Unit 9. Read and translate the text. Get ready to summarise it.

It is well-known that a small business does not have large resources of money and people to carry out detailed market research. In this situation international trade fairs and exhibitions are a good option of inexpensive market research. Here you can find out what your competitors are coming up with and how they go about selling to foreign markets. It is also a good idea to begin exporting by taking a stand at such exhibitions.

James Peterson is involved in selling fashion goods. In his business it is vital to study the particular needs of each marketplace and to suit the product to local requirements. A year ago Mr. Peterson decided to export to Russia. A friend of his, Ben, told him that when he had started international business he had got a lot of assistance from the British Overseas Trade Board and Chambers of Commerce. Ben said that the Chamber had provided the Letter of introduction for him, had supplied him with the necessary current commercial information, had translated his promotional written material into the foreign language and, in the long run, had been his first consultant. Ben also advised James to visit the UK office of the Russian Chamber of Commerce.

After a number of visits and meetings Mr. Peterson decided to take part in an international fair in the Expocenter, an exhibition hall located in Moscow in Krasnaya Presnya Street. He found out that Expocenter had held such events as “ Prodexpo”, “Stroiindustria”, “Consumexpo”, “ Auto Show” and a lot of other largest fairs and exhibitions which had housed a great number of exhibits from all over the world. He also knew that Expocenter had organized exhibitions abroad, for example industrial fairs in Hannover, Budapest and Belgrade; the chemical fair in Bratislava, the fair “Man, Nature and Technology” in Hannover as well as fairs in Latin America and Africa.

Mr. Peterson was very pleased with the results of his trip and impressed by the exhibition. He understood that such visits were part of every exporter’s market research role which enabled not only to keep up to date with the requirements of customers but also to study the activities of competitors. He noted some social, cultural, practical differences which he would have to take into account to do his business in Russia successfully. Mr. Peterson hadn’t managed to clinch any deals but he had had some useful meetings with Russian fashion clothes manufacturers and wholesalers. He was sure that he would be able to establish mutually profitable and long-standing cooperation with them.

Unit 10. Read and translate the text. Get ready to summarise it.

Advertising performs several functions and any business may be dramatically affected by it. Consider the beginning of the Coca-Cola Company. Dr.Pemberton and his partner, Frank M.Robinson decided to write their product’s name in a unique way. Later, the name was registered with the U .S. Patent Office to ensure its sole usage by the Coca-Cola Company in its advertising and packaging. This demonstrates perhaps one of the most original marketing functions of advertising – to identify products and to differentiate them from others.

As soon as the product was named advertising campaign was run to tell people about it and where they could get it. Then the word “drink” was added to inform the public that the product was a soda fountain beverage. Here we see another basic function of advertising: to communicate information about the product, its features and its location of sale.

In 1888 when Pemberton was ill he, Asa G. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola for $2300. Candler was a promoter and a firm believer in advertising. Thousands of coupons with the offer of a complimentary glass of Coca-Cola were printed and distributed. People who received free coupons tried the product and then tried it again. That’s another reason for advertising: to persuade consumers to try new products.

After more people tried the soft drink and liked it, it tended to be in great demand. The product was bought by more pharmacies to sell to their customers. Stimulating the distribution of a product is yet another function of advertising.

Up to that time, Coca-Cola was sold only at soda fountains. One of the many purposes of advertising, though, is to increase product usage. In 1889, the first Coca-Cola bottling plant was opened in Tennessee. The second was opened the following year in Atlanta. Now people could buy bottles of Coke to take with them and to enjoy at home.

In 1916 a famous bottle with a distinctive contour design was introduced. This helped to identify Coke and to differentiate it from competitors so extensively that the bottle was registered as a trade mark with the U.S. Patent Office.

For more than a hundred years the media has been used by Coca-Cola to communicate advertising messages to mass audience. The purpose is to satisfy the most important function of advertising: to lower the cost of sales.

From this brief history of the Coca-Cola Company, we can see that advertising performs a variety of functions. Advertising also plays an interesting and an important role in our economy and society.