Callum: Hello and welcome to Talk about English, I’m Callum Robertson.
Yvonne: And I’m Yvonne Archer.
Callum: Coming up in the programme, we’re continuing our topic of fashion.
Yvonne: We look at the importance of branding
NATHALIE RUSH
I think branding is becoming increasingly important these days and more and more companies,
especially larger companies are adopting branding.
Callum: And we talk to a listener in Italy about their favourite English expression
MADDALENA MOMBRINI
Hello, my name is Maddalena I’m from Italy. I like a lot the expression ‘pay through the nose.
Yvonne: That’s all coming up in today’s Talk about English.
Callum: Jackie isn’t with us this week so presenting the programme with me is Yvonne
Archer. Hello Yvonne, welcome to the presenter’s chair.
Yvonne: Hello, it’s good to be here
Callum: Of course you’ve been on the programme before and have made learning
English programmes for many years , haven’t you.
Yvonne: Yes, I’ve been working with BBC English and BBC Learning English since the
early nineties
GONG
Callum: And that sound means it time for the first of today’s Word Facts.
WORD FACTS 1
WORD FACTS
Today’s word is brand, brand
B – R – A – N – D
Brand has five letters and five sounds. It has only one syllable - brand.
In spoken English when the word ‘brand’ is followed by a word which begins with a
consonant sound, the /d/ sound at the end of brand is often not pronounced. For example.
Brand New / Bran new
“It’s a bran(d) new car”
WORD FACTS / AND THAT’S A FACT
Yvonne: So Brand is our word of the day and there’ll be more word facts throughout the
programme.
Callum: I’m delighted to say that we’ve been joined in the studio today by Bronagh
Meere who’s a stylist and style assistant for the magazine Heat. Hello Bronagh,
we had you on the phone a couple of weeks ago and now you’re here with us.
Thanks for coming along.
Bronagh (Replies)
(Chat with Bronagh about her job)
Callum: We’ll be hearing more from Bronagh later in the programme.
GONG
Callum: It’s word facts time
WORD FACTS 2
WORD FACTS
The word “brand” can be a noun, a verb and an adjective and has different meanings.
Brand, noun
A type of product made by a particular company
“You can call me a fashion-victim if you like, but I always buy the same brand of jeans”
To brand (a product) – verb
To give a product its marketing design, its logos and packaging and so on.
“When launching a new product it’s important to brand it well to make it stand out in the
market.”
The design, logos and style of presentation of a product is known as its ‘branding’.
WORD FACTS / AND THAT’S A FACT
Callum: The last word we heard there was branding – which includes the logo, the
design, colour scheme, advertising slogans that identify a product. Just how
important is branding; To learn more I spoke to Nathalie Rush who is a Product
Marketing Manager for Oki Printers. She talks about the staff involved in
branding living and breathing the core values of the product. The core values.
This is an expression for the central elements of a product, what makes it
special, what kind of lifestyle it belongs to. Here’s Nathalie Rush on the
importance of branding.
NATHALIE RUSH
NR: I think branding is becoming increasingly important these days and more and more
companies, especially larger companies are adopting branding. Branding really starts with
having an ethos which is ingrained into each member of staff. They’re expected to live and
breathe some core values of the product. Some companies might choose core values of their
product range to be saving money or ethical products or something like that. The very first
step of branding is to ingrain each member of staff to have those values.
CR: So people who are involved in branding have to take on the values of that product in the
same way that people who are buying that product want to link themselves with those kind of
values?
NR: Yes, very much so, first of all the staff, then the network of people who’ll be reselling the
product, then obviously all your advertising, your brochures, your website has to
communicate that value so branding really is so much more than a logo. It’s consistent
imagery, consistent communications and the very last step of branding is that the customer
would engage with the brand. Which does the company the world of good because there are
repeat purchasers and for the company and there’s also a better experience for the person
who’s buying the product, they feel they’re getting more of a service.
Callum: That was Nathalie Rush, a Product Marketing Manager on the importance of
branding. There was a nice expression she used at the end there when talking
about repeat purchasers – that is people who buy from the same company again,
do the company a world of good. A world of good.
Discuss with Yvonne and Bronagh –
Are we repeat purchasers – do we have brand loyalty?
lifestyle values of brands – do we buy into it?
Yvonne: This is Talk about English from BBC Learning English dot com. Still to come
our international caller and details of our latest competition.
Callum: But now
INSERT GONG
Callum: Time for more word facts
WORD FACTS 3
WORD FACTS
Words that go with ‘brand’.
New, brand new - adjective
One of the most common expressions using the word brand is the adjective, ‘brand new’. This
means something is completely new, you have only just bought it.
“I like your shirt, it looks brand new”
“Thanks, it is, this is the first time I’ve worn it”
When it comes to many daily products and groceries that you can buy in a supermarket you
can find ‘own brands’ and ‘named brands’
‘An own brand’
An ‘own brand’ is a product which is produced by the supermarket in which it is sold.
A ‘named brand’
A ‘named brand’ is a product made by a well-known company which is sold in different
places.
“I always buy the supermarket’s own brand washing powder, it’s much cheaper than the
named brands and it works just as well.”
WORD FACTS / AND THAT’S A FACT
Callum: So – when you are at the supermarket, own brand or named brand?
(All discuss)
Callum: And now time to take an international view of our topic as I talk on the phone
to a Talk about English listener
PHONE CALL WITH MADDALENA MOMBRINI
CR: Hello, who am I talking to day?
MM: Hello, my name is Maddalena I’m from Italy.
CR: Now Maddalena in the programme today we’re talking about the subject of brands. M:
How important to you is it when you go shopping to choose something which is a brand you
know, which is a famous brand or maybe not a famous brand?
MM: Well when I go shopping I usually try to look for a particular brand maybe not too
famous but a brand that makes me feel good with this dress because I think that a brand is not
only a logo but is a, includes also some values and idea so when you choose a brand you
choose how to present yourself to the world.
CR: Right, that was an interesting expression there, a brand is not just a logo, it has values
and ideas, that’s an interesting idea there. And how do brands, in Italy maybe, how do they
become successful? Is it through television, is it through magazines, is it through advertising
in the streets, how do you find a good brand?
MM: Right so when you go for a job interview for example you have to have like branded
clothes or clothes which have a very well known brand?
Yes, usually yes.
CR: It sounds like a very expensive way of life in Italy for those who are fashion conscious.
MM: Yes, but it’s important because the image you give to others is more important than
everywhere.
CR: I’ve just got one more thing to ask you Maddalena, and that’s if you have a favourite
English expression which you could share with us?
MM: I like a lot the expression, “pay through the nose”.
CR: Ah, to pay through the nose! It’s a very suitable expression for this conversation don’t
you think?
MM: Yes, because when you go shopping you pay through the nose, always.
CR: OK Maddalena thank you very much for talking with us today, it’s been a pleasure
talking to you.
MM: The pleasure is mine.
Yvonne: If you would like to be the caller on a future webcast, then just leave us your
details on the ‘join us’ section of the webcast.
Callum: To pay through the nose, a very expressive expression there, meaning you have
to pay a lot for something – Bronagh, do you have to pay through the nose to
keep up to date with the latest fashions?
Bronagh: (Responds – yes and no, quite often a lot of high street retailers will have
copies of catwalk designs in the shops very quickly)
Callum: Now it’s time to tell you about
CR: У меня есть еще одна вещь, чтобы спросить вас, Маддалена, и это если у вас есть любимый
Английское выражение, которым вы могли бы поделиться с нами?
ММ: Мне очень нравится выражение «плати через нос».
CR: Ах, платить через нос! Это очень подходящее выражение для этого разговора, не
думаешь?
ММ: Да, потому что, когда вы ходите по магазинам, вы всегда платите через нос.
CR: Хорошо, Маддалена, большое спасибо за сегодняшнюю беседу с нами, это было приятно
говорю тебе.
ММ: удовольствие мое.
Ивонн: Если вы хотите быть участником будущей веб-трансляции, просто оставьте нам свой
подробности в разделе «Присоединяйтесь к нам» веб-трансляции.
Каллум: платить через нос, очень выразительное выражение, означающее, что у вас есть
платить много за что-то - Бронах, ты должен платить через нос, чтобы
быть в курсе последних мод?
Bronagh: (Отвечает - да и нет, довольно часто многие крупные розничные продавцы будут иметь
копии подиумных дизайнов в магазинах очень быстро)
Каллум: Теперь пришло время рассказать вам о
