brand marketing blog

The gut instinct of business owners in a recession is to cut costs wherever possible. And where better to reduce overheads than to sacrifice the advertising or marketing budget.

The visionary marketer sees this reduced marketing spend as a golden opportunity to leap ahead of their competitors. The lack of advertising clutter creates a perfect opportunity to expose your brand message or product with minimal interference from competing brands.

A study of the 1990/91 recession by McKinsey, revealed that companies that increased their marketing spend during a recession were the only ones whose profits rose substantially when the economy recovered.

According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Hillier analysis of 1,000 companies from PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategy) database after the 1990-91 recession showed that companies that increase spending in a recession, recover three times faster.

The long and short of it is - don't cut your advertising and marketing budget in a recession. At least retain your current level, or even better, increase your spend. The benefits will not only be felt in the short term but in the long term as well.

Consumers and customers are still going continue to make purchases through the recession, albeit possibly in smaller quantities. They will buy from someone, so why not show your face and become their chosen supplier? Every sale you make is one that your competitor doesn't, and no sales means they're going out of business fast!

More reading on this subject...
Successful Brand Strategies for the Recession and Inevitable Recovery
What Most Companies Get Wrong in a Recession

And finally, have a safe and enjoyable Queen's birthday weekend.