A Demo Lesson for the students of economic faculties

A DEMO LESSON

Department: Accounting and audit

Course: the second-year students

The topic of the lesson: Advertising as the crucial factor of trade.

Aims:

• to activate the students’ vocabulary
• to develop reading comprehension skills
• to revise and practice grammar (The Passive Voice)
• to develop speaking skills on the topic.

Basic textbooks: Zh.G. Avanesyan “English for Economists”

                                 S.A. Shevelyeva  “Business English”

Additional sources: Bob-Obee Virginia “Upstream”

                                       Internet materials.

The course of the lesson

1. Introduction with some elements of the topic discussing.
2. Phonetic Drill:

          1. Practice the pronunciation of the words:  

1. advertising campaign – рекламная кампания
2. advertisement – реклама
3. goal – цель, задача
4. distributor – дистрибьютор, агент по продаже
5. increase – увеличение
6. to increase – увеличивать
7. employee – работник
8. employer – работодатель
9. price schedule – шкала цен
10. consumer – покупатель
11. sales force – торговый персонал
12. executive – руководитель, исполнитель
13. persuasive – убеждающий
14. informative – информативный
15. existence – существование, наличие
16. quantity – количество
17. manufacturer – производитель
18. target audience – целевая аудитория
19. mass media – средства массовой информации
20. determine – определять
21. drawback – недостаток

II. Reading Practice: find the most significant passage in the text and read it.

Advertising

       It is a well-known fact that advertising informs consumers about the existence and benefits of products and services, and attempts to persuade them to buy them.  

       Large companies could easily set up their own advertising departments, but they tend to hire the services of an advertising agency. The client company in the first place decides on its advertising budget, the amount of money it plans to spend in developing its advertising and buying media time or space. Next it provides a brief or a statement of the objectives of the advertising.

       The general goal of advertising is to increase sales, either immediately or in the future, and to do so profitably. Goals of advertising are not limited to trying to influence customers; the process of motivating employees and distributors may be fully as important. The impact of company advertising on its employees and particularly its sales force is not always recognized, but can be a very positive effect as they can see that the company is supporting their efforts, and this generally makes their selling job easier.

      So, if advertising efforts are to be effectively planned, directed, and evaluated, more specific goals should be established, such as:

• Build morale of a company sales force.
• Announce a special reason for “buying now” (e.g., reduced prices, premiums, limited quantities).
• Reach people inaccessible to salespeople, such as top business executives and professional people.
• Enter a new geographic market or attract a new group of customers.
• Build familiarity and easy recognition of package or trademark.
• Correct false impressions, misinformation, and other obstacles to sales.
• Introduce a new product or a new price schedule.
• Build goodwill for the company and improve its reputation.
• Place the advertiser in a position to select preferred distributors or dealers.

       Advertising can be classified into two broad categories: informative and persuasive. Typically any advert contains elements of both. When a product is first launched, sales are low because very few customers are aware that it exists. The role of advertising here may be to inform the public of the product’s existence and its particular uses. The same applies when the product has been modified or improved. In some cases, e.g. new cars or scientific calculators, the nature of the product may be such that a large amount of technical information has to be supplied and advertising again may have to be informative.

Persuasive advertising is used to try and persuade a consumer to buy a particular product. Such advertising is subjective and contains many statements of opinion rather than fact, e.g. “Carlsberg – the best lager in the world”. Persuasive advertising is normally associated with consumer products and is used heavily where differences between products are minor. Persuasive advertising has been criticized but nevertheless by 1982, about $60 billion a year was being spent for this kind of advertising in the USA. One of the main drawbacks of persuasive advertising is that it emphasizes the advantages of a product and attempts to make those who do not use the product feel as if they are missing out. It plays on jealousy, envy and “keeping up with the Joneses”.  

      Once the firm has decided on running the advertising campaign it must then decide on the message, the mass media and the receiver. All these factors will be linked. It could be that – the so-called target audience – will determine the message and the media.

       In designing the message the advertiser will need to consider the following:

1. The content of the message: this will depend on the type of product and the market in which it is to be sold.
2. Who is the receiver? The message may be directed at a particular group of the population.
3. The person used to send the message: very often large firms use celebrities that they think are appropriate for the product.
4. The timing and number of messages: an advertiser has a choice between two approaches to an advertising campaign. It can be extensive, where the object is to reach as wide an audience as possible, using different media.

1. Translate the following words and word combinations:

    to establish goals, to select distributors, to build goodwill, content of

    the advertisement, in designing the message, approach to an advertising

    campaign, fair competition, to keep up with the Joneses, to be subjective, to be

    improved, to decide on, advertising efforts.

2. Find the English equivalents for the following Russian expressions:

    цели рекламы,  увеличить объем продаж, влиять на поведение людей, информирующая реклама, убеждающая реклама, главный недостаток, проводить рекламную кампанию, так называемая целевая аудитория, уменьшать доверие к рекламе, выпускать новый товар на рынок, шкала цен, экономически эффективная рекламная кампания.  

3. Find the most appropriate word from the right column to make a phrase with the words on the left:

1. to persuade                               a) sales

2. advertising                                b) advertisement

3. the amount of                           c) consumers

4. build                                         d) products

5. increase                                    e) morale

6. informative                               f) a new product

7. introduce                                   g) distributors

8. price                                          h) efforts

9. to select                                     i) money

10. the advantages of                    k) schedule.

 4. Use the following words or phrases to replace the parts in bold.

introduce, impact, goals, drawback, run an advertising campaign.  

1. I can’t comprehend the aims of your actions.
2. What is the main disadvantage of persuasive advertising?
3. Advertising has a great influence upon customers and sales.
4. A new product of this company is going to be launched next year.
5. If you want to make a success in business you should

     advertise your goods or services.

 5. Complete the following statements:

1. Advertising informs consumers … and services.
2. The basic … is to increase sales.
3. Persuasive advertising is associated with … .
4. … sales are low because very few customers are aware of its existence.
5. If advertising efforts are to be effectively planned and evaluated, … should be established.
6. You should enter a new geographic market or attract … .
7. In designing the message the advertiser must consider … .

   6. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English:

1. Роль рекламы состоит в том, чтобы информировать людей о   существовании товара и об особенностях ее использования.
2. Основная цель рекламы – повысить объем продаж.
3. Цели рекламы также включают завоевание новых рынков и привлечение новых групп потребителей.
4. Убеждающая реклама играет на ревности, зависти и желании быть не хуже других.
5. Убеждающая реклама обычно ассоциируется с потребительскими товарами и используется там, где различия между товарами незначительны.
6. Содержание рекламного сообщения зависит от типа товара и рынка, на котором товар должен продаваться.
7. Сделав выбор рекламного сообщения, рекламодателю следует использовать самое прибыльное средство.
8. Когда запускается новый продукт, реклама необходима для его ускоренной реализации.
9. Любая реклама должна быть законной, благопристойной, честной и достоверной.
10.  Крупные компании предпочитают пользоваться услугами рекламных агентств.

7. Answer the questions to the text:

    1. What is an advertisement?

    2. What is advertising necessary for?

    3. What are the goals of advertising?

    4. What is the principal difference between informative and persuasive

        advertising?

    5. What should be considered in designing the message?

8. Read the article and choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph:

A. A good solution for time economy and sales generating.

B. Satisfying the clients.

C. Services offered by an advertising agency.

D. Close contact with customers.

E. Drawing up marketing strategies.

1. Star media Advertising Agency is an integrated promotional advertising firm, offering such services as graphic design, marketing, website development, and corporate branding. We operate internationally out of Montreal, Canada, reaching a wide variety of clientele and offering a unique blend of creative, marketing and advertising and technical design talent. Star media Advertising Agency is renowned for its professionalism, creative design services, successful marketing strategies, and quick delivery. We believe in our customers.

2. Our advertising and design solutions will help place your company's corporate identity in the spotlight, regardless if your target audience encompasses the Regional, National, or Global market. We offer careful competitive analysis, industry research, and color psychology information to ensure that your business marketing strategies stand out and above your competition. For a free quotation feel free to fill out our online form.

3. We are recognized for generating outstanding results for our clients in a variety of diverse markets. We are the marketing consulting company with heart. View our graphic & web samples online to see how our work could benefit your business and its growing needs.

4. Our advertising firm is recognized across Canada, and the US, as a premier resource for the development and execution of marketing programs, designed to increase conversion, online traffic and generate sales. Successful marketing plans can vastly increase your ROI and bring in new customers. We are committed to providing our clients with unique marketing tools, custom website designs, marketing strategies and advertising design programs in a concise and time effective manner.

5. We love to hear from you, our customers, to get your feedback. It is important to keep in touch, and with our personalized newsletter you can be updated on any new services and promotions we offer.

IV. Grammar Practice:

1. Fill in the correct adjectives in each case. Use: -ing, -ive, -able, -ed, -al.

2. Choose the right form of the verbs:

1. About $50 million a year … for this kind of advertising.

1. was spent;
2. spent;
3. was being spent.

2. A marketing strategy … for the company’s latest product.

1. has been drawn up;
2. draws up;
3. will be drawn up.

3. Whose point of view …by the managing director at the meeting?

4. is shared;
5. has been shared;
6. was shared.

4. What goods …usually … in TV commercials?

1. are advertised;
2. are advertising;
3. advertises.

5. This advertising campaign … to be the best of this year by sales increasing.

1. considered;
2. was considered;
3. has been considered;

6. I wonder if his suggestion concerning the advertisement … .

1. will be accepted;
2. accepts;
3. is accepted.

7. Before the product … , you should make a market research.

1. launch;
2. will be launched;
3. is launched.

8. Can the representative of our company … at your office today?

1. will be received;
2. be received;
3. is received.

       9. We may say there are three markets on which securities … in.

                   a) deal;

                   b) is dealt;

                   c) are dealt.

      10. A special mention of the fact … .

                    a) has been made;

                    b) is made;

                    c) is being made.

 3. Transform the following sentences from Active into Passive:

1. What are these directors discussing now?
2. All automobile companies try to combine their efforts to survive in the financial crisis.  
3. People read magazines with advertisements rather than newspapers.
4. A good TV campaign can easily increase sale by 80 percent.
5. Media advertising hasn’t given any results in sales promotion.
6. Did they cover all the important points in the form?
7. Why do people often become irritated by the ad?
8. Before they made the decision they had discussed all the details.
9. They introduced the changes not to suffer losses.
10. Does the state regulate advertising activities in the UK?

  4. Insert the appropriate prepositions – with or by:

1. The firm was owned … a much larger company.
2. Although we were making a good profit, we were outpaced … our competitors.
3. The clients are not satisfied … the advertising campaign.
4. The price of the product has not been mentioned … the manufacturer yet.
5. Do you believe that the advertisements made …the help of celebrities always state true facts?

V. Speech Practice:

1. Let’s get acquainted with the Code of Advertising Practice.
2. What advertising media are you aware of? Name the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
3. Act out a dialogue between an advertising manager and the personnel manager of the company.

A dialogue

M: You are not your usual happy self this morning. What’s the matter?

E: To tell you the truth I am very much worried about this new advertising campaign.

M: What kind of campaign?

E: Don’t you know our Marketing Director is going to run a new advertising campaign to increase consumer awareness of our products, as he puts it.

M: You don’t need to worry. I am sure you’ll make a good job of it.

E: You are joking. First, I must plan a variety of advertising techniques. This advertising mix must consist of television commercials, newspaper advertisements, and street advertising.

M: Well, that is not the first time you’re running advertising campaign, is it?

E: No, of course not. But this time he wants me to use direct mail too, because we have a good target customer database.

M: May be he is right. Direct mail is more personal than other media and it has the greatest flexibility.

E: Frankly speaking, it is very difficult indeed to correctly estimate how much and what kind of promotional efforts are necessary to reach a certain objective.

M: By the way, did you consider the possibility of advertising on the Internet?

E: That’s a good idea! We should organize an on-line promotion and the customers will be able to order goods on-line.

M: To make this dream come true you should first create a company website, where you can advertise the company’s products.

E: Now we come to the problem of expenditures. To what extent does the advertising really pay? Our general Manager is fond of saying: “we know that one half of our advertising budget is wasted but we do not know which half”.

M: May be he is right.

E: So everybody is right except me and nobody wants to let me off the hook.

M: Oh, come on, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.      

4. Let’s run an advertising campaign on different models of automobiles.
5. Represent the meeting of the representatives of automobile companies “Switching over cars operated on electricity”.

VI. Summing up of the lesson:

1. Making conclusions to the lesson.
2. Grading up the students.
3. Giving homework for the next meeting.