Business English- Comparing Marketing Methods- Discussion and Collocations

By: Alex Case

Level: Advanced

Grammar Topic: Vocabulary

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Lesson Plan Content:

Business English- Comparing Marketing Methods- Discussion and Collocations

Choose one of the lines below and say in which situations on of the things is better than
the other, e.g. “A is better than B if… (but B is better when…)” Your partner will listen,
maybe ask you for reasons, then give their own ideas on comparisons between those two
things.

Useful phrases for comparing marketing methods
If…
When…
For my company
In my sector
In my industry
In the… sector
In the… industry
For…
In…

.... is better
… is more suitable
… is more effective
… is more cost
effective

but
while
whilst
However
On the other hand
In contrast
In complete contrast

…

Useful phrases for responding
What makes you say that?
So, do you think that…?
How about if/ when/ for…?
I (total) agree (but if/ when…)
You may be right, but I would say that…

Marketing methods to compare

 product endorsement/ product placement
 a (thick) catalogue/ a (thin) pamphlet, leaflet or flier
 a comparison between your product and a competitor product/ a list of your
product’s USPs (= unique selling points)
 a big public product launch/ a soft product launch
 a new niche market product/ a new mass market product
 internet ads/ mobile ads
 many radio commercials/ a few TV commercials
 sports sponsorship (of a sporting event or a sports team)/ arts sponsorship
 using well known music in your radio commercial/ using an original radio jingle in
your radio commercial
 full-page ads in a newspaper/ sponsored content in a newspaper
 paying an expert for SEO (search engine optimization)/ paying for sponsored
search results
 banner ads/ pop up ads
 advertising on social media/ trying to get more social media followers
 press advertising (in newspapers, magazines, etc)/ advertising on newspapers’
websites
 upgrading an existing product/ launching a new product
 rebranding an existing product/ launching a new product
 spending more on marketing to increase your market share/ accepting that your
product is just a niche product
 redesigning your present logo/ a totally new logo
 discount coupons/ free samples
 increasing the number of points of sale/ only selling in a few exclusive points of sale
 specifically trying to design viral marketing/ designing your marketing for traditional
media and just hoping it will go viral
 a long advertising campaign/ a short but intense advertising campaign
 increasing the size of your marketing department/ more use of an outside
advertising agency
 primetime TV commercials/ TV commercials at cheaper times such as midmorning
 huge discounts during the summer sales/ no summer sales
 advertising on the sides of buses/ advertising on billboards
 direct mail to your existing customers/ direct mail to all people in a city
 limited time special offers/ discounts for all point card holders
 setting a high sales target that you will probably miss/ setting a low sales target that
your sales team will easily go past
 trying to get people to share on your content on social media/ relying on people
sharing their own opinions by word of mouth

Ask about anything above which you don’t understand or couldn’t compare.

Marketing collocations
Without looking above for now, put the words below together to make collocations con-
nected to sales and marketing:

advertising

agency

arts/ sports

board

banner

campaign

bill-

coupon

direct

mail

discount

page ad

free

sample

full-

sponsorship

market

advertising

marketing

department

mass

market (product)

mobile

product

niche

sale

points of

pop

up ad

press

viral

prime-

branding

product

commercial

product

endorsement

(soft) product

engine optimization

radio

jingle

radio

launch

re-

placement

(high/ low) sales

target

time

social

commercial

(limited time) special

content/ search results

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Lesson Plan Content: