Stealth Marketing

Stealth marketing 1

READING TEXT

Stealth marketing 2

Everyday we are bombarded by hundreds if not thousands of advertising and marketing messages. Most of these are (1)obvious because we know that we are being advertised to. Recently however a new form of advertising is becoming popular–(2)stealth marketing.

In this programme we learn a little more about stealth marketing from a (3)founder of an advertising company which specialises in this form of marketing.

Callum: Hello, I’m Callum Robertson. How do you decide what particular product to buy? These days we are bombarded by advertising and marketing messages: on television, on radio, product (4)placement in films, adverts on the underground, posters in the streets, people handing out fliers, pop ups when we browse the internet, (5)junk mail sent to our homes or spam to our email, cards left under the windscreen wipers of our cars, it goes on and on. (6)According to one commentator we receive several thousand marketing messages every day. But it’s not only these obvious and direct forms of advertising that help us to decide what to buy, in fact we often ignore these because we are sick and tired of all the advertising. We know it’s advertising and we don’t really trust it. One genuine and honest way we get information is through word of mouth. Word of mouth. This expression means we hear about

something because other people have been talking about it. Maybe family or friends (7)recommend something to us, tell us a film is good, for example. We trust their opinion so we go to see the film. We might also learn about things because we (8)overhear other people talking about them - on the train, in a café or in the pub, for example. But now it seems that even this form of information may not be entirely genuine.

Advertising companies are to become more creative and imaginative in order to sell us things. One new form of advertising that is becoming more and more common is known as buzz marketing or stealth marketing.

What is it? Well there is a (9)clue in the name. Stealth is an adjective for something that is very difficult to detect. Stealth bombers, for example, are planes that can’t be seen by radar. Stealth marketing is advertising that can’t be detected, the people being advertised to, you and me, do not know that what they are experiencing is actually advertising. We think it’s genuine. For example you might be in a café or a pub and you hear people talking about something, (10)maybe it’s a new mobile phone or a new service of some (11)kind. You think they are ordinary people so you might consider that what they are recommending to each other is an honest source of information. But, you could be wrong. Stealth marketing companies (12)employ actors to go to places where people are and they (13)act out a script, which (14)involves talking about particular products or services.

Glossary:

stealth marketing – compra-vendita nascostabombarded - bombardatoobvious – ovvio, chiaroto be advertised to – essere pubblicizzatohowever – comunque, tuttaviafounder – fondatore, creatoreto specialise - specializzareplacement – disposizione, collocazioneadvert - inserzione underground - clandestinato hand out - distribuireflier - volantinopop up – messaggi non desideratito browse - sfogliarejunk mail – posta spazzaturaspam – posta spazzaturacards - bigliettiwindscreen - parabrezzawiper – tergicristalloto ignore – ignorare, trascuraresick - ammalatotired - stanco

to trust – avere fiducia, fidaregenuine – autentico, genuinothrough – tramite, attraversoword of mouth – la parola della boccato overhear – udire di nascosto, udire per casoin order to – con lo scopo di…to become - diventarebuzz marketing – marketing diffuso, sussuratooclue - indiziobomber - bombardiereto experience - sperimentareof some kind – di alcun tipo, genereordinary - comunesource – fonte, sorgenteyou could be wrong – potresti essere ingannatoto employ – assumere, impiegareact out - recitarescript - sceneggiaturainvolves – coinvlogere, implicare

I. Mark the correct answers:

1.

A. Stealth market is a new form of advertisement.

B. People need stealth market because of its utility.

C. People are invaded by stealth market.

D. Stealth marketing represents the entire market advertisement.

2.

A. A junk mail informs you about the newest products on the market.

B. Pop-ups are useless and they are usually considered junk mail.

C. We can see advertising and marketing messages only on television.

D. People need all these forms of advertising.

3.

A. ‘Word of mouth’ represents an original way to get information from other people.

B. People always trust advertising.

C. When we overhear other people talking we know that this form of information is completely original.

D. Generally, the advertising companies agree with ‘word of mouth’ way of information.

4.

A. ‘Stealth market’ and ‘stealth bombers’ are two different forms of advertising.

B. Stealth market is very different from buzz marketing.

C. Stealth bombers can be easily detected by radar.

D. Buzz marketing is known as a new form of advertising.

5.

A. Stealth marketing represents a way for experiencing the original advertising.

B. Stealth marketing companies employ special trained personal for selling their products.

C. Stealth marketing companies employ special trained personal in order to convince everybody that their products are the best.

D. Stealth marketing are talking about particular products or services.

II. Choose the definition closest in meaning to the words as used in the text above:

(1)obvious

a) curious b) dangerous c) mysterious d) evident

(2)stealth

a) beyond vision b) on sight c) sightly d) stolen

(3)founder

a) employee b) manager c) employer d) raiser

(4)placement

a) increment b) investment c) settlement d) emplacement

(5)junk

a) refuse b) received c) sent d) premium

(6)according to

a) irrelevantly b) consequently c) despite of d) improperly

(7)recommend

a) ask for b) request c) suggest d) require

(8)overhear

a) hear more than was intended to be heard

b) hear all the conversation

c) hear the big part of conversation

d) hear the conversation again

(9)clue

a) hint b) solution c) information d) circumstance

(10)maybe

a) improbable b) for sure c) perhaps d) of course

(11)kind

a) child b) detail c) scene d) type

(12)employ

a) fire b) consume c) hire d) dismiss

(13)act out

a) pretend b) perform c) operate d) represent

(14)involves

a) implies b) dominates c) hires d) increases

III. Find the match:

1. product placement

2. fliers

3. word of mouth

4. stealth

5. a scenario

6. to overhear something

7. to eavesdrop

8. a pay-off

IV. Choose the answer that completes the text:

Graham Goodkind works for Sneeze, one of these stealth-marketing 1 , and he describes scenarios. Scenarios, different 2 with invented storylines which people 3 . He uses another related word as well, ‘eavesdropping’. Eavesdropping is when you 4 listen to someone else’s 5 . Anyway, here’s Graham Goodkind talking 6 one kind of stealth 7 .

Graham Goodkind

General 8 that you might think you are 9 , which you’re not, you are overhearing them but you’re meant to overhear them, there might be 10 , there might be an argument, there 11 be two long lost friends. We create lots of different 12 that a casual observer listens 13 . And the storylines are made 14 to grab people’s attention much like 15 advertising campaign that you would see on 16 is made up to 17 your attention.

Callum: He says they use conversations that you are meant to 18 and they might have a story in the same way as an advert on television does. The difference is that on television you know you are being advertised to. Does Graham think these 19 scenarios are dishonest at all?

Graham Goodkind

Well at 20 end everything is very transparent, at the end of all our scenarios there is a reveal process whereby the fact that people are being 21 advertised to is revealed to them. So it’s done in a very 22 and honest way.

a. the passing of information not through media, such as television and newspapers, but through people talking about and discussing something

b. an adjective used for something that is designed to be hard to detect

c. a pre-prepared dramatic situation

d. a benefit

e. when companies pay for their products to be used in films and television programmes, this is called product placement

f. pieces of paper handed out by people in the street which contain advertising messages

g. to hear something accidentally

h. to listen deliberately to someone else's conversation

Callum: Graham says that at 23 of the scenario there is a ‘reveal’ 24 . People are 25 that they are 26 advertised to. He explains more about this 27 process.

Graham Goodkind

The reveal normally, we recommend 28 our clients that are doing this sort of marketing that the reveal 29 some form of maybe discount or award so that at the end of the day, people feel a: entertained, they’ve 30 involved, they’ve experienced advertising they’ve been a part of 31 , and then they feel actually very good about it because there is some pay 32 .

Callum: So the people who have 33 the conversations can get a 34 on the product or some other prize after listening to the scenario. And Graham says that this 35 because people feel involved and they’ve 36 something themselves, a 37 off. But of course that only works if people have 38 around to the end of the scenario!So, the next 39 you’re in a bar, café or maybe just sitting on a train and you

hear people talking 40 something they 41 , before you think that it's a good word of 42 recommendation you have accidentally 43 , think again, could it be they were just 44 , performing an 45 ?

A B C D1. advertisements companies laboratories newspapers

2. films actors scenes pictures

3. overhear oversee overreact overrule

4. unintentionally accidentally deliberately usually

5. conversation speech talking voice

6. of about to into

7. records technology labs marketing

8. overhearing overacting overreacting overseeing

9. of into to onto

10. eavesdropping listening chatting chattering

11. have to must should might

12. possibilities scenarios ways models

13. at to in on

14. on in up of

15. an a the such

16. radio TV video film

17. take stop grab arrest

18. say take oversee overhear

19. advertising film all conversation

20. in the one other

21. usually casually essentially illogically

22. unclear apparent unobvious transparent

23. the start the end the middle the beginning

24. Process fact knowledge discussion

25. said told given called

26. telling been being going

27. reveal real clear known

28. of at on to

29. involves discovers comes takes

30. were been being going

31. them him it its

32. for back off roll

33. overheard overseen overreact overact

34. money discount surprise prize

35. works needs takes gives

36. get gave got give

37. act pay take run

38. lived gived thought stayed

39. day time week year

40. about to with above

41. has bought have buy have bought had bought

42. mouth leader actors word

43. overseen overheard eavesdropped worked out

44. persons actors employers Works

45. act scene advertisement cut-scene

Glossary

to eavesdrop - origliareoversee - supervisionareoverreact - reagire in modo esageratooverrule - non accetare, nulificareoveract – esagerarechattering – chiacchieraregrab – conquistarereveal – rivelare, mostrareto pay for – pagare per..to pay back – farla pagare a…pay off- risultato finalepay roll – libro pagaprize - trofeo