editor's letter

Marketing in a Down Economy

by Stephanie K. De Long

I won't use the "R" word, though many U.S. businesses are acting like we are knee deep in one. Your gut reaction may be to revisit marketing plans and reconsider ad schedules. Don't do it. Unless, of course, your plan is to increase expenditures.

Here's what history has taught us about how it pays—literally and figuratively—to advertise in tough times.

■ SALES. McGraw-Hill analyzed the recession of 1981-1982 by tracking 600 companies' ad expenditures from 1980 to 1985. Their findings? Companies that maintained or increased ad investments averaged substantially higher sales—256 percent more to be exact—than their counterparts both during the recession and for three years after it ended.

■ PROFITS. A series of six studies, conducted by Meldrum & Fewsmith, found that aggressive advertising during an economic downturn not only increases sales, but profits, too.

■ HISTORY. According to The American Business Press, that portrait of increased profits has held true in every recession since 1949.

■ FREQUENCY. So, how often do we have to go through this? In all, reports Josh Gordon for Folio magazine, there have been nine recessions in the last 50 years. And, they've lasted an average of 11 months each.

■ EXPOSURE. Whatever media you choose during these down times, stresses John Kuraoka, whose article on writing an ad appears on p. 42 of this issue, don't test and run. "A rule of thumb in media buying is that people need to be exposed to your advertising message three times before they even notice it. ‘Testing’ a medium by placing one or two ads is a waste of money."

I guess my grandmother really was right when she used to tell me, "Waste not, want not."

Stephanie K. De Long
Editor-in-Chief

P.S. Don't miss this month's Seiko-sponsored CE for opticians.