Advertising dollars spent during slow times are the best investment a company can make.
Case Study – Kellogg’s versus Post during the Great Depression
In 1929, rival cereal makers Kellogg’s and Post were in a close race to win the breakfast cereal market. When the Great Depression started, Kellogg’s maintained their advertising spending while rival Post cut back. At the end of the Depression, Kellogg’s had achieved a category dominance that they maintain to this day.
Your ad dollars work harder in slow times. If you competition is less active, this is a time to steal market share.
In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980-1985. The results showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising. By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256% over those that didn’t keep up their advertising.
Remember, just because your customers are not buying at recent levels, it does not mean they have stopped reading, thinking, and formulating opinions about the companies and brands from whom they buy.