“I know half of my advertising spend is wasted, but which half?” – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme

In recessionary times, like these, people begin to tighten their belts and look for ways to curtail spending.  Unfortunately, many consider advertising to be one of those places.  People cut out spending on advertising, when in fact, they should be doing just the opposite.

Advertising is the catalyst that energises the economy.  Money spent on advertising show consumers just how much you believe in your brand.  If you weigh up all the factors, you will see that if you push harder, rather than pull back on your advertising, you will increase brand awareness, market share and sales, in the long run.

By pulling back on your spending, you risk market share, visibility, shareholder confidence and even customer loyalty.  The realities of advertising change with the times.  The death of household name retail stores like Woolworth, banks and traditional media, like newspapers and magazines reflect the trend towards digital technologies, online purchasing like Ebay and Amazon and social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.

Your advertising needs to reflect these changes. You need to adopt the tactics learned from previous recessions, when “less is more” and advertising needed to be ultilitarian, have less frivolous appeal and be anti-wasteful.

“Fortune favours the brave!” – Virgil

You need a plan B!  As markets change, consumer attitudes change, your competition changes, can you afford not to have a plan B?  You need to be proactive, not reactive.  History has shown that while, “fortune favours the brave”, you still need a plan.

You don’t have the luxury of waiting, during a recession.  You need to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.  You might think that things are going to turn around for your business or that this cannot last forever.  The problem with that thinking is, “How long can you last?”

If your current strategy is not producing results, then you need to change your attitude and your plan.  If your current advertising or lack of advertising isn’t giving you the results that your desire or expect, then now is the time to look at other avenues.

Action is critical.  You can always analyze what went wrong later, but now you need to get the problem sorted out and get back on track.  If you wait, you are doomed to failure.  History has shown that most people that quickly get off a sinking ship are the ones that survive, while those that cling on, die.

Learn other marketing techniques and use them now, to your advantage.  There is no better time to advertise than during a recession.  You will come out ahead of all your competitors, by taking the action now.