PrepTest 128, Section 3, Question 7
In an attempt to create brand loyalties, television(57 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(8 more words not shown)
- AConsumers over the(13 more words not shown)
- BThe older a(15 more words not shown)
- CThe average discretionary(12 more words not shown)
- DThe greater a(14 more words not shown)
- EThe number of(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If the goal is brand loyalty, I can see a reason to recruit young customers: a customer who stays loyal for another fifty years might be more valuable than one who buys for another ten. That's one possible consideration before we even get to income.
The argument gives a different reason for targeting young adults: they currently have more discretionary income, meaning money available to spend after necessities. It then tells us that people over 65 will soon have the higher average. Accept that comparison. The question is whether it makes older consumers the better advertising target.
More available money could matter, but it doesn't have to settle everything. For instance, a shorter period of future purchases could offset a higher amount spent each year. We'd need to compare the overall value of winning the customer.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to weaken the recommendation to switch targets. I'd look for a reason that advertising to the older group might be less valuable despite its higher discretionary income.
Working the answers
- A
Advertisers could place their ads in the programs the older consumers watch. Different viewing habits don't establish that this audience is harder to reach or less valuable. We'd need some further disadvantage, such as a relevant difference in advertising effectiveness or cost.
- BCorrect
This identifies a different obstacle from the length of time a customer might keep buying. Older consumers are more likely to have established brand loyalties already. If someone has settled on a brand, winning that person's loyalty may be harder than attracting a young adult who hasn't chosen one yet. Since creating brand loyalties is the advertisers' goal, B gives a reason the wealthier audience may still be the less promising target.
- C
This sounds encouraging for the young audience, but it compares young adults' future income with their own income now. The argument compares older adults with younger adults. Those are different comparisons.
Young adults' discretionary income could rise while the older group's rises even more. We'd still have the stated fact that the older group will soon have the higher average. C doesn't challenge that comparison or give a separate reason to keep targeting the young.
- D
This supports the argument's emphasis on discretionary income. If more available money makes advertising more likely to prompt a purchase, the older group's projected income advantage becomes a reason to target it.
- E
Faster growth in the older population gives advertisers a growing audience to consider. It doesn't mean the older group is already larger, but it also supplies no reason to avoid it. If anything, the growth could favor the proposed switch.
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