Marketing in a recession. It's better than a runny nose.

It’s allergy season. That time of year when people carry wads of tissue with them wherever they go. When blooming flowers are anything but attractive. And when the advice starts rolling in. “Have you tried Claritin?” “Do you have an air purifier at home?” and “Try pouring hot water through your sinuses,” are all popular quips. But maybe the allergy sufferers just need to seek professional help. Kinda like companies. This year’s allergy season coincides with a downturn in the economy. And of course in tough financial times, advice is given to marketers too. They’re told to cut budgets or hold-off on product launches. But if they look at history, they might see that even in the deepest recessions, products that had a strong appeal to consumers did just fine. In the Advertising Age article “Recession Can Be a Marketer’s Friend, ” the author points out that previous recessions have provided big opportunities for some of today’s best-known brands. In the slump of the early 1980’s, both CNN and MTV launched. When the economy rebounded, both networks were ready to reshape the face of media. In the recession of the early 1990’s, Taco Bell introduced its value menu, which in turn allowed the burrito-giant to pry share from McDonald’s. Even the iPod was unveiled in economic downtime – released only 42 days after September 11, 2001. So the best advice a marketer can take right now is to stay strong and don’t cut the budget - help boost the economy, call an agency instead. As for the allergy sufferers, maybe they can help the economy by buying more tissue.

About the Author: Holly Ringerud

As Senior Copywriter at Off Madison Ave, Holly uses her mastery of the written word to concept ideas and craft copy for a variety of clients. Print ads, brochures, TV, radio, direct mail, banner ads, websites, you name it, she's written it. Holly received a Copywriting Certificate from Brainco - The Minneapolis School of Advertising.