DRINKOLA / DIALOGUE
John Dominic is the managing director of "Drinkola", a company manufacturing soft drinks. The research department has just devised a new soft drink that "cheers but does not inebriate", made from apricot wine but with a very low alcoholic content. He is talking to the advertising manager, Mary Peters, about how to launch the new drink.

John Dominic :

So, Mary, what do you think we should do? Advertise it on TV?

Mary Peters :

Well, John, I'm not so sure. The price of TV commercials has gone up by 30% over the last few months, and they've now become outrageously expensive. If you want prime time commercials, you have to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds. Moreover, they are not so effective now, because people are fed up with them and they often zap to another channel or do something else during the advertising breaks. No, in my opinion, TV advertising no longer pays.

John Dominic :

What do you suggest then?

Mary Peters :

Well, why not radio commercials? They're much cheaper and people listen to the radio quite a lot and without zapping. So that's one medium worthy of our consideration. Billboards also prove to be quite cost-effective.

John Dominic :

Yes, but I want tasteful, beautiful posters. I would hate to ruin the environment with some of those awful things that are a real eyesore.

Mary Peters :

That's easy enough. We can get some good artists, if we are willing to pay the price.

John Dominic :

How can we attract people in their late twenties and early thirties who are our main target?

Mary Peters :

Sponsoring. It's the latest thing and it works very well in that age range because it seems more like a form of public relations and less commercial than traditional advertising. So that's what young people react best to, right now. Then we'd be automatically advertised on all the media : radio, TV, the press.

John Dominic :

But isn't it terribly expensive?

Mary Peters :

Yes, of course, but it pays off more because so many people are interested in watching sporting events that they now represent a huge target. This makes sponsoring really worthwhile. And some sports, such as athletics, are still relatively inexpensive to sponsor. In particular pole-vaulting is very spectacular and is attracting ever larger audiences. In addition, we have an excellent team right now. Why not sponsor one of our pole-vaulting champions, or a pole-vaulting championship?

John Dominic :

That sounds quite alluring, Mary. Why don't you see our advertising agent and draw up a draft project and a cost estimate along those lines with him?

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