Recession-Proofing Your Brand — Impossible?
5/15/2008 12:32:39 PM by Bob Neville
Do we pilot-down during challenging economic times or take advantage of making our voice heard amid less clutter? That’s a question that gets us thinking. We track trends and test the economy every day through research, evaluation and branding. Our take on things? Keep moving forward (did you expect anything else?).
Let’s look at history. Market downturns aren’t new.
- 1927: The Harvard Business Review tracked 200 companies during the recession of 1923 and showed sales increases by the biggest marketers.
- 1961: Buchen Advertising ran a meta-analysis of the recessions of 1949, 1954, 1958 and 1961 and concluded that sales dropped at companies that cut back.These same companies lagged after the recessionary times had ended.
- 1991: MarketSense unveiled a report that tracked 101 household name brands during the recession of 1989 – 1991. The conclusion? Brands that cut ad budgets saw a 26% to 64% sales decline. Conversely, brands that increased budgets had 57% to 70% sales growth.
The facts speak for themselves; marketing your brand during a downturn increases sales and profits. The challenge for marketing communications professionals is “how.”
Some suggestions:
- Maintain spending while your competition cuts back. Consistency, frequency and aggressive positioning grow brand awareness.
- Cut the fat – sharpen your strategic plan to home in on pre-qualified buyers.
- Go the extra mile for loyal customers.
- Increase your earned media by building a strong, savvy, broad-reaching public relations program.
Whether or not you characterize this as a recessionary time, one thing’s for certain…more, not less, can be the difference between advanced standing in your industry or getting bowled over.
Want more?
Here’s what an industry authority has to say…
No hunkering down, not just yet
Ellis Booker, editor, BtoB