PrepTest 126, Section 1, Question 13
People aged 46 to 55 spend more money(69 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(11 more words not shown)
- AThe expense of(19 more words not shown)
- BAdvertising slots during(19 more words not shown)
- CWhen television executives(21 more words not shown)
- DThose who make(16 more words not shown)
- EWhen companies advertise(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why aim the advertisements at younger people if the bigger spenders are forty-six to fifty-five?
One possibility is that the younger viewers influence someone else's purchases. A child sees a bike on television, asks for it, and a parent buys it. The advertisement reaches the child even though the spending comes from the parent.
Another possibility is that older buyers have settled into their habits. Imagine choosing a coffee brand in your twenties and sticking with it for decades. You might spend plenty on coffee, but advertising a rival brand to you could accomplish little. A younger customer whose preferences are still developing might be more valuable to reach.
What we’re looking for
The question asks us to explain the puzzle. Either of those possibilities could help: young viewers might influence other people's spending, or they might be easier to persuade themselves. We need to explain the advertisers' focus on that age group while accepting that the older group spends more per person.
Working the answers
- A
This explains why companies need to choose their audience carefully. It doesn't explain why people twenty-five and under would be the right choice despite the older group's greater spending. The key question—what makes the young audience valuable to advertisers—remains unanswered.
- B
Different prices for different kinds of shows don't explain the preference we're investigating. We'd still want to know why advertisers would value one audience more than another. Also, the ages of a show's leading characters don't by themselves establish the ages of its viewers.
- C
This describes another decision that favors a young audience: which shows to renew. It doesn't explain why the advertising decision-makers consider that audience so valuable. Repeating the pattern in programming decisions doesn't supply its reason.
- DCorrect
This fits the buying-habits prediction. The decision-makers believe people over twenty-five almost never change what they buy. On that belief, reaching an older person who spends a lot could still have little value if the advertisement won't change the person's purchases. Younger viewers could be more worth persuading even though they currently spend less.
Notice whose belief matters. We're explaining the advertising decisions. A belief about fixed habits can make those decisions understandable without requiring us to establish that every older person's preferences really are fixed.
- E
Advertising to older people in print doesn't explain why television advertising is aimed at younger people. We'd need a reason the audiences respond differently in those settings. E gives us another pattern of targeting, but no explanation for the television pattern.
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