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UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS

Peperiksaan Semester Pertama
Sidang Akademik 2014/2015

9 Januari 2015

UVW 313 - English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

[Bahasa Inggeris Akademik]
Masa: 3 Jam

Please make sure that this question paper has TWELVE (12) pri~~yd pages including
this front page before you start answering. .....
[Silo pastikan leertas soa/an ini mengandungl TWELVE (12) muka surat bercetak termasuk muka
hadapan sebe/um anda mula menjawab soa/an.]

This question paper has TWO (2) sections. Answer ALL QUESTIONS in the
ANSWER BOOKLET provided to you.
[Kertas soa/an ini mengandungi duo (2) bahagian. Jawab SEMUA soa/an di dolam BUKU
JAWAPANyang disediakan.]

Section I Reading Comprehension (Pemahaman)

Section II Writing (Penulisan)

DO NOT TURN mE PAGES UNTIL YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO DO SO

[JANGAN BUKA KERT AS SOALAN INI SEHINGGA DIBERI ARABAN]

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SECTION A: READING COMPREHENSION (30 MARKS)

Read the following articles and answer ALL the questions in the ANSWER
BOOKLET provided.

Article 1: (16 marks)

Viral Marketing: A Dangerous Marketing Tool

I Started in the 1990s, the Internet became accessible for commercial
purposes which created a flood of interesting and innovative ways to
provide and enhance customer values. This also helped to shape the
implementation of modem marketing. Due to the vast popularity of
internet, viral marketing is essentially interchangeable with word-of-mouth 5
advertising.

II The concept of viral marketing is described as any strategy that encourages

individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, thus creating the
potential for exponential growth in the exposure and influence of the
message. Marketing expertise defines viral marketing as a technique which 10
utilizes the Internet to transmit and spread messages among individuals
who will filter and forward the messages to their peers, who may be
potentially interested in the message.

III Amusingly, some marketers describe viral marketing as advertising that

propagates itself in the same way as viruses. Although e-Commerce experts 15
highlight that viral marketing can be a very useful marketing strategy to
companies, viral marketing can also bring drawbacks and failures to the
marketing strategy as well as to the companies.

IV One of the shortcomings of the viral marketing strategy is it can backfire

and create negative image to the companies. Companies may fail to 20
consider how opposing audiences and their competitors could tarnish their

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brand image. A perfect example of company that made a failed attempt at

creating an effective viral marketing strategy is Chevrolet.

V In Chevrolet "Create your own Tahoe Commercial", Chevrolet failed to

consider the potentially negative consequences of user-generated 25
advertising, when they provided users an uncensored platform to
communicate their opinion of Chevrolet. Specifically, the campaign
consisted of a contest in which participants competed to create the best new
advertisement for the Tahoe. Users were able to select a background music
and video footage from a predetermined assortment to create their very 30
own 30-second advertisement.

VI Chevrolet's goal of creating the contest was to get users to share their fun
advertisements with friends and family on social media sites, such as
YouTube, thus strengthening the Chevrolet brand online. Chevrolet
assumed participants would write all positive words about the Chevrolet 35
Tahoe. However, many users used the platform as a means to deteriorate
the integrity of the brand. For instance, one disgruntled user generated an
advertisement that stated, 'The World Will Be Better Without You,
Chevrolet Tahoe.'

VII The next limitation that can arise due to the implementation of viral 40
marketing strategy is that it raises several ethical considerations. The first
and most common concern is termed spam. What initially begins as people
forwarding interesting or pertinent email to their friends will tum into
companies manipulating mail servers to transmit their messages to mass,
uninterested audiences. Some consumers may receive the same message 45
more than once and it becomes labeled as spam or junk mail. Thus, when
companies' messages become spam, their reputation and relationship with
customers are at stake.

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VIII Another threat that viral marketing poses is on a person's right to privacy.
As advertisers expand their use of viral marketing, consumers get better at 50
detecting marketing ploys than they were able to in the past. Hence, many
consumers begin to feel used by advertisers, and companies may in turn
lose their integrity from the perspective of their most significant audience,
their consumers.

IX Last but not least, the disadvantage of viral marketing strategy is that it can 55
be challenging for marketers to create content that is interesting enough to
generate a buzz on a consistent basis. We are all exposed to so much
Internet noise that it can be difficult for people to determine which
messages they should pay attention to. One of the primary characteristics of
a successful viral marketing campaign is that the message evokes high- 60
arousal by being especially interesting, surprising, or humorous. Thus, in
order to be successful, marketers must continuously be able to generate
content that is outside of the box, which can be a difficult and taxing task.

X In addition, effective viral marketing campaigns can sometimes be easily

mimicked by competitors. Therefore, in certain circumstances, companies' 65
viral marketing strategies do not provide them a sustainable competitive
advantage.

XI As a rather modem form of advertising, the opportunities that surround the

use of viral marketing are boundless. Nevertheless, there are a few
disadvantages of implementing the viral marketing strategy. Companies' 70
reputation and success are at stake when the companies employ viral
marketing strategies as the problematic nature of the strategies lie in the
freedom that are given to the users and the competitors. Besides that, viral
marketing can threaten consumers' privacy with spamming issues.
Moreover, viral marketing is inexpensive and expansive in its reach, but 75
simultaneously. viral marketing campaigns can be easily copied by

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competitors and lead to negative public relations just as easily as it can

generate positive word-of-mouth for participating companies.

Adapted from: Yusufbin Ibrahim

Edward Louis Cruz
Viral marketing: A dangerous marketing tool
South African Journal ofInfonnation Management
VoI.4(2) June 2002
Page 120-132

1. What do these following words in the article refer to?

a) This (line 3)

b) their (line 32)

c) it (line 46)

d) its (line 75)

(2 marks)

2. What do these following words mean as they are used in the article?

a) exponential (line 9)

b) deteriorate (line 36)

c) ploys (line 51)

d) taxing (line 63)

(2 marks)

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3. Why is viral marketing campaign easily mimicked by competitors? Give two

reasons.
(2 marks)

4. In your opinion, why must viral marketing advertisement be interesting to

ensure the success of the strategy? Give two reasons.
(2 marks)

5. Identify the writer's tone and purpose for this statement:

'The World Will Be Better Without You, Chevrolet Tahoe.' (line 38-39)

(2 marks)

6. What will happen to companies when their integrity is questioned by their

consumers? Provide two consequences.

(2 marks)

7. According to the article, write F if the statement is a FACT and 0 if the

statement is an OPINION.

a) Consumers are better at detecting marketing ploys than they were in the
past.

b) Viral marketing can also bring drawbacks and failures to the marketing
strategy as well as to companies.

c) A perfect example of company that made a failed attempt at creating an

effective viral marketing strategy is Chevrolet.

d) Chevrolet's goal of creating the contest was to get users to share their fun
advertisements with friends and family on social media sites.
(4 marks)

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Article 2: (14 marks)

Viral Marketing is an Online Spin to Traditional Marketing

I Marketers have been using electronic tools for many years, but Internet
and other new technologies have created various types of effective
marketing strategies. Not only competing with the fundamental basics of
traditional marketing, they have also helped to shape the practice of
modem marketing. Bearing in mind that the big advances in business 5
came from the early recognition of doing things in new ways, marketers
should realize that new technologies can quickly create not only new
markets, but also new ways to satisfy those markets.

II One of the current marketing strategies is known as viral marketing, a

concept that refers to a message that is being spread to other people as 10
the first recipient liked it and chose to send the message to others, by
using what some people prefer to call 'word-of-mouse' communication.
This is the equivalent of word-of-mouth communication in off-line
marketing. Although viral marketing strategies may have a negative
connotation due to the word 'viral', there are numerous advantages for 15
companies when they adopt viral marketing strategy in their advertising
campaigns.

III Viral marketing helps companies to reach customers easily. It has the
ability to reach audiences at a faster rate than any other form of
advertisements. While it may take weeks for a targeted consumer to see 20
a television advertisement, or days to receive a catalogue by mail, it only
takes seconds for a targeted consumer to receive and open an email or
video that contains details on company promotions.

IV With millions of Internet users and social network subscribers around

the world, companies can conduct viral marketing effortlessly as the 25

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advertisement can go viral very quickly. The growing usage of

smartphones also helps the viral marketing to be the most relevant
marketing strategy and this will provide virtually limitless exposure to
the companies.

V Furthennore, viral marketing is also much more cost efficient in 30

comparison to other fonn of advertisements. By implementing viral
marketing, companies can reduce their marketing costs. In Malaysia, the
charge for a television advertisement can be up to RM22,OOO per month
for a 30-second advertisement during primetime. The charge is
excluding the cost of producing the commercials which incurs huge 35
financial budget, while the cost for newspaper advertisement can be up
to RM44,800 for a full colour page of advertisement. While the cost for
newspaper advertisement can be up to RM44,800 for a full colour page
of advertisement.

VI The president of Spear Malaysia Group stated that companies are able to 40
cut down 30% of marketing costs by conducting viral marketing
strategies. Therefore, even the small companies can also afford to
conduct viral marketing strategies.

VII The business world is very competitive and there are a colossal number
of products, services and brands in the market. It is necessary for 45
companies to conduct an effective marketing strategy. Most of the
companies that fail to sell their brands are because they have failed to
fascinate customers' attention. Thus, viral marketing has huge potential
in providing the brands with an altogether different approach.

VIII According to marketing expertise, viral marketing increases the attention 50

seeking power of brands. The frequency of the brand posts appearing in
front of a user increases as it reaches out to more and more people. The

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game is to make the users to be aware of tbe brands which then will lead
them to make purchases. Maximum awareness can be achieved through
viral marketing. 55

IX Marketing a brand is a tough challenge. Companies may need to spend

valuable amounts of time and money in doing the needful. As
technological advancements continue to develop, viral marketing has
become an appropriate platform to market products with ease, low cost
and efficiency. Companies are provided with limitless opportunities to 60
reach consumers through computers, tablets, smartphones and other
Internet-enabled devices. Therefore, viral marketing strategy offers a
fresh addition to the ever diverse advertising industry. For these reasons,
viral marketing will not only be a player as the most used medium by
2020, it will be the leader! 65

Adapted from: Anusha alp Rajah

Melissa Oon Xin Yi
Viral Marketing is an Online Spin to Traditional Marketing
Third Edition
Year: 2013
Serdang Selangor
UPMPress

1. What do these following words in the article refer to?

a) it (line 11)

b) this (line 28)

(1 mark)

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2. What do these following words mean as they are used in the article?

a) effortlessly (line 25)

b) colossal (line 44)

(l mark)

3. According to the article, write T if the statement is TRUE and F if the

statement is FALSE.

a) Many companies fail to sell their brands because they fail to fulfill their
consumers' needs.

b) Viral marketing is capable to reach audiences at a faster rate than any

other form of advertisements.

c) Viral marketing concept refers to a strategy where a message is spread

by companies to unlimited number of consumers.

d) Companies are provided with limitless opportunities to reach consumers

through computers, tablets and smartphones only.

(4 marks)

4. Identify the writer's tone and writer's intention for this statement.
" ... viral marketing will not only be a player as the most used medium by 2020,
it will be the leaderl" (line 64-65)
(2 marks)

5. In your opinion, why is it necessary for companies to conduct an effective

marketing strategy? Give two reasons.

(2 marks)

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6. In your opinion, how can the high usage of smartphones give positive impact
on viral marketing strategy and companies? Elaborate on these two points.

1. Viral marketing strategy

II. Companies

(2 marks)

7. What will happen to companies ifthey fail to fascinate consumers' attention?

Provide two answers.

(2 marks)

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SECTION B: WRITING (20 MARKS)

Write your essay in the ANSWER BOOKLET provided.

Based on the previous two articles; "Viral marketing: A powerful, but dangerous
marketing tool" and "Viral Marketing is an Online Spin to Traditional Marketing",
write an argumentative essay based on the following topic:

"Viral Marketing Gives More Disadvantages than Advantages"

Reminders to students:
1) Using information from the two articles, write an argumentative essay of about
300-360 words to support your views. Marks will be deducted if you copy sentences
from the articles.
2) Include three main ideas with supporting details for your article.
3) Using APA Style, you must include one in-text citation for each of the body
paragraph.
4) Your essay must contain two types of in-text citations; direct and indirect
citations.
5) For direct in-text citation, the page number has to be referred to the one on the
question paper.

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