GMAT Essays (AWA)

The following appeared in a memorandum from the owner of Carlo’s Clothing to the staff:
“Since Disc Depot, the music store on the next block, began a new radio advertising campaign last year, its business has grown dramatically, as evidenced by the large increase in foot traffic into the store. While the Disc Depot’s owners have apparently become wealthy enough to retire, profits at Carlo’s Clothing have remained stagnant for the past three years. In order to boost our sales and profits, we should therefore switch from newspaper advertising to frequent radio advertisements like those for Disc Depot.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.


Essay

The owner of Carlo’s Clothing store suggests that the company should switch to radio advertising in order to boost sales and profits. This plan will likely be unsuccessful as the argument makes critical assumptions that lead to a flawed conclusion.

The owner mentions that Disc Depot, a music music store nearby, began advertising on the radio last year. While this manifested in increased foot traffic for the radio store, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it will do the same for the clothing store. While close in proximity, the store have major differences. As a music store company, it makes sense to advertise on the radio since its primary audience and demographic are likely listening. However, advertising a clothing store on the radio may be irrelevant since potential buyers of the clothes will likely be attracted to the store by actually seeing the different clothing types offered. Since radio doesn’t allow for this, the benefits of visual advertising will be lost in a radio campaign and will likely not lead to increased sales and profits.

The owner also mentions that the “business has grown dramatically” since the radio ads began for the music store. While this could be true, the owner gives no evidence of this growth and doesn’t clarify what exactly has grown, by how much exactly, and over what period of time. As readers, we’re unsure if the growth mentioned is directly caused by or even related to the radio campaign. Furthermore, the writer suggests that the increased foot traffic is proof of the success of the radio ad campaign. Though foot traffic could be an indicator of success for a retail business, increased foot traffic doesn’t necessarily mean or equate to sales - just because more persons are entering the store doesn’t mean they are buying products in the store.

To be more convincing, the owner could strengthen his argument by providing evidence of the dramatic growth he mentions. By comparing the sales to the foot traffic numbers, readers would be able to more clearly see if there was a correlation between the ad and the perceived success before and after the radio campaign. Additionally, to help the readers of the memo understand why exactly he thinks a radio ad would result in the same success, a breakdown of the clothing store’s demographics and preferred medium would help guide where the store should advertise. If this information is known, the clothing store could then tailor their ad directly to where they know their audience would see or hear them.

In conclusion, the owner of Carlo’s clothing company makes a strong recommendation based on flawed arguments. In order to better support his arguments, substantial evidence on what constitutes the success of the music store, and potentially demographic information for his own store could help make a better recommendation.