Vocabulary practice

One definition of merchandising is a marketing practice in which the brand or image from one product or service is used to sell another. It is most prominently seen in connection with films, usually those in current release and with television shows oriented towards children.

Merchandising, especially in connection with child-oriented films and TV shows, often consists of toys made in the likeness of the show's characters or items which they use.

What we call junk mail is actually the result of direct marketing campaigns designed to get you to buy a product or service. It's called direct marketing because it attempts to match you and your buying preferences with offers that are likely to make you buy a product or service.

The agency lost a $15 million account for Nikon cameras when it mistakenly ran an advert for a new product before it had formally been introduced.

The world’s biggest advertising campaign rests on the denim-clad shoulders of that anonymous cowboy, the Marlboro Man.

Despite heavy promotion, new car sales rose by only 1.7% in August over the figure for August last year.

Although the number of drug salesmen may decline, firms may still need a big marketing operation to handle the advertising and point-of sale promotion necessary in retail outlets.

Texts to translate:

48.Colgate Glides Past Stumbling Competitors

New products, market share gains and further profit mar­gin improvements contrib­uted to a 10 per cent rise in Colgate-Palmolive's fourth-quarter net income, the toothpaste and soaps maker said yesterday.

The group has cemented a reputation as one of the more consistent performers in the household products industry, as peers including Procter & Gamble, Gillette and Dial stumbled last year.

It said yesterday that net income had risen from $261m to $287m, and share buybacks had contributed to a 12 per cent increase in diluted earnings per share to 46 cents.

For the full year, diluted earnings were up 16 per cent at $1.70, and Colgate con­firmed analysts' expecta­tions of double-digit earn­ings growth in the first quarter and this year.

Although three-quarters of its sales come from overseas, Colgate's North American division reported the stron­gest growth in the quarter.

North American sales rose 11 per cent on a 10 per cent increase in unit volumes, as Colgate's market share improved in nine of its 12 main product categories.

Recently introduced prod­ucts, such as the Actibrush battery-powered toothbrush, continued to drive growth.

In Latin America, Col­gate's largest market, sales grew 8 per cent on a 4 per cent rise in unit volume, as it stepped up advertising for product launches.

European sales declined 8 per cent because of the rela­tive weakness of the euro, but were up 5 per cent in local currencies.

Hill's Pet Nutrition, the group's pet food division, showed signs of recovery from the impact of P&G's roll-out of its rival Iams brand. Sales and unit vol­umes were up 5 per cent for the quarter.

Reuben Mark, chairman and chief executive, said: "The strength and breadth of our top line volume growth are extremely encouraging, and reinforce our optimism for the next year."

The group's cash genera­tion was at record levels in the fourth quarter, he said, and its productivity improve­ment programmes gave it confidence in surpassing its goal of 55 per cent gross profit margins by next year.