Super Screen MoviesThe following is taken from a memo from the advertising director of the Super Screen Movie Production Company."According to a recent report from our marketing department, during the past year, fewer people attended Super Screen-produced

The excerpt from the memo from the advertising director of the Super Screen Movie Production Company, addresses a report by their marketing department that states that fewer people attended Super Screen-produced movies during the past year than in any other year. In order to address this issue, the marketing team proposes allocating a greater share of its budget the following year to reach the public through advertising. This recommendation is based on the argument that the percentage of positive reviews by movie reviewers about specific Super Screen movies actually increased during the past year and yet there was a decrease in viewership. Further questions need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable.

In order to determine the validity of the recommenation, we shall first address the argument. We must note that the argument, states that the "percentage" of positive reviews about Super Screen movies increased during the past year. Percentage is a relative term and not an absolute term. This implies that there were more positive reviews as a fraction of total reviews in comparison to the same quantity during the preceding years. This has implications on the issue, which is reduced viewership of movies. The reduced viewership could be attributed to the possibility that the Super Screen Movie Production Company produced fewer movies in the past year as compared to preceding years. The reduced viewership could also be due to a reduction in the reach of their movies. This could be due to failures of their distribution network in selling the movie to the desired number of movie theatres or screen. Thus the reduced viewership may be due to reduced access rather than a lower awareness or a lower demand for their movies. These are a few key questions that need to be answered in order to determine the cause for reduced viewership.

Further, there are also questions regarding whether creating greater awareness regarding the content of movie reviews would have the desired impact of increased viewership. In order to determine the validity of this claim, the company would need to understand the correlation between positive movie reviews and increased viewership. It is possible that movie reviews have a minimal or no influence on whether individuals watch a particular movie. Thus, in order to increase viewership, the company would need to understand the psychology of its customers and what draws them to a movie screening. This would enable the company to build a more informed plan of action to increase its viewership.

The next key flaw in the excerpt has to do with the recommendation. The recommendation proposes allocating a greater share of its budget to advertising. The following argument is based on the assumption that better advertising (advertising that reaches a larger audience) would translate into higher viewership. Firstly, "share of the budget" on advertising is a relative quantity. It is the amount dedicated to advertising as a fraction of total budget. So an increased share of its budget being allocated to advertising may not imply an increased absolute expenditure on advertising. Further, an increased budget for advertising, needn't necessarily translate into better advertising.

Thus, the Super Screen Movie Production Company needs to answer the above mentioned questions in order to establish the validty of the recommendation.