Advertising in a Weak Economy - Will You Stumble Or Prosper?

By Jon Blomquist

I feel that I would not be going too far out on a limb by saying that we have all had to make some sacrifices during this period of economic volatility. Maybe you stopped short of purchasing the airline tickets for your much-deserved vacation of a lifetime. And to think that a little over a year ago, you might be cruising 30,000 feet over the Atlantic by now. Perhaps you are after the latest and greatest technological gadget. This time last year, you might have pushed your way to the front of the line to buy it. Fast forward to today. You avoid the splurge and wait for it to go on sale, or maybe you pass up on it altogether.

From a personal standpoint, it is understandable that your first instincts in these uncertain times are to cutback spending and rethink your financial strategies. Professionally, however, if you own or operate a business-large or small-and you are looking to capitalize and grow your brand recognition, you should consider today's market as a green light to advertise.

To better understand the importance of advertising during difficult times, take a look back at the Great Depression. During this time, many of America's larger, recognizable companies began to cut their advertising budgets while lesser-known companies of the time like Chevrolet and Proctor and Gamble expanded theirs. Years later, with world war looming and the nation's economy stabilizing, it was the latter companies that emerged more profitable and widely recognized than ever before.

There are few silver linings to be had from economic downturns; especially one as severe as the Great Depression. However, the Great Depression offers several examples of how continued and increased advertising budgets demonstrated great growth during hard economic times. First and foremost, as the larger companies of that era began to pull their ads from circulation and cutback on their marketing budgets, print and radio outlets began to feel the hit as well. As their advertising sales dollars dwindled, they had no choice but to lower their rates and aggressively solicit their ad space, paving the way for smaller, lesser-known companies to get a foothold.

It seems that almost weekly we read about a large company closing their doors outright or shutting down an underperforming satellite location to cut costs. How does this help a small or emerging business? It frees the ad space-particularly on a regional level-that such a company once dominated. Most importantly, this newly available ad space can often times be purchased at a lower cost.

By no means am I suggesting that our current economic situation can be compared to the tragedy that was the Great Depression. Although the similarities that do exist help to argue that it is during these critical times when the marketplace can shift to benefit smaller, emerging companies.

Advertising is about name recognition. Building it up and keeping it up. If you stop building it by pulling your ad budget, then your brand and all the time, money and energy you put into it will fall by the way side. On the other hand, if you continue to advertise (or begin to advertise) in a creative and cost-effective fashion, you may watch your brand soar to new heights.

Jon Blomquist is the PR Director for Top Shelf Logos, a custom logo company whose passion is to provide distinct, well designed logos, websites and other graphic design services to small businesses at affordable prices. For more information about Top Shelf Logos, please visit http://www.topshelflogos.com