Increase your marketing spend during recession and take advantage of the space vacated by your rivals

Thursday, 02 July 2009 09:36

'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. The economy is facing a crisis unlike any that has been witnessed before and fundamental changes to the way we think and work are necessary. This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.

I feel the right media strategy is vital to any advertising campaign. Uncertain consumers need the reassurance of known brands and more consumers are turning to the newspapers for finding them. Why newspapers? As media have become more fragmented and targeted, a medium that can offer mass market coverage plays an increasingly valuable role and the medium that fits the role perfectly is newspapers.

According to an NRS accumulation study there are certain factors which work in favour of the newspaper. One is that newspapers have a mass daily and weekly reach. Virtually all of the reach is delivered on the day the ad appears, unlike other media where coverage takes time to build. Even TV can't guarantee mass reach except at high levels of expense.

Newspapers command active attention and involvement. For consumers, reading a newspaper is a very emotional experience. When they read a newspaper, they are completely immersed in it, to an extent that the outside world is completely cut off, or the outside world does not intrude. Readers identify strongly with their newspapers. In fact newspapers provide a very personal connection to reader's emotions which brands can tap into. The amount of time the reader spends with their paper underlines this.