Are you Aware of all these Tricks?

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You are going to read about the manufacturers' tricks to sell their products.

a) Match the words from the text below with their synonyms or explanations.

1) obviously a) a type of product made by a particular company

2) a customer b) to change

3) to foot the bill c) things that are expensive and valuable but not essential

4) cost-effective d) always

5) to prosecute e) medicine that eases physical suffering

6) luxury f) at the end of the period of time

7)enchanting g) to take to court

8) to promote h) to offer a product for sale

9) a brand i) clearly

10) eventually j) to pay for goods or services

11) to market k) a person who buys things

12) a pain killer l) giving the best possible profit in comparison with the money that is spent

13) to vary m) to form an idea of the cost, size and value of something

14) invariably o) attractive and pleasing

15) to estimate p) to help to sell a product by making it popular

b) Read about the manufacturers' tricks to sell their products.

Shopping is not as simple as you may think! There are all sorts of psychological and eye-deceiving tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf. Colouring, for example, varies according to what the manufacturers are trying to sell. Most cosmetics are packaged in delicate pastel colours such as pink. Health foods come in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours. Ice cream packets are often blue because we identify that as a cool colour; and luxury goods, like expensive chocolates, are invariably gold or silver.

When a brand of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that pastel colours turned the customer off because they made the product look weak and ineffective. Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package – blue because we associate it with safety, and white for calmness.

The size of a product can attract a shopper. But quite often a jar or bottle doesn't contain as much as it appears to. Recently a cosmetics company was successfully prosecuted for marketing a jar of make-up which gave the impression it contained far more than it actually did.

All the research behind the wording and presentation of packaging is obviously expensive, and there are no prizes for guessing that it is the customer who foots the bill. However, there are signs of revolution against fancy packaging: The Body Shop, for instance, sells its products in containers with handwritten labels. These bottles are practical as well as cost-effective and can be used again.

It is estimated that the more established cosmetics companies spend, on average, 70 per cent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!

The most successful manufacturers know that it's not enough to have a good product. The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years have used enchanting little girls to promote their goods, summed it up. " Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it, " he said.

c) Answer the questions below.

1. Do you use any cosmetics? If yes, what kinds? What are your favourite brands?

2. Describe the packaging of the soap you usually use. What colour is it? What patterns or drawings has it got?

3. What is your favourite ice-cream? What colour is its packaging?

4. When you are buying some product what do you first pay attention to: its colour, size or label?

5. Do you usually keep or throw away empty containers if you like their design or colour? If you keep them, what for?

6. How much does the packaging influence your choice in buying some products?

7. Is your attitude to advertising positive or negative? Explain why.

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