Unit 10 Marketing
10.2 Advertisements and commercials
10.2 A
Man: What do you think of this advertisement?
Woman: Mm, I quite like it.
Man: Yes, yes, so do I.
It makes the product seem sort of likeable, doesn't it?
Woman: Mm, well, it's an advertisement for three products really: hotel and restaurant guides,
guide books of places to see and maps.
Man: Mm, I like the way the nice pale colours catch your attention - and the smiling Michelin man looking straight at you makes you want to step into the countryside - even though it's only a drawing.
It has a nostalgic, old-fashioned look and that makes you interested in reading the text.
Woman: That's right yes, and when you read the text you find the selling points of each of the three products.
It makes them all seem very desirable.
Man: The meassage is "Make sure it's a Michlin",
which means next time you're thinking of buying a map or a guide book,
you should think of Michelin products.
Woman: What kind of people is this message directed at, do you think?
Man: Well, I suppose motorists and tourists, people who stay in hotels or eat in restaurants.
Woman: Yes, and what seems to be the Unique Selling Proposition of the products, according to ad?
Man: It's actually different for each product.
Er...the red guides list more hotels and restaurants than their competitors.
Er...the green guides use a star system to rate places of interest.
And the maps are updated every year - u...unlike their competiors, we are supposed to think.
Woman: Yes, but it also says that the three products are cross-referenced, which means they can be used together easily.
They're a sort of package.
I'd say that was the USP!
Man: Yeah, yes, you're right.
And that is the end 10.2 A.
10.3 Promoting products and brands
10.3 B
Lecturer: ...Now, on the subject of brand names:
English names are often used in foreign countries to make products sound more 'international'.
But this doesn't always work.
Take, for examply, portable radios.
There's the Party Center, the Concert Boy,
they Party Boy and the Yacht Boy - these are all marketed in the UK under those names,
but they do sound a bit silly to British ears, don't they?
Um...many foreign brand names just don't sound quite right in Britain.
Here are a few examples of brand names which would have to be changed
if they wanted to sell the products...um...on the British market.
Pocari Sweat that's a drink for sports people,and...er...Calpis,Pochitt and Sic - these are drinks which sound quite desgusting in English.
Bum - that's a ...a brand of bublbe gum.
There's Mother, a brand of biscuits.
Bimbo, and that's a brand of bread.
Um...another strange name is Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
This brand name was invented in the USA - um...it's supposed to have a European 'quality' sound and look,
but it doesn't actually mean anything in any language.
Still, it's the most poular luxury brand in Britain despite the fact that no one can spell it correctly!
Um... Oh, and not all British brands sound right in other countries.
Um...there are two Irish whiskey liqueurs you can buy in the UK:
Irish Cream and Irish Mist.
The latter wouldn't sell in Germany, where the word Mist means 'manure'.
And...er...h...how about the Nissan cars:
Cedric and Gloria?
Those English first names sound so unglamorous that neither of
them could be sold in the UK under those brand names.
But, having said that,
er...a good product can succeed even if the name does sound a tiny bit strange.
Look at Japanese cars:
you've got the Nissan Bluebird,
the Daihatse Applause, the Honda Accord,
The To...Toyota Carina - all very successful in the UK.
Oh, er...by the way, I've always been puzzled by how many Japanese cars have an R or L in their name:
There's the Toyota Previa, the Niessan Micra,
the Toyota Corolla, the Nissan Primera- um... most Japanese cars I can think of have a...an R or a...a...an L in their name,
even though many Japanese people pronounce the sounds 'r' and '1' the same.
A...an exception is the four-wheel drive Mitsubishi Shogun (a...as it's called in the UK),
but...er...in most countries it's called the Pajero - er...except in Spanish-speaking countries where that word is very rude indeed.
There the same car is the Ranchero.
Er... many international can names have been invented specially.
They don't mean anything in any language but they're just supposed to sound attractive - most of the brands I've already mentioned are invented words.
Some more examples of these on sale in the UK are the Ford Mondeo,
the Toyota Celica and the Citroen Xantia.
But Sometimes they may have to change the brand name to make it acceptable in different countries.
In Europe, Gengral Motors cars are marketed under the Opel brand name.
In Britain, these cars are Vauxhalls - a name that most Duropeans find very hard to pronounce.
But there's a definite trend to create European brands:
um...the Opel Katett used to be called the Astra in the UK,
now it's the Astra all over Europe.
And here in Britain the Vaauxhall Nova has taken on the European brand name Corsa - in Spanish and Itlian No va means 'it doesn't go,
which wouldn't have been a suitable name for a reliable small car!
And in the USA they have a car called the Rabbit - a sort of light-hearted,
amusing image, hasn't it?
That's what we call the VW Golf, because consumers here seem to prefer a more serious sporty image.
A fashionable product like...er...computer software has to have a marketable,
and a...a memorable brand name.
And as more products are developed increasingly meaningless new names have to invented,
which nobody else has thought of before.
Computer software products on sale in the UK often have brand names consisting of two words without a space between them.
So instead of being called Page Maker,
the product is called Page Maker with a capital M in the middle.
Then...um...there's WordPerfect (with a capital P in the middle) and Quark XPress (with a capital P in the middle).
Um...but Microsoft Word is two words and...er...there are no capitals in the middle anywhere.
Now, having said all that, what I'd like you to do is to think of some...er...foreign brand names that you think are unsuitable for the market in your country.
Get together with a colleague and you've got three minutes to make notes. OK?...
And that is the end 10.3 B.
10.4 Possibility, probability and certainty
10.4 A
Narrator: You'll hear Mrs Frost finding out from her staff about a sales campaign in Canada.
Notice how certain each member of staff is about each of the points she raises.
I'll explain how the first is done for you as an example.
Mrs Frost: First of all. What about the sales literature we said we'd send to Toronto? Alan?
Alan: I'm not altogether sure whether the literature has been sent yet.
Narrator: So Alan wasn't sure - according to him it was possible.
Mrs Frost: Betty?
Betty: The literature must have been sent on Friday afternoon.
Narrator: Betty was sure - according to her it was certain.
Mrs Frost: Christian?
Christian: I very much doubt if the literature was sent at all.
Narrator: Christian was doubtful - according to him it was unlikely.
Mrs Frost: Diana?
Diana: I wouldn't be surprised if it was all sent on Friday without Christian noticing.
Mrs Frost: Eric?
Eric: It couldn't possibly have been sent, we didn't get it from the printers till Thursday.
Narrator: And Diana thought it was likely and Eric thought it was impossible.
NOw do the same yourself. Ready?
Mrs Frost: Now, how about our new sales drive in Canada?
Is it going to succeed?
Alan, what do you think?
Alan: Well, in my opinion, it probably isn't going to go well.
Mrs Frost: Betty?
Betty:Oh,I'm absolutely certain it'll work.
Mrs Frost:Christian?
Christian: It couldn't possibly succeed, we haven't done enough field work.
Mrs Frost: Diana?
Diana: There's a chance it'll succeed - it may or it may not, hard to tell really.
Mrs Frost: Eric?
Eric: Hmm, I don't really know. It's not really my area.
Mrs Frost: Now about the new product range - will it make a big impact on the Canadian market? Alan?
Alan: I'm quite sure it will, we've got a really exciting new product here.
Mrs Frost: Betty?
Betty: It may well have a big impact, but only if we manage to get enough repeat customers.
Mrs Frost: Christian?
Christian: I doubt if it'll make that big an impact - last year's figures suggest that Canada is becoming very slow sales-wise.
Mrs Frost: Diana?
Diana: It can't possibly have impact, not after last year's consumer tests.
Mrs Frost: Eric?
Eric: Well, I'm not so sure. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it made quite a big impact.
Mrs Frost: Were the sales forecasts for Canada encouraging? Alan?
Alan: They must have been encouraging,
that's why CJ's so keen on Canada this season.
Mrs Frost: Betty?
Betty: Well, I had a quick look and it seemed to me that they couldn't possibly have been enocuraging.
Mrs Frost: Christian?
Christian: They may have been encouraging.
Mrs Frost: Diana?
Diana: It's quite possible they were encouraging, CJ didn't let me see them though.
Mrs Frost: Eric?
Eric: I expect they were encouraging. CJ can't have make a mistake, can he, Frost?
Mrs Frost: Ah...no he couldn't possibly have make a mistake - I just wanted your views, that's all. Thanks everyone.
All: That's all right, Mrs Frost.
And that is the end 10.4 A.
10.4 C
Interviewer: What do you think might happen in the business world in the next 20 years or so?
Woman: I think robots will replace production workers.
Woman: There'll be less need for transport, as people will work from home.
Woman: Well, business travel will be replaced by live video meetings,
there won't be any need to go to see the client any more.
Man: Er...in a few years' time we'll have video phones instead of ordinary phones.
Everyone will be able to see the person they're calling.
Woman: There won't be any people in offices.
Well, there'll just be computers doing all the work.
Man: Jobs will change so quickly that we'll have to retrain for new job skills every few years.
Woman: Offices won't use paper any more.
All communications will be electronic, even letters and faxes will just be sent from screen to screen.
Man: Um...I don't know, there'll be much higher unemployment.
I mean, half the working population may be out of work.
And that is the end 10.4 C.