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In any serious economic downturn, there are always two knee-jerk reactions:
Who’s right? Well, that depends on your business. To have an intelligent advertising strategy during a recession, you need to understand that there are basically three kinds of businesses: those for whom advertising is essential, those for whom it’s discretionary, or somewhere in the middle. Let’s take these one at a time.
These businesses tend to be in categories that are consumer oriented and highly responsive to marketing activity, such as fast food, retail, consumer packaged goods, and automotive. Saving money by dramatically cutting advertising will do more harm than good. If your ads are working, stay the course. However, if your efforts are not showing success, you need to keep advertising but change your strategy. Create advertising that is focused on changing customer behavior, not attitudes. Contrary to what most people think, behavior is easier to change than attitudes. It’s easier to convince you to eat a Big Mac than convince you that a Big Mac is a good thing to eat. It’s easier to convince you to go to Las Vegas than to convince you that going to Las Vegas is a wise thing to do. Trying to change attitudes is a difficult and expensive proposition under the best of circumstances. For now, focus on giving your customer a practical reason to try you now.
If you are in one of these categories and revenue is starting to sag, saving advertising dollars is a good idea. If you go dark for a few months, the only one who’ll notice will be your ad agency. For example, take a look at your target. Are you going after the heavy-using, high-yield customer in your category, or are you wasting time and money trying to convince a light- or nonuser to give you a try? Examine your message. Are you giving the heavy user a good reason to change her behavior (a good deal, a service enhancement, a meaningful product differentiation), or are you expecting vague brand messages and empty promises to carry the day? Advertising during tough economic times is not for the timid. But if you have a good reason to advertise and a clear, practical strategy, advertising can be a major asset in seeing you through. Sharon Krinsky is President and Chief Creative Officer of Hoffman/Lewis, and is a member of the Hoffman/Lewis Board of Directors. Previously, she was Creative Director of Gearon Hoffman Advertising in Boston, MA. Before that Sharon worked in public relations and was a magazine editor. Sharon has been an instructor on creativity for the American Association of Advertising Agencies in the continuing education program for advertising professionals. She can be reached at skrinsky@hoffmanlewis.com for more information. . |
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