UNIT 2 – INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Reading strategy: Previewing a text

 Read the title and headings.
 Look at the photographs and pictures.
 Read the first and last paragraphs.
 Then, ask yourself: What is the topic of the reading? What ideas are discussed in
the reading?

READING PASSAGE 1

A. VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Match the words with their definitions.

Word Definition

1. to engage with D A. to change your ideas or behaviour as the world changes

2. personalisationE
3. knowledgeable B
4. to be ahead of the game G
5. a consumer C
6. to move with the times A
7. a retailer F
B. possessing or indicating much knowledge
C. a person who buys products and services
D. to get involved with or have contact with
E. the process of changing something according to a
particular person’s needs, likes, habits, etc.
F. a person or business that sells things to the public
G. to know more about new developments in a particular
subject or activity than your competitors

B. READING PRACTICE

Five essential marketing trends

Difficulty level *

The marketing world moves fast. Technology has changed the way we live and the way we
promote and sell products. In the last ten years, increasing use of social media, online shopping
and platforms like YouTube and Netflix have allowed companies to connect with customers in
new ways. The number of people who go online every day is still increasing, and the marketing
trends you need to know about right now are digital.

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Here are five essential marketing trends that companies must take note of in order to move with
the times.

Shopping on social media

Forbes reports that 72 per cent of Instagram users have bought something when using the app and
70 per cent of Pinterest users use the platform to find new and interesting products. Companies
can now create posts that allow users to shop directly on social media instead of companies’ own
websites. This allows retailers to reach their customers more quickly and easily.

Focus on customer experience

When a customer comes to your company, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to find
what they need and buy your products. PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that 73 per cent of people
say that customer experience is an important factor when making a buying decision. And when
they say ‘customer experience’, they most value efficiency, friendly and knowledgeable customer
service and easy payment options. Companies that can provide a good customer experience keep
their customers and attract new ones.

Personalisation

There are so many marketing messages around us every day that people are very good at ignoring
them, especially ones about products they’re not interested in. So, in order to target the right kind
of customer and connect with them, companies are personalising their marketing content. This is
made possible by the data that people generate through their internet searches, online shopping
habits and social media use. Online product recommendations, adverts and even the design of the
marketing message itself is adapted to the interests and preferences of individual consumers.

According to a report, although 86 per cent of people were concerned about privacy issues, 90 per
cent were happy to share data about their behavior if it meant an easier and cheaper shopping
experience. In the same survey, 72 per cent of consumers said they would only engage with
marketing messages that are personalized according to their interests.

Video content

According to Forbes, 91 per cent of consumers say they prefer watching interactive and visual
content to reading a traditional piece of information about a product. And consumers are 85 per
cent more likely to buy your product after watching a video about it.

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If an advertisement is interesting, amusing or unique, people will search for it online and share it
with their friends. Live videos on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are also
known to attract large audiences and get people interacting with companies in the comments,
where they can give feedback and ask questions about the products.

SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation – the strategies companies use to get themselves high
up in the results lists of search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and others. As the internet plays
an increasingly central role in marketing and selling, it is vital for your company to appear in the
search results when someone does a related search. For example, if you sell coffee machines, you
want your website to appear when someone searches for the best coffee machines or even ways of
making coffee.

There is no doubt that the trend of digital marketing and an increased focus on individual customers
is set to continue. Companies hoping to gain a larger market share should constantly update their
marketing strategies to get ahead of the game.

Exercise 1: Read the first and last paragraphs quickly. What is the topic sentence of each
paragraph?

First paragraph Last paragraph

Topic
sentence

Exercise 2: Read the title and headings and answer the following questions.

1. What is the topic of the reading passage? marketing trend

2. What ideas are discussed in the reading passage?

Exercise 3: Decide if these sentences are True (T), or False (F).

F Television and newspaper advertisements are still the best ways to promote products.
1. ___

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2. ___
T These days, people use social media more, shop online more and choose the videos they
want to watch.
3. ___
T Nearly three-quarters of Instagram users have shopped on the app.

F Most people say that if they like a product, the buying experience doesn’t matter.
4. ___
5. ___
T Most people will agree to share their data in exchange for a better shopping experience.
6. ___
T Videos are a great way for companies to give information about their products and to
interact with their customers.
7. ___
T SEO is about making sure people see your product or company when they do internet
searches.
F If your company is already using digital marketing, it doesn’t need to change.
8. ___

Exercise 4: Choose the correct marketing feature (A-E) for each strategy (1-8).

C Advertisements using people’s names to get their

1. ___ A. Shopping on social media
attention B. Focus on customer experience
D A video about how to use your product
2. ___ C. Personalisation
3. ___
A Making it possible for people to buy your product D. Video content
on Facebook E. SEO
4. ___
E Making sure your website contains keywords that
people will search for
5. ___
B Customers being able to chat online with a friendly voice from the company to find out
more about the product
D Showing clips of models walking around wearing the clothes you’re selling
6. ___
C Making recommendations to customers based on their interests
7. ___
8. ___
B Making sure that your website is easy to use and customers can find what they want easily

Action plan for Matching features:

1. Read questions/statements and underline the keywords.
2. Scan the passage and find the keywords.
3. Read the text sections that are surrounded by keywords.
4. Match the features with suitable questions/statements.

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READING PASSAGE 2

A. VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Complete the marketing collocations (in italic) in

sentences 1-10 with words from the box. Use dictionary if necessary.

bring enter leader research share

declining flood niche segmentation study

1. Market _____________ is about dividing your

Collocation dictionaries
target market into different customer subgroups.
Using a collocation dictionary allows
2. Most companies are not willing to invest in English learners to build up their own
promoting a product if it faces a ___________ vocabulary of a particular subject such
as marketing in this exercise.
market.
Some good collocation resources
3. A custom-made product can be profitable if the
include:
company identifies and develops a small market ▪ Oxford Collocations Dictionary
segment, that is niche
_______________ market, ▪ Longman Collocations Dictionary
▪ MacMillan Collocations Dictionary
effectively.
4. Companies often try to capture market
share
_______________ by cutting prices or offering
special deals.
5. Market research
_______________ is needed in order to estimate the cost of doing business in a
particular area.
6. The purpose of conducting a market _______________ is to obtain information about
customers’ need.
7. The company with the biggest sales in the sector is known as the market _______________
8. Manufacturers sometimes _______________ the market with cheap products to ‘buy’ new
customers.
9. Every great idea needs a manufacturer who is willing to invest in order to _______________ it
to market.
10. The quickest way for large retail chains to grow is to _______________ new foreign markets.

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B. READING PRACTICE

Social marketing doesn’t have to suck

Difficulty level **

Many people regret the way some marketers offer cash or

other rewards in return for lying to one’s friends, while
other dodgy companies sell bundles of 10,000 Twitter
followers to help a particular brand look well loved.
However, the ongoing collision of marketing and social
networks doesn’t have to involve trickery or deception.

Picture this: you’re sitting by the pool at a Vegas resort, when you decide to tweet a picture of
where you are to your friends at their fluorescent-lit offices. A few minutes later, a waiter with an
ice-cold beverage on the house, explaining, ‘Thanks for the tweet.’ Guess what your next tweet
will be about? Staying at the BEST HOTEL EVER!!

That’s the scenario proposed by Marc Heyneker, co-founder of Revinate, one of a new generation
of Web-based tools that help companies monitor what people are saying about them. Similar tools
are commonplace, typically picking up on keywords on Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and so on, but
Revinate is different in that it specializes in a single vertical market: the hotel industry. Individual
hotels and chains can see how they stack up to the competition and respond to isolated or repeated
gripes and praise.

Heyneker says the hotel industry has been ‘sitting on the sidelines’: Their business has been
disrupted by the double-edged sword of online travel agents and review sites like TripAdvisor®,
but hotels are often ‘clueless’ as to how to deal with the new landscape. Revinate typically pays
for itself if it results in one extra booking per month. In its first seven months, the service has
signed up 491 hotels, including smaller individual hotels, Vegas resorts and popular hotel chains;
Heyneker plans to take on the restaurant business next.

Medimix’s ScanBuzzTM applies a similar approach to help the medical industry listen in on what
people are saying about hundreds of pharmaceutical products and brands. A company looking to
market a drug to fight a particular disease can monitor the social web to research how many
misdiagnoses are made and try to educate the relevant doctors and hospitals about the disease’s
symptoms. Meanwhile, Radian6 tackles the same job for consumer packaged goods, technology

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and other verticals, taking a more general approach than Revinate’s hotel or Medimix’s medical
industry dashboards.

Nowhere in these marketing schemes are people paid to lie to their friends: businesses use
information in a purely reactive way. All the data they access is on the open web, so any privacy
concerns should be minimal. In the end, all that this socially-reactive marketing does is make
businesses more responsive to what their customers are saying about them, and it’s hard to see
how that could be a bad thing. By reacting quickly and appropriately to conversations on the public
web, businesses have a better chance of thriving in the unforgiving and increasingly powerful court
of public opinion.

Exercise 1: Read the title and look at the photo. What is the topic of the reading passage?

A. Hotel reviewers and their influence

B. Businesses and a new marketing trend
C. Customers and their getaway trips

Exercise 2: Scan the passage and find out what these names refer to.

Vegas

Revinate

TripAdvisor®

ScanBuzzTM

Radian6

Exercise 3: Decide if these sentences are True (T) or False (F).

1. T
___ Good customer feedback encourages hotels to give good customer service.
2. F
___ Revinate has many competitors that pick up on keywords in the hotel industry.
3. T
___ Online travel agents and review sites represent a threat that hotels have no idea how to deal
with.
4. F
___ ScanBuzz helps pharmaceutical companies to know which physicians and institutions to
lobby.

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5. T
___ Radian6 provides a control panel of key data in several different business sectors.
6. T
___ Socially-reactive marketing uses social networks to respond to what customers are saying.

READING PASSAGE 3

A. VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Complete each group of word partnerships (1-5) with the
correct word from the box. Use dictionary if necessary.

brand customer market marketing product

mix profile
1. MARKETING
_______________ strategy 4. CUSTOMER
_______________ retention
plan base

adaptation positioning

2. MARKET
_______________ penetration _______________ identity
5. BRAND
extension
segmentation

placement
_______________ portfolio
3. PRODUCT
feature

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B. READING PRACTICE

Diego Della Valle: Italian atmosphere is central to Tod's global expansion

Difficulty level **

It is not too difficult, in the high-ceilinged elegance of Palazzo

Della Valle on the Corso Venezia in Milan, to be seduced by the
charms of a certain kind of Italian lifestyle. Here is the headquarters
of Tod’s Group, which has become a powerhouse in the marketing
of that vision to the world's wealthy and discerning.

The atmosphere is deliberate: where some Italian fashion houses

have expanded ever further into the realms of celebrity and
glamour. Tod’s is anchored as firmly as it can be to its family roots
and its traditional, hand-made, century-old heritage.

Its signature products - shoes and bags - are made of leather, a raw material that has remained
almost unchanged since it was first discovered, a new advertising campaign will take the company
back to basics, with a focus on Italian families and their lifestyles - actual Italian families, however
rich and privileged - rather than on celebrities.

‘The Italian lifestyle is in our DNA, and in our group, we believe in our DNA,’ says Diego Della
Valle, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Tod’s Group.

This image is especially important in new markets, such as China and India, he says. In common
with other luxury-goods makers, he is intent on capturing consumers in those markets who aspire
to the same sense of the Italian lifestyle as do customers in more mature market. ‘A luxury-goods
company has to have control of its image,’ he says. ‘For Tod’s, the thing is to communicate this
tradition, the generations of work that have gone into our products. For us, it’s an absolute priority.’

To achieve it, one must put quality before quantity, and one must maintain the group’s traditions
even as it globalizes, which it has been doing so fairly relentlessly in the past decade.

The challenge is to marry tradition with modernity in a way that not all Italian luxury-goods and
fashion producers have managed. Tod’s has done it, Mr. Della Valle says, by maintaining one key
vision: ‘We’re a luxury-goods company, not a fashion company.’

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This distinction between fashion and luxury is central to Mr. Della Valle’s global ambitions. The
two have different product and ought to have different strategies, he says. The competitors he
admires most, he says, are Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Chanel.

Mr. Della Valle says that the goal in the next five years is ‘to complete the globalisation of Tod’s’,
for which he has been laying the groundwork. ‘I’d like Tod's to be much bigger than it is now,
without diluting the brand.’ he says.

He expects China and India to account for as much as 25 per cent of revenues by then, because the
growth potential is much higher than in more traditional markets. ‘There is a much bigger appetite
for luxury goods in those markets than in mature markets, and day by day more people are coming
into this market.’

Bur as for China as a competing producer, Mr. Della Valle is sceptical about its ability to produce
luxury goods. ‘It lacks the structure of small companies, the tradition, the concept of excellence’
that Italian luxury goods producers have inherited and which they must maintain as a competitive
advantage, he says. ‘Made in Italy doesn't necessarily mean expensive goods.’ he says, ‘It means
excellent goods.’

Exercise 1: Look at the photo. Which products does Tod’s probably sell?

Exercise 2: Read the article quickly and complete this table.

Tod’s group HQ - where? 1. leather shoes and bags

______________________________

Key products 2. ______________________________

Chairman 3. ______________________________

Competitors that Chairman admires 4. lv

______________________________

New markets 5. china,india

______________________________

Objective in next five years 6. ______________________________

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Exercise 3: Complete the summary with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the
passage.

Tod’s Group wishes to convey the charms of the Italian lifestyle to the world’s rich. To do this. It
ADVERTISING
focuses on its traditional, hand-made, century-old heritage, and its new 1_______________ will
feature Italian families. The Chairman says he wants to expand into India and China to capture
consumers there who appreciate the 2_______________. To enter such big markets, Tod’s will
need to think about quality not quantity.

Tod’s is primarily a 3_______________ company and needs to be much bigger. China and India
have more possibility for 4_______________ than Tod’s traditional markets. The Chairman is
worried that China will be able to produce luxury goods more cheaply. In future, Tod’s will look
to maintain the standards of 5_______________.
EXCELLENT

Action plan for Summary completion:

1. Keep in mind the word limit.
2. Look at the title, if available, and skim the summary for its content and structure. This
will help locate the relevant part of the passage.
3. Read the summary and underline the keywords.
4. Scan the relevant part of the passage using the keywords. This will help find exactly the
right part of the passage to read in detail.
R
5. Compare the language around each space in the summary with that in the passage.
6. Choose your suitable words(s).
7. Double check your answers to make sure they make sense and summarize the passage.

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READING PASSAGE 4

A. VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Complete the passage below using the words and phrases
from the box. Use dictionary if necessary.

surprise attack key strongholds are outgunned campaign

territory casualties rage on surrender

It’s true that we’ve been deeply affected by our competitor’s

latest 1_______________.
campaign A new plan of action must be Metaphors in business
contexts:
developed as soon as possible. 2_______________
casualties have been
Metaphors are used to make a
particularly high in every foreign 3_______________.
territory We comparison between two
have lost 4_______________
key strongholds in Russia and Venezuela. Even different concepts, which,
however, describe similar
in the home market we 5_______________.
are outgunned However, we are characteristics.
not going to 6_______________.
surrender We are developing a new It is very common to use
7_______________
surprise attack which will help us regain some of our military metaphor in
business: we talk about
market share. The war will 8_______________
rage on for some time management strategy and
yet but we are confident that we can still win. tactics, and takeover deals
are often described as coups
and raids.

B. READING PRACTICE

Hello to the good buys

Difficulty level ***

A new marketing campaign promising hassle-free and faster fuel buying for customers is under
way in America. Suzanne Peck reports on the 18-month research project which involved Shell Oil
researchers ‘moving in’ with their customers to test their buying habits.

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1. Three years ago when Sam Morasca asked his wife what could be
done to exceed her expectations when buying gasoline, her answer
‘that I would never have to think about it any more’ made him
pause and think. The marketing people from Shell Oil Products,
of which Sam is vice president, were desperately seeking ways to
increase the business, and to come up with a strategy which would
put them clearly ahead of their competition by differentiating the Shell Oil brands in the eyes
of consumers. ‘We are big business for Shell Oil, contributing US $7 bn of revenue, and the
leading retailer of gasoline, but it is a fragmented market and the mission was to profitably
expand the business,’ said Sam.
2. Today, after 18 months of cutting edge research, Shell Oil is on track to make buying fuel at
their 8,900 service stations clearly different with a new brand initiative. Its aim is to deliver
through facilities, systems upgrades, and new operating practices, a hassle-free fueling
experience targeted at specific customer segments.
3. Over the past few years, the company has been developing detailed knowledge of consumer
needs and attitudes, which formed the basis for the new brand initiative. Team leader Dave
Yard, manager of Strategy and Planning - Marketing, picks up the story. ‘We began with a
customer segment study of 55,000 people, who we stopped in shopping malls in six cities for
a 45-minute interview into their attitudes, especially regarding driving and cars. The result was
that everyone wanted three things from a service station: competitive price, a nearby location
and good quality fuel – something they all believed was already being delivered by the
industry.’
4. This meant their buying decisions were influenced by other factors – some wanted full-serve
outlets like the old days, some chose a service station depending on whether it looked safe or
not. ‘There were ten different segments with different needs, and we wanted a better
understanding of each of these audiences.’
5. A focus group was set up for each segment; an anthropological study was earned out, which
involved team members spending waking hours with people from each segment, watching
them at home and accompanying them on shopping trips to see their buying habits; and a
clinical psychologist was hired to create a psychological profile of each segment.
6. The study indicated that three groups, which comprised 30% of the driving public, should be
targeted:

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  Premium Speeders – outgoing, ambitious, competitive and detail orientated. They drive
upmarket cars which make a statement about them. Efficiency rules, plus fast pumps, quick
access and payment.
 Simplicity Seekers – loyal, caring and sensitive, frustrated with complexities of everyday
life. Want simple easy transactions.
 Safety Firsters – control orientated, confident people, like order and comfort of the familiar.
Higher value on relationships and go out of their way to stations that make them feel
comfortable. Prefer to stay close to cars.
7. ‘The common thread was that they all wanted a faster and easier service than anything already
available,’ said Dave, ‘so the study ended and the launch began.’
8. The field organisation and Shell Oil retailers combined forces to determine how to eliminate
the little hassles that customers sometimes face, such as improved equipment and clearer
instructions at the pump. New innovations are currently being test marketed. A new advertising
campaign was launched and a sophisticated measurement system introduced to monitor
satisfaction, behavior and perception of the brand. ‘Fueling a car is a necessity of life and I
believe we are ahead of the game – but we won’t allow ourselves to stop and be caught up.’

Exercise 1: Look at the photo. Which company and industry does the logo represent?

Exercise 2: Read the title and the opening paragraph of the article. What could be the focus
of the reading passage?

Exercise 3: Read the text and number the different stages in the research project in the
correct order.

______
4 A. They analysed the results, which showed that there were 10 different consumer
segments.

______
5 B. Focus groups studied the 10 segments.

______
1 C. Shell Oil's Marketing team decided to differentiate the Shell brand from the other
brands on the market.

______
8 D. Shell launched a new advertising campaign.

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 3
______ E. They interviewed 55,000 people about their attitudes to driving and cars in general.

______
7 F. Work started on improving products and services.

______
2 G. They carried out a detailed study of the market over 18 months.
6
______ H. Three groups were chosen as the target markets.

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 UNIT 3 – MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Reading strategy: Taking notes

 Underline topics and main ideas.
 Underline supporting details (facts, figures, proper names, etc.)
 Focus on content words like nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
 Summarize the main idea of each paragraph in the margin – don’t use complete
sentences.

READING PASSAGE 1

A. VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Read and complete the definitions of joint venture, merger,
and acquisition using the words and phrases from the box.

form collaborate market share strengths ownership accumulates

 Joint venture: Two or more companies agree to 1_______________

collaborate and jointly invest in a
separate business project. This type of deal allows the partners to combine their
2_______________
strengths in one specific area.
 Merger: Two companies, often in the same industry, come together to 3_______________
form
one company. Companies merge for many reasons, for example, to increase
4_______________
market share and cut costs in certain areas, such as research and development.
 accumulates
Acquisition or takeover: One company 5_______________ enough of another company’s
shares to take over control and 6_______________.
ownership

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