MarketingMagic
1. Why would anyone who lives in a city where the drinking water is clean, good-tasting, and free of charge pay $1.50 for a glass of bottled water? Odd though it may seem, this is a daily occurrence in New York City and has been since 1977, when Perrier water was first introduced in the United States. Perrier, a lightly carbonated water from the south of France, is chic. It became that way because the company that bottles Perrier had a very smart marketing strategy.
2. A marketing strategy is a plan for presenting a product so that it will be as attractive as possible to potential buyers, regardless of any intrinsic merits the product may have. Before Perrier came to the United States, Americans rarely drank bottled water, and then only when they feared the local water supply was contaminated. But the Perrier people changed that by appealing to Americans who were highly conscious of three things: health, weight, and fashion. Perrier was presented as a sparkling, natural drink, free of alcohol and other dangerous chemicals. But not only was it good for you, it was French. Therefore it was sophisticated as only a French drinking water could be. With this strategy, Perrier sold over 40 million bottles of water in the United States in one year.
3. Another example of marketing magic is "designer jeans." For over a hundred years, miners, farmers, and cowboys have worn jeans because they were made of sturdy blue denim that didn't wear out. They were simply the best work pants in the world.
4. But a Hong Kong businessman, Mohan Murjani, wasn't interested in selling something practical and durable. For him, jeans were a marketing problem and he wanted a new way of presenting them to the public. He decided to make a new kind of jeans, not for working cowboys, but for people who wanted to look glamorous. And Murjani succeeded. By 1978, 17% of all jeans sold were tight-fitting designer jeans. They cost no more to make than cowboy jeans, but they sold for four or five times as much. Why? Because people will pay more for fashion than they will for work clothes. And if the marketing strategy is right, anything can be made fashionable. (World English)
1.
Определите, какое утверждение соответствует содержанию текста.
1)Marketing strategies are supposed to sell products.
2)High price of the jeans prevented people from buying this product.
3)Mohan Murjani managed to sell jeans as practical and durable trousers for cowboys.
4)The marketing strategy of Perrier let the company buy over 40 million bottles of water in the USA.
2. Определите, какое утверждение не соответствует содержанию текста.
1)Jeans were made fashionable due to the correct marketing strategy.
2)The real price of Murjani’s designer jeans was five times lower than the one they were sold at.
3)Perrier’s marketing strategy was based on American love of health, wealth, and fashion.
4)One of the main drawbacks of Perrier marketing strategy was the French origin of the water.
3. Ответьте на вопрос
Why was Murjani’s marketing strategy successful?
1)Murjani did not have to work hard to succeed because jeans were already the best trousers in the world.
2)Murjani made new sturdy denim that didn’t wear out.
3)Murjani managed to sell his designer jeans even to working cowboys.
4)Murjani changed peoples’ attitude toward jeans allying to people’s desire to look fashionable.
4. Укажите, какой части текста (1, 2, 3, 4) содержится ответ на вопрос
How much does a glass of Perrier cost?
5.Укажите, какой части текста (1, 2, 3, 4) соответствует следующая идея
American people believed that French water was supposed to be chic and refined.
6. Определите основную идею текста.
1)Perrier water became chic due to the smart marketing strategy.
2)Americans rarely drank bottled water before Perrier was presented in the USA.
3)People are ready to pay more for fashion.
4)Every product can be sold or made fashionable if the marketing strategy is right.