Advertising & Marketing in a Down Economy

There is a huge debate raging right now inside companies across the land. How much do we spend on advertising right now, when budgets are getting slashed and revenue is diminishing? Knee jerk reaction is to cut personnel, pull ad campaigns, and slice and dice marketing plans to reduce expenses. At first, this might seem like a fiscally smart idea. After all, why spend unnecessarily at a time like this, when the future of the company is in jeopardy? Who can afford to spend all that money right now?

Let's take a lesson from history. The current economy is being compared to the Great Depression of the 1930's, so let's see if we can learn anything from what happened back then. During that time, companies reacted much the same way that we are today: by cutting expenses through layoffs and budget reductions. They barred the fiscal doors and didn't let any wasteful spending escape.

But not everyone believed in the conventional wisdom of the time. The smart companies understood the way everyone else was reacting and did just the opposite. They ignored the fear mongers and downers and instead charted a course to take advantage of their circumstances.

And it worked like a charm. The companies that ramped up their advertising and marketing efforts may have felt a crunch initially, but when the Great Depression was over these companies emerged as the industry leaders and went on to greatness, partially because of continued brand recognition in the eyes of their customers.

Should your company cut back on advertising and marketing in these tough economic times? Only if you want to be left in the dust. But if you want to show you're the leader, ramp up the efforts and watch your competition fall flat flat while you emerge victorious! The time for marketing is now!