What does a recession mean for a brand and how should businesses navigate the rocky road ahead? The best way to prepare for the future is to study our past.
-Companies that keep investing in their brands during a downturn bounce back faster. Experience has taught us this. Although consumers are going to opt for less expensive brands right now, as tradeoffs become common during a recession, you need to be sure that you are top-of-mind when their wallets return to normal spending habits.
-Building Your Brand and Driving Short Term sales are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes companies will want to swing their marketing spend from branding to focus on only sales driven activities. Don’t abandon your brand spending, because the short-term effect may have long-term consequences you won’t like. Find a better balance for them both, but, don’t abandon.
-When things get tough, rethink your purpose and stay the course. Some businesses are strong enough that they have built the right foundation to recession-proof the business. History has taught us, that your brand is the Bulwark of your business – the emotional connection that keeps you in someone’s cart when they’re cutting corners elsewhere in the store. Marketing is an investment, not an expense to be cut at the first sign of trouble. Those that can make it through troubled economic waters without changing or reducing too much of their brand marketing are going to come out stronger on the other side.
*Ad Age Sept. 2022
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