Answers for Cambridge 13 Test 2 Academic Reading Passage

Get Answers for Making the most of trends reading passage below, taken from Cambridge 13 reading test 2.

1. D	5. D	9. A	13. C
2. C	6. D	10. C	14. D
3. A	7. C	11. A
4. D	8. B	12. B

Making The Most of Trends

Check Out our YouTube Channel to Practice Full-Length IELTS Reading Tests Daily

Read the following passage about Making the Most of Trends and answer the questions in 20 minutes. 

Passage

Experts from Harvard Business School give advice to managers. 

1. Most managers can identify the major trends of the day. But in the course of conducting research in a number of industries and working directly with companies. We have discovered that managers often fail to recognise the less obvious but profound ways these trends are influencing consumers’ aspirations, attitudes and behaviours. This is especially true of trends that managers view as peripheral to their core markets.
2. Many ignore trends in their innovation strategies or adopt a wait-and-see approach and let competitors take the lead. At a minimum, such responses mean missed profit opportunities. At the extreme, they can jeopardize a company by ceding rivals the opportunity to transform the industry. The purpose of this article is twofold: to spur managers to think more expansively about how trends could engender new value propositions in their core markets, and to provide some high-level advice on how to make market research and product development personnel more adept at analyzing and exploiting trends.
3. One strategy, known as ‘infuse and augment’, is to design a product or service that retains most of the attributes and functions or existing products in the category but adds others that address the needs and desires unleashed by a major trend. A case in point in the Poppy range of handbags, which the firm Coach created in response to the economic downturn of 2008. The Coach brand had been a symbol of opulence and luxury for nearly 70 years, and the most obvious reaction to the downturn would have been to lower prices. However, that would have risked cheapening the brand’s image. Instead, they initiated a consumer-research project which revealed that customers were eager to lift themselves and the country out of tough times. Using these insights, Coach launched the lower-priced Poppy conventional Coach products. Creating the sub-brand allowed Coach to avert an across-the-board price cut. In contrast to the many companies that responded to the recession by cutting prices. Coach saw the new consumer mindset as an opportunity for innovation and renewal. 
4. A further example of this strategy was supermarket Tesco’s response to consumers’ growing concerns about the environment. With that in mind, Tesco, one of the world’s top five retailers, introduced its Greener Living Program, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to protecting the environment by involving consumers in ways that produce tangible results. For example, Tesco customers can accumulate points for such activities as reusing bags, recycling cans and printer cartridges, and buying home-insulation materials. Like points earned on regular purchases, these green points can be redeemed for cash. Tesco has not abandoned its traditional retail offering but augmented its business with these innovations, thereby infusing its value proposition with a green streak. 
5. A more radical strategy is ‘combine and transcend’. This entails combining aspects of the product’s existing value proposition with attributes addressing changes arising from a trend, to create a novel experience, one that may land the company in an entirely new market space. At first glance, spending resources to incorporate elements of a seemingly irrelevant trend into one’s core offerings sounds like it’s hardly worthwhile. But consider Nike’s move to integrate the digital revolution into its reputation for high-performance athletic footwear. In 2006, they teamed up with technology company Apple to launch Nike+, a digital sports kit comprising a sensor that attaches to the running shoe and a wireless receiver that connects to the user’s iPod. By combining Nike’s original value proposition for amateur athletes with one for digital consumers, the Nike+ sports kit and web interface moved the company from a focus on athletic apparel to a new plane of engagement with its customers. 
6. A third approach, known as ‘counteract and reaffirm’, involves developing products or services that stress the values traditionally associated with the category in ways that allow consumers to oppose or at least temporarily escape from the aspects of trends they view as undesirable. A product that accomplished this is the ME2, a video game created by Canada’s iToys. By reaffirming the toy category’s association with physical play, the ME2 counteracted some of the widely perceived negative impacts of digital gaming devices. Like other handheld games, the device featured a host of exciting interactive games, a full-colour LCD screen, and advanced 3D graphics. What set it apart was that it incorporated the traditional physical component of children’s play. It contained a pedometer, which tracked and awarded points for physical activity (walking, running, biking, skateboarding, climbing stairs). The child could use the points to enhance various virtual skills needed for the video game. The ME2, introduced in mid-2008, catered to kids’ huge desire to play video games while countering the negatives, such as associations with lack of exercise and obesity.
7. Once you have gained perspective on how trend-related changes in consumer opinions and behaviours impact on your category, you can determine which of our three innovation strategies to pursue. There are many trends in the Indian fashion and textile industries. When your category’s basic value proposition continues to be meaningful for consumers influenced by the trend, the infuse-and-augment strategy will allow you to reinvigorate the category. If analysis reveals an increasing disparity between your category and consumers’ new focus, your innovations need to transcend the category to integrate the two worlds. Finally, if aspects of the category clash with undesired outcomes of a trend, such as associations with unhealthy lifestyles, there is an opportunity to counteract those changes by reaffirming the core values of your category. 
   Trends - technological, economic, environmental, social or political that affect how people perceive the world around them and shape what they expect from products and services present firms with unique opportunities for growth. 

Questions

Questions 1 - 5

Write the correct letter in boxes 1–5  on your answer sheet.
 
1. In the first paragraph, the writer says that most managers

A. Fail to recognize the current consumer trends.
B. Makes the error of concentrating just on the major consumer trends.
C. Market research data on current consumer trends is often misinterpreted.
D. Are oblivious to the tremendous influence that trends have on the lives of consumers.

2. According to the third paragraph, the Coach was anxious to

A. Take a look at what some of its rivals were up to.
B. Keeps its charges consistent throughout the board.
C. Maintain its position as a luxury goods manufacturer.
D.To fit the economic context, the company changed the whole appearance of its brand.

3. What is the significance of Tesco's Greener Living program?

A. It did not require Tesco to modify its core business activities.
B. It was successful in drawing a more environmentally concerned customer.
C. The campaign's major goal was to increase consumer awareness of environmental concerns.
D. Tesco was hardly the first retailer to take such a step.
 
4. What does the author have to say about Nike's marketing strategy?
 
A. At the time, it was a very dangerous tactic.
B. It was a strategy that only a major company could afford to follow.
C. It was a technique that would have been impossible to implement in the past.
D. It was the kind of plan that seemed to have few evident advantages.
 
5. What was original about ME2?

A. It incorporated technologies designed specifically for the sports sector.
B. It drew the attention of young individuals who wanted to be in better shape.
C. It took advantage of a current trend for video games with colorful 3D graphics.
D. It was a portable game designed to address people's worries about leading unhealthy lives.

Questions 6 - 11

Look at the following statements (Questions 6-–11) and the list of companies below. 
 
Match each statement with the correct company, A, B, C, or D.
 
Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D, in boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet.
NB  You may use any letter more than once.
 
6. It used the possibility that its goods may cause damage to its advantage.
7. By cooperating with another company, it was able to expand its product line.
8. To illustrate its corporate social responsibility, it established an incentive program.
9. Customers were observed to have a positive attitude in dealing with adverse situations.
10. It was a reaction to a burgeoning lifestyle trend in a completely different product category.
11. It was able to avoid having to lower its key product prices.
 
List of companies

A. Coach
B. Tesco
C. Nike
D. iToys

Questions 12 - 14

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A, B, C, or D below.

Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D, in boxes 12–14 on your answer sheet.
 
12. If any trend-related changes are impacting your category, you should
13. If a current trend highlights a negative aspect of your category, you should
14. If the consumers’ new focus has an increasing lack of connection with your offering, you should

A. To keep your customer base, use a variety of techniques.
B. Determine the best innovative approach to use.
C. With the counteract-and-affirm technique, you may emphasize your brand's traditional values.
D. To merge the two worlds, use the combine-and-transcend technique.

Answers with Explanations

Check making the most of trends reading answers with explanations below.

1. D

Explanation: In the first paragraph, the writer states that “managers often fail to recognize the less obvious but profound ways these trends are influencing consumers’ aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors.” We learn that “managers can identify the major trends of the day,” so Answer A is incorrect. However, managers are not good at understanding how these trends influence the lives of consumers. So, they are unaware of the significant impact that trends have on consumers’ lives.

2. C

Explanation: In paragraph 3, we learn how the company ‘Coach’ responded to the bad economic situation in 2008. “The Coach brand has been a symbol of opulence and luxury for nearly 70 years, and the most obvious reaction to the downturn would have been to lower prices. However, that would have risked cheapening the brand’s image”. By producing a cheaper sub-brand, Poppy handbags, Coach was able to avoid price cuts on all its products and maintain its image as a manufacturer of luxury goods. Most of its competitors, however, simply lowered their prices.” Therefore, Coach was anxious to ‘safeguard its reputation as a manufacturer of luxury goods.

3. A

Explanation: In paragraph 4, the writer describes Tesco’s Greener Living program. At the end of the paragraph, we learn that Tesco did not change the range of products that it sold; it simply added these ‘greener products’ to its range. In other words, Tesco’s Greener Living program did not require Tesco to modify its core business activities. The writer says, "Tesco hasn't given up on its traditional retail services. Instead, it has added these new ideas to its business, giving its value proposition a green streak."

4. D

Explanation: Nike’s strategy is described in paragraph 5. The writer explains: “At first glance, spending resources to incorporate elements of a seemingly irrelevant trend into one’s core offerings sounds like it’s hardly worthwhile.” If something is seemingly irrelevant to a business, then this means that it will bring “few benefits” and the strategy will be “hardly worthwhile.”

5. D

Explanation: A video game, the ME2, is mentioned in paragraph 6. At the end of the paragraph, we learn what was original about this game: "What set it apart was that it incorporated the traditional physical component of children’s play.” The ME2, which came out in 2008, catered to kids' strong desire to play video games while balancing out the bad things, like the link between videogames and lack of exercise and weight gain. Therefore, the feature of the ME2, which was different, was that children did physical exercise at the same time as using the handheld game. So, it was a handheld game that addressed people’s concerns about unhealthy lifestyles.

6. D

Explanation: At the beginning of paragraph 5, we find the statement: "Researchers like Colton don’t believe it is right to measure machine creativity directly against that of humans who have had millennia to develop our skills." This is about how important it is to think about the element of time and how creative computers and people can be.

7. C

Explanation: In paragraph 5, we find a description of the collaboration (= business cooperation) between Nike and Apple to launch a new product (= extend its offering): "In 2006, they teamed up with technology company Apple to launch Nike+." Nike and Apple worked together to make this new product, which adds to what Nike already has to offer.

8. B

Explanation: In paragraph 4, Tesco’s Greener Living program is described. This program has an incentive scheme to encourage customers to care for the environment. For example, Tesco customers can accumulate points for such activities as reusing bags, recycling cans, and printer cartridges, and buying home-insulation materials. Like points earned on regular purchases, these green points can be redeemed for cash. This “demonstrates the company’s commitment to protecting the environment by involving consumers.”

9. A

Explanation: These difficult circumstances are the economic crisis (‘downturn’) of 2008, referred to in paragraph 3. The strategy adopted by the company ‘Coach’ was designed to cope with this situation: “They initiated a consumer-research project which revealed that customers were eager to lift themselves and the country out of tough times.”

10. C

Explanation: In paragraph 5, the writer asks us to “consider Nike’s move to integrate the digital revolution into its reputation for high-performance athletic footwear.” This is part of Nike’s radical strategy to ‘combine and transcend’: “This entails combining aspects of the product’s existing value proposition with attributes addressing changes arising from a trend.” Nike thus took advantage of this to move their product into a new space in the market to appeal to “amateur athletes and digital consumers.” This was a combination of two unrelated product sectors.

11. A

Explanation: In paragraph 3, the writer refers to the luxury-goods company, Coach. It created a new brand range of lower-priced Poppy handbags, but continued to produce the expensive handbags that were the “conventional Coach products”. “Creating the sub-brand allowed Coach to avert an across-the-board price cut.”

12. B

Explanation: At the beginning of paragraph 7, we find the keywords: “Once you have gained perspective on how trend-related changes in consumer opinions and behaviors impact your category, you can determine which of our three innovation strategies to pursue.”

13. C

Explanation: In paragraph 7, the writer states that: “if aspects of the category clash with undesired outcomes of a trend, such as associations with unhealthy lifestyles, there is an opportunity to counteract those changes by reaffirming the core values of your category.”

14. D

Explanation: In the middle of paragraph 7, we find the keywords‘ consumers’ new focus’. The writer says, "If the analysis shows that your category and consumers' new interests are becoming more different, your innovations need to go beyond the category to bring the two worlds together."

Check the other Reading passages

• Freebie Marketing Reading Answers
• In or Out Reading Answers
• When Evolution Runs Backwards Reading Answers