高考◆英语◆山东省題庫下載題庫

阅读下列短文，完成71～75题

Sparrow is a fast-food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago, the

group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining, the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast-food concepts reaching the market, the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse, its new owner had

no plans to give it the funds it required.

Sparrow failed to grow for another two years. Until a new CEO, Carl

Pearson, decided to build up its market share. He did a survey, which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain, while customers of other fast-food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign. Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain’s

owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy’s restaurants. Pearson resisted, arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time.

Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success, rather than customers’ speeding power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.

The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the

fast-food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured

original sons performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the

superiority of a specific product, the intension was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example, he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover. (营业额)

These efforts paid off, and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast-food chains in the regions where it operated.