Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
The responses to a survey of 200 marketing and 100 advertising agency executives, conducted by RSW/US, a lead generation and business development firm, showed ad agencies to be slightly more optimistic than clients about the prospects for the economy and the advertising business over the rest of 2009.
Agencies participating in the survey, released in mid-May, included Leo Burnett, Mindshare and Bailey Lauerman. Clients included Ford, GE, Kraft, Lego and Lenox.
While 51% of each group said that the second half of the year would see at least some continued falls in ad spending, more agency respondents (42%) felt the economy had already hit rock bottom and would therefore start to improve over the rest of the year than clients (35%).
Mark Sneider, owner, managing director of RSW/US, said, “While it appears some of the worst might be over, it’s probably best if agencies try to do more with less in the short term.”
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
There’s one good thing about a bad economy that many marketers forget about, since 99.999% of the news is doom and gloom playing with our brains — in a really bad economy, people are more apt to change their buying habits.
Yes, that may mean buying less of a product or service in your category. And this is where some corporate types with lack of imagination will see cutting back on marketing as the band-aid solution to their problems until they ride out the recession. But the question isn’t really whether to cut back on marketing or even spend more on it. You have to start with the very product or service you offer and ask yourself how you are going to adapt that product in order to give it increased versatility and in turn, value.
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Monday, April 13th, 2009
City Talent, Close to Home
In most small or mid-sized companies you are working with talent from the bigger agencies that either left for a better work/life balance or to get the opportunity to be more creative. Clients are getting the same level of thought and creativity found from larger creative firms, without the larger overhead and costs.
Senior Management Supervision
At Intake Studio, the principals are involved in the daily activities on each project. Quite often, at larger firms, a junior account staff is responsible for important decisions about a client’s vision. Navigating today’s economic climate is too important to be left to a less-seasoned staff.
Can I Have That Yesterday?
A boutique company is used to being more nimble and responsive, and can adapt to the changes that need to happen quickly in times like these. In larger firms, they are just not equipped to turn new ideas around as quickly.
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Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
10 tips for the advertising industry during the economic downturn:
1. Don’t cut your prices - research shows that by discounting your brand during a recession it will take you 7 years to recover to your original price level.
2. Focus on your brand strengths (real not imagined!), and emphasise heritage and classic / traditional values - while the crisis is on people tend to hark back to the memories of the good old days.
3. Do exploit the fact that your competitors may have shrunk their advertising spending - you can rapidly win back mind share as well if you have the courage to act now. Then rely on your operations and product teams to keep you ahead long-term.
4. Brands that invest in marketing during a recession tend to gain market share when the recession ends. It might seem wrong to splash out on a new ad campaign when you are cutting staff, but if the message is right and the campaign is well executed, the investment will pay off in the long run.
5. Bundle up: instead of cutting prices on your top brands, offer something for free as an add-on to your core (non-discounted) brand. So if you happen to sell bags, don’t discount your bags but throw in a free keyring instead.
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Category Advertising, Economy, Marketing, Small Business | Tags: Tags: Advertising, Advertising Industry, Agency, Budget, Economy, Marketing, Recession, Tips,
Monday, April 6th, 2009
Following Boom/Bust Cycle Flirts With Danger
Household and personal care might once have seemed recession-resistant, but last year U.S.-based personal-care marketers actually cut ad spending faster than the general market. That could be potentially damaging for their brands, according to one study that shows that marketers that cut spending during a downturn lost share to private labels — share they didn’t regain.
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Monday, February 16th, 2009
Small companies can’t afford to waste their marketing budget, especially during a recession. To keep marketing on track, start with a creative strategy.
Don’t good creative ideas just sort of “happen?” The answer is no. We all benefit from thoughtful preparation. Even during the creative process.
Certainly, marketing involves lots of creativity. But imagine, what if there were no boundaries on that creative thinking? Any and all ideas would be considered and pursued, regardless of whether they are relevant to the audience, the product or the brand.
At best, you’d waste lots of time and money until you found the right idea. At worst, you’d create a campaign that fails to motivate - and may even alienate - your target audience.
Before you embark on building any piece of marketing - advertising, print collateral, Web design, e-communications, etc. - you need a blueprint, called a creative strategy. Good marketing firms use this simple document to help define the audience, message and more.
A creative strategy asks and answers a set of basic questions to help everyone agree on a direction before time and money is spent on creative development. It helps you be both efficient and effective. (more…)