Marketing glass half full

The Importance of Marketing During a Recession

by PR-inside.com

June 22, 2009

I've become so accustomed to hearing businesses should cut marketing and advertising during a recession that finding an article encouraging businesses to invest in this threw me a bit of a curve ball.

Cohen and Company Creative, Inc., located in Fort Lauderdale, alerts readers that now is the time businesses need to step up and invest in marketing and advertising in order to "forge" ahead.

"This is a great opportunity to pick up market share and stand out from the competition instead of fade away," said Michael Cohen, president of one of South Florida's leading full-service advertising agencies. 

Just as we've learned, if done effectively, investing in marketing now can lead to some flourishing results in the future. But is Cohen only saying this because he runs an ad agency? 

One of his supporting points is that without marketing, customers cannot find you as easily. To avoid playing  catch-up, he suggests maintaining an advertising budget. But I disagree with him when referring to brands that have customer loyalty and a strong following. 

A good brand shouldn't have to depend on marketing and advertising for its consumers to learn of its where abouts. 

I do, however, agree with Cohen's point that not all marketing has to be expensive in order to push the best results- which backs up my guerilla marketing posting below. "Smart marketing," as Cohen refers to it as, is far more superior than costly marketing. 

Cohen closes his article by mentioning that people are indeed still spending. To ensure business, companies need  to make sure these people think of their business first prior to purchasing. 

I think his optimistic perspective on how smart marketing acts as an excellent investing is definitely worth thinking about. He's right in some aspects. I only wish he had specific examples backing his points that when companies lack marketing initiatives, consumers have tough times locating their businesses. 

Stuntin' like my daddy did- Guerilla Marketing

(courtesy of weburbanist.com)

Other than having an outside party sponsor your business 100 percent, I can't think of a more cost-effective marketing technique than guerilla marketing. With the economy gone to the crapper (hopefully not for much longer!) guerilla marketing techniques should be used by those businesses that need the publicity, the awareness, the following, and have a skinny wallet.  It has proved to work extremely well when budgets are low and goals are high.

Defined, guerilla marketing means any form of unconventional promotions that moves away from a dependency on budget and instead relies on time, thinking "outside of the box" and effort put forth. Most often these tactics are unexpected and unconventional. By catching the consumers off guard, the idea being marketed becomes memorable and a topic of conversation--- ultimately transforming into a viral campaign. 

This article from weburbanist.com lists 13 guerilla stunts that were deemed "extremely effective" by the authors.

While many convey a sense of humor-- something all of us could use in struggling times like these-- others use powerful images to evoke emotions that connect the viewer to the meaning of the message.

Like Amnesty International's humanitarian-awareness campaign. Amnesty is the world's largest grassroots human rights organization. And together with the arts and entertainment industries, the organization works to raise awareness about human rights abuses throughout the globe to motivate people to take a stand. In the ad featured in this article it shows two hands reaching over the bars of a sewer top in a street with Wrong printed on one hand and Faith on the other. This disturbing yet meaningful image created buzz and served the purpose for why it was created: to get people talking about human rights.

The article made a point to mention the reversal of guerilla marketing that can result. In New York City, a band of street artists worked together to replace corporate ads that used public space without license with "clever guerrilla protestations" against the assumed injustice. One of these ads was replaced by a giant "delete" computer button. 

Some larger brands that have used humorous guerilla tactics successfully include: Volkswagen that placed one of its vehicles parked beside a curb with a giant brick that eared to have split upon landing on the non-damaged vehicle; FHM who used a mini coop's curvy front frame to compliment a feminine body; or Careerbuilder.com covered the top of a truck trailer with "Don't Jump carreerbuilder.com" to be seen by people working in tall buildings or those contemplating suicide. 

The reason I chose this brief article to discuss is to mention the importance of guerilla marketing. Not only is it cost effective, but it's a great way to stand out in a very cluttered and polluted marketplace. The stats are remarkable regarding how much information we receive daily, and how much of that we actually remember. Unless we as marketers do something memorable, our ideas will not stand out or be recognizable.