English for fun and thought

 

Interpreting cartoons: Study the cartoons and answer the questions:

 

A 1. Is the cartoon about …..?

                      - determining the goods to produce

                      - choosing the price for a product

                      - finding the place to sell the product

                      - advertising the product

   2. What is the cartoon’s hidden meaning?

                      - Product promotion is very important in business.

                      - Advertising methods convince consumers to purchase a product.

                      - Marketing generates consumer demand for a product.

                      - Any product can be promoted and sold.

 

B    1. What economic observation does the cartoon illustrate?

         a) Marketing can’t be ignored in the modern business world.

         b) There are different marketing techniques.

         c) The focus of marketing is to maximize sales.

         d) A product is only worth what a customer is prepared to pay for it.

         e) Most production companies invest heavily in market research.

   2. What makes the cartoon funny?

 

 

Understanding economics jokes:

1) Apple Marketing

A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.
The old guy fingered his expensive wool vest and said, “Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. Marketing was the key to my success.”
“I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.”
“The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I’d accumulated a fortune of $9.80.”
“Then my wife’s father died and left us two million dollars.”

2) Marketing Two-Upmanship

A retailer was  dismayed  when  a competitor  selling the same type of product opened  next-door to  him,  displaying  a large sign proclaiming  "Best Deals".
Not long  after  he was  horrified  to find yet another competitor move in next-door,  on  the  other  side  of his store.  It's  large  sign was  even more disturbing- "Lowest Prices".
After his initial panic,  and concern that  he  would be driven out of business, he looked  for  a way t o turn the situation to his marketing advantage. Finally, an idea came to him.  Next day,  he  proudly  unveiled  a new  and huge  sign over his front door. It read, "Main Entrance"!

    

Perceiving quotes about market and marketing:

· Money coming in says I've made the right marketing decisions. (Adam Osborne)

· Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart. (Joe Chernov)

· You can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything. (Beth Comstock)

· Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department. (David Packard)

 

“You know it's said that an economist is a man who, when he finds something works in practice, wonders if it works in theory.” – Walter Heller

 

PART C. TESTS

Unit 1.