Reading Comprehension

As Internet marketing has matured, it has driven two trends: a narrower focus on pitching specific consumer groups and a more robust effort to measure the outcomes of marketing campaigns. In the pre-Internet world, advertisers were content to pay for television commercials whose audience was relatively broad and whose effect was not easily quantifiable. While a company might use viewership ratings to get general data about the size and demographics of the audience for its commercials, there was no way to measure the extent to which these commercials translated into actual sales.

In contrast, many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. For example, pay-per-click search engines allow companies to pay for small text advertisements that are displayed only when users search for specific words relevant to the products and services sold by that company. A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company's website, thereby ensuring that the company's advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer's online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made.

Though hailed as more cost-effective, Internet advertising has its limits. Proponents of print media argue that newspaper ads more effectively promote brand awareness and thereby provide better value. Further, fraud, intense competition, and the rise of ancillary services-such as firms that companies must hire to navigate complex web-tracking tools-render Internet marketing more costly than some companies realize.

Q - 2. The author of the passage would be most likely to
agree with which of the following statements?
A Companies should invest their marketing dollars only
in campaigns that can target very specific consumer
groups.
B Traditional advertising outlets are usually not worth
the cost for large companies.
C Companies can significantly decrease their overall
marketing expenditures by shifting to the use of payper-
click search engines.
D For companies that place a premium on precisely
measuring the return on their advertising investment,
Internet ads will likely be more effective than
traditional outlets.
E Contrary to popular belief, advertising in traditional
outlets is actually less expensive than advertising on
the Internet.

Please explain your reasoning

I think the answer should be D.
The whole passage talks about advertisement expenses. The two advertisement type discussed are television advertisement(traditional advertisement/traditional advertisement outlet)and the internet based advertisement. The passage also discusses which is better in the sense, results of which advertisement can be well tracked.

A.THE passage has never shown any inclination towards targeting any specific consumer group. This word only appears in the first sentence of first two paragraphs. Also, the answer uses the word very specific which I believe is a bit strong.

B.This information is not suggested in the passage. The passage does not talk about large companies nor the cost of traditional advertisement.

C.I don't like the use of the word "significantly". Also the discussion under the passage is not about cost effective advertisement(though the first sentence of the last para states this info) but about advertisement that can be tracked.

D.The best choice IMO. The first passage says that traditional advertisement don't allow tracking results effectively. Second says internet based advertisement does allow to a certain extent.
Read these lines.
->thereby ensuring that the company's advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings
-> using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer's online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made

The last para just lists the ill effects of advertising through the Internet, which may be COSTLY SOME TIMES

As Internet marketing has matured, it has driven two trends: a narrower focus on pitching specific consumer groups and a more robust effort to measure the outcomes of marketing campaigns. In the pre-Internet world, advertisers were content to pay for television commercials whose audience was relatively broad and whose effect was not easily quantifiable. While a company might use viewership ratings to get general data about the size and demographics of the audience for its commercials, there was no way to measure the extent to which these commercials translated into actual sales.

In contrast, many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. For example, pay-per-click search engines allow companies to pay for small text advertisements that are displayed only when users search for specific words relevant to the products and services sold by that company. A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company's website, thereby ensuring that the company's advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer's online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made.

Though hailed as more cost-effective, Internet advertising has its limits. Proponents of print media argue that newspaper ads more effectively promote brand awareness and thereby provide better value. Further, fraud, intense competition, and the rise of ancillary services-such as firms that companies must hire to navigate complex web-tracking tools-render Internet marketing more costly than some companies realize.

Q - 2. The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?

A Companies should invest their marketing dollars only in campaigns that can target very specific consumer groups.

Pssg never says what companies should be doing - its just presenting the facts. It mentions pros-cons of traditional and targeted advertising.

B Traditional advertising outlets are usually not worth the cost for large companies.

In the last para, author mentions benefit of traditional adver, but never mentions that traditional adver is better for a type of companies

C Companies can significantly decrease their overall marketing expenditures by shifting to the use of payper-click search engines.

2nd para, author says "pay-per-click search engines" allow targeting specific groups; its also mentions in the last line (and also in the last line of last para) companies need sophisticated tools for the same...meaning additional cost. Overall it mentions that companies can decrease their overall marketing expenditures (definitely NOT SIGNIFICANTLY)

D For companies that place a premium on precisely measuring the return on their advertising investment, Internet ads will likely be more effective than traditional outlets.

Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments. NOTE, QUANTIFY (option says MEASURING). This sentence confirms D

E Contrary to popular belief, advertising in traditional outlets is actually less expensive than advertising on the Internet.

Pssg mentions comparison of costs btn traditional and internet-based compaigns. It just mentions pros-cons of each. We do have limited clarity of cost if we combines the cost attached to each pros-cons for each of the adver methods

IMO D

This is the time of marketing and many companies are now moving their marketing dollars away from traditional advertising outlets towards Internet-based campaigns that can target specific consumer groups and quantify the return on marketing investments.
Organo Gold

Internet promoting consisted largely of getting a web site or inserting banner ads on different websites. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, there are a lot of corporations telling you that you just will create a fortune overnight on the net and who attempt to sell you some sort of "Internet marketing".

I would like to prefer the answer D of the author. Because, internet marketing has become very popular and effective recently. Here, anyone can promote his product among a large number of people globally using various ways. It's costs lower than traditional ads.

Q - 2. The author of the passage would be most likely to
agree with which of the following statements?
A Companies should invest their marketing dollars only
in campaigns that can target very specific consumer
groups.
B Traditional advertising outlets are usually not worth
the cost for large companies.
C Companies can significantly decrease their overall
marketing expenditures by shifting to the use of payper-
click search engines.
D For companies that place a premium on precisely
measuring the return on their advertising investment,
Internet ads will likely be more effective than
traditional outlets. - This is a supporting idea Question. We need to identify specific points in the passage that supports this answer choice the best. the line "A company is charged only when a consumer clicks on the ad and is directed to the company's website, thereby ensuring that the company's advertising dollars are spent capturing consumers that demonstrate some interest in its offerings. Further, using sophisticated web-analytic technology, companies can track a consumer's online behavior and determine the exact amount of any online purchases made" does esactly this. This is the most appropriate answer
E Contrary to popular belief, advertising in traditional
outlets is actually less expensive than advertising on
the Internet.