Select the most appropriate expression to fill in the blank in the following sentence:-
The company launched an aggressive marketing campaign _____ its declining sales over the past quarter.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → in response to
Complete sentence: The company launched an aggressive marketing campaign in response to its declining sales over the past quarter. Sales had been falling for a whole quarter, and the company reacted by launching an aggressive campaign.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) contrary to | opposite to, against what is expected or stated (a campaign cannot be "opposite to" falling sales) | Contrary to the forecast, it did not rain at all. |
| (2) in response to (answer) | as a reaction or answer to something that has happened | The school added an extra bus in response to complaints from parents. |
| (3) instead of | in place of (the campaign did not replace the falling sales but was a reaction to them) | She drank water instead of cold drinks. |
| (4) though | a conjunction meaning in spite of the fact that (it must be followed by a clause with a verb, not by the noun phrase "its declining sales") | Though he was tired, he kept working. |