Marketing Concepts and Strategies

Directions: In the question below, a theme is partially presented in two sentences. The complete theme comprises four logically arranged sentences. Out of these four the middle two sentences are not given. Three possible fillers denoted by (A), (B) and (C) are given below the partially provided theme. You have to find out which two or none can fill the gap between the two given sentences in the proper order to make the theme complete. Study the five alternatives (answer choices) carefully and select one of them.

Information sharing plays a critical role in facilitating industrial processes. . . A strong distribution network in FMCG sector is essential to ensure that supplies reach retailers on time and in the right quantities, avoiding either over-supply or under-supply.

A. This sharing is the first step towards developing a high efficiency supply chain. B. In the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, a company's operations depend largely on the effectiveness and efficiency of its supply chain. C However, this is often one of the most focused industrial aspects, leading to demand forecasting and losses for the company.

What according to the passage is not the reason why companies spend so much on advertising?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
The target audience is likely to switch channels in an attempt to whittle away the time while waiting for their favorite program to resume. Even if the ad does reach the desired target audience, the message conveyed comes and departs mostly unnoticed and many people would have trouble recalling an ad that they had seen just two minutes ago. Companies however continue to spend billions of dollars every year in an effort to attract buyers. Instead of paying massive endorsement fees to celebrities to promote a brand and spending a pretty penny on conceptualizing and creating ads, would it not make more sense for the behemoth corporations to save that money and pass on a large share back to the consumers as loyalty benefits? A satisfied user is often the best publicity and companies can simply divide the amount of money they are going to spend on publicity of a product by the expected number of units they are going to sell in that year and share the average expected per unit savings with the consumers. Even if the companies decide to keep a substantial portion of money saved from advertising for themselves and directly pass on the rest to consumers as an across the board price cutback, it can help the consumers to buy more for less in these times of tight liquidity.
Companies keep spending so much money on advertising because they realize that the subconscious mind is working even when the conscious mind tunes out the message. Once the subconscious learns something, that information gets stored in the vast labyrinths of the neural passages that are present in our brains and like a burr beneath the saddle of a horse, the message will keep irritating our subconscious, egging us on to buy the proffered product or service. Also, with the customer being constantly bombarded by inducements for buying, a vacillating mind might just get seduced into pulling out the credit card. Another reason could be that the advertisers and advertising agencies are relying on a collective message that they send out to teeming humanity of equating material possessions with happiness. Another startling input could be that the promoter knows that only ten percent of advertising converts into a sale and therefore the buyers end up paying for the message that the remaining 90% did not heed. In this cat and mouse game of one trying to tempt another into buying, perhaps it is the advertising agency that has the last laugh - their product is selling even if the advertiser’s is not and the fall guy for the entire con game is the consumer who is paying for it.

With reference to the passage, which of the following would be true? I. The buyer is fickle and repeated advertisement is the only way to draw his attention. II. Unavailability of spare funds requires extra effort to make the customer loosen his purse strings. III. More and more buyers feel that joy and pleasure and possessions are two sides of a coin.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
The target audience is likely to switch channels in an attempt to whittle away the time while waiting for their favorite program to resume. Even if the ad does reach the desired target audience, the message conveyed comes and departs mostly unnoticed and many people would have trouble recalling an ad that they had seen just two minutes ago. Companies however continue to spend billions of dollars every year in an effort to attract buyers. Instead of paying massive endorsement fees to celebrities to promote a brand and spending a pretty penny on conceptualizing and creating ads, would it not make more sense for the behemoth corporations to save that money and pass on a large share back to the consumers as loyalty benefits? A satisfied user is often the best publicity and companies can simply divide the amount of money they are going to spend on publicity of a product by the expected number of units they are going to sell in that year and share the average expected per unit savings with the consumers. Even if the companies decide to keep a substantial portion of money saved from advertising for themselves and directly pass on the rest to consumers as an across the board price cutback, it can help the consumers to buy more for less in these times of tight liquidity.
Companies keep spending so much money on advertising because they realize that the subconscious mind is working even when the conscious mind tunes out the message. Once the subconscious learns something, that information gets stored in the vast labyrinths of the neural passages that are present in our brains and like a burr beneath the saddle of a horse, the message will keep irritating our subconscious, egging us on to buy the proffered product or service. Also, with the customer being constantly bombarded by inducements for buying, a vacillating mind might just get seduced into pulling out the credit card. Another reason could be that the advertisers and advertising agencies are relying on a collective message that they send out to teeming humanity of equating material possessions with happiness. Another startling input could be that the promoter knows that only ten percent of advertising converts into a sale and therefore the buyers end up paying for the message that the remaining 90% did not heed. In this cat and mouse game of one trying to tempt another into buying, perhaps it is the advertising agency that has the last laugh - their product is selling even if the advertiser’s is not and the fall guy for the entire con game is the consumer who is paying for it.

What is the relation between the two paragraphs of the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
The target audience is likely to switch channels in an attempt to whittle away the time while waiting for their favorite program to resume. Even if the ad does reach the desired target audience, the message conveyed comes and departs mostly unnoticed and many people would have trouble recalling an ad that they had seen just two minutes ago. Companies however continue to spend billions of dollars every year in an effort to attract buyers. Instead of paying massive endorsement fees to celebrities to promote a brand and spending a pretty penny on conceptualizing and creating ads, would it not make more sense for the behemoth corporations to save that money and pass on a large share back to the consumers as loyalty benefits? A satisfied user is often the best publicity and companies can simply divide the amount of money they are going to spend on publicity of a product by the expected number of units they are going to sell in that year and share the average expected per unit savings with the consumers. Even if the companies decide to keep a substantial portion of money saved from advertising for themselves and directly pass on the rest to consumers as an across the board price cutback, it can help the consumers to buy more for less in these times of tight liquidity.
Companies keep spending so much money on advertising because they realize that the subconscious mind is working even when the conscious mind tunes out the message. Once the subconscious learns something, that information gets stored in the vast labyrinths of the neural passages that are present in our brains and like a burr beneath the saddle of a horse, the message will keep irritating our subconscious, egging us on to buy the proffered product or service. Also, with the customer being constantly bombarded by inducements for buying, a vacillating mind might just get seduced into pulling out the credit card. Another reason could be that the advertisers and advertising agencies are relying on a collective message that they send out to teeming humanity of equating material possessions with happiness. Another startling input could be that the promoter knows that only ten percent of advertising converts into a sale and therefore the buyers end up paying for the message that the remaining 90% did not heed. In this cat and mouse game of one trying to tempt another into buying, perhaps it is the advertising agency that has the last laugh - their product is selling even if the advertiser’s is not and the fall guy for the entire con game is the consumer who is paying for it.