly regulating the mining

and distribution of diamonds, De Beers has managed to keep prices

artificially high. And by turning the diamond into a universal symbol of

romance it has prevented secondhand diamonds from flooding the

market and forcing prices down.

C - Oh yes, diamonds are believed to be a symbol of love and faithfulness.

But why?

Ph - It was the marketing magic of De Beers which persuaded Americans at

the turn of the previous century to adopt the European custom of giving

a diamond engagement ring as a token of marriage. The same magic

worked again in the 1950s when the Japanese in their desire to be

western became the world’s second largest market. And when the

Oppenheimer family, who own De Beers, found themselves with a

mountain of unsold small diamonds on their hands, they dreamt up the

idea of the eternity ring as a means of getting rid of them.

C - The idea seems brilliant, doesn’t it? I wonder how they managed to

realize it so successfully.

Ph – Marketing is the art of persuading customers to buy some product and

advertising is the lifeblood of this art. The Oppenheimers have spent

more than $160 million a year repeating their message that “diamonds

are forever”, probably the most successful advertising slogan of all time.

And even when profits are down and their share price takes a tumble,

De Beers,a near total monopoly, makes sure that the legend of the

diamond lives on.

C - Oh Phil, your story makes me feel that my diamond ring isn’t so precious

at all...

Ph - Well, Cindy, your diamond ring is a symbol of our love. Let it be so. And

love is forever, darling. Not diamonds.