Market researchers found that subtle product placements in family-friendly television shows generally increase brand favorability among viewers. Recog...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Market researchers found that subtle product placements in family-friendly television shows generally increase brand favorability among viewers. Recognizing the potential for even stronger effects in premium content, the team studied product placements in high-budget prestige dramas and anticipated that audiences exposed to these strategic integrations would ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
notice the product placements more readily than in standard programming.
develop negative associations with the featured brands due to perceived manipulation.
show significantly higher purchase intentions than viewers of the family-friendly programming.
forget the specific products featured more quickly after viewing.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Market researchers found that subtle product placements in family-friendly television shows generally increase brand favorability among viewers." |
|
| "Recognizing the potential for even stronger effects in premium content, the team studied product placements in high-budget prestige dramas" |
|
| "and anticipated that audiences exposed to these strategic integrations would ______" |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Market researchers, having found that product placements increase brand favorability in family shows, studied prestige dramas expecting even stronger effects on audiences.
Argument Flow: The passage moves from an established research finding about family-friendly shows to researchers' decision to study premium content based on the expectation that it would produce even stronger effects than what they had already observed.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The researchers found that family-friendly TV shows increased "brand favorability"
- They then studied prestige dramas because they recognized "potential for even stronger effects"
- So logically, they would anticipate something beyond just favorability - something that represents a more significant business impact
- The progression should be: favorability (family shows) → something stronger (prestige shows)
- Purchase intentions would be a natural escalation because it's more concrete and actionable than just general favorability
notice the product placements more readily than in standard programming.
✗ Incorrect
- This focuses on audience awareness rather than business impact
- "Noticing" placements doesn't represent a "stronger effect" than increased favorability
develop negative associations with the featured brands due to perceived manipulation.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests negative outcomes, which contradicts the researchers' positive expectations
- "Negative associations" is the opposite of "stronger effects"
show significantly higher purchase intentions than viewers of the family-friendly programming.
✓ Correct
- "Purchase intentions" represents a clear escalation from "brand favorability"
- Moving from general positive feelings to actual buying consideration is indeed a "stronger effect"
forget the specific products featured more quickly after viewing.
✗ Incorrect
- Forgetting products contradicts any positive marketing effect
- This would be weaker, not stronger, than increased favorability