What we know about advertising in a recession

Explores advertising in a recession through the evidence available in the WARC archives and beyond. Typically, recessions cause businesses to rein in advertising spend in the short term, a mistake, that can cause long-term damage to a brand.

Marketers should think twice before cutting media budgets during a recession. There is a range of evidence from past downturns that shows those companies that maintained their investment generated higher growth than those who reduced budgets and went dark. Brands should think about long-term brand building rather than promotions. Some suggest this requires focus on customer service and current customers. Others argue for broad reach, brand building activity rather than focusing on loyalty.

Definition

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global recessions tend to operate on a...

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