Advertising

1. What types of advertisements are commonly seen in your country?

    여러분의 나라에서는 어떤 종류의 광고를 하나요?

2. What’s the most popular advertising medium?

   어떤 종류의 광고 매체가 가장 인기 있나요?

3. Do you think advertising influences what people buy? (How?)

    여러분은 광고가 사람의 소비에 영향을 준다고 생각하나요? (어떻게?)

4. Why do companies invest so much money in advertising?

     왜 기업은 광고에 그렇게 많은 돈을 투자하는 건가요?

5. Do you think brand names are important?

   여러분은 브랜드가 중요하다고 생각하나요?

< Sample answer >

1. What types of advertisements are commonly seen in your country?

Erm… there are lots of types… Companies tend to take advantage of the fact that almost everyone has a TV, so there are plenty of commercials. And… South Korea has the fastest internet in the world and one of the highest smartphone penetration rates, so there are also lots of internet advertisements. I guess you often see ads on electronic billboards on the sides of buildings, too. So those are a few common advertising media in Korea.

2. What’s the most popular advertising medium?

OK… I guess maybe the most popular advertising medium right now is the internet. I mean, South Korea has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world, along with the fastest internet connection, so almost everyone has access to the Internet anywhere, anytime. So it makes sense that companies take advantage of that and produce lots of internet ads, especially on sites like Youtube.

3. Do you think advertising influences what people buy? (How?)

In most cases, yeah, I do. Companies use all sorts of techniques to influence what people by through adverts. I mean, businesses use celebrity endorsement to influence us, because we often admire famous people and want to imitate them by buying the same products as them. Also… adverts use jingles and catchy slogans to make their brand memorable and popular… We always go for recognisable brands over companies we don’t know and can’t trust… So those are a few ways adverts influence what we buy.

4. Why do companies invest so much money in advertising?

I guess because advertising plays such a key role in whether we purchase that company’s product or not. I mean, when we’re shopping, we’re more likely to buy a product whose brand we know and can rely on instead of choosing a brand we don’t know and can’t trust. So it makes sense that companies invest so much in the advertising industry.

5. Do you think brand names are important?

Erm… In general yeah, I do. I mean, if we wear a certain brand, it says a lot about who we are. For instance, if we buy an expensive brand, or if we wear a grunge or preppy brand, we can communicate to others that we’re a certain kind of person, rich, grunge, preppy, stuff like that. Also, if a company makes a name for itself, consumers come to trust that brand, and so they’re more likely to choose that brand over unknown or untrustworthy brands. So yeah, brand names and brand image are significant.

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