When there are tough times in the market. The companies tend to spend cautiously. They build on the key aspects which can keep them alive. Every penny goes as investment in retaining the customers and controlling attrition.
During these times how branding , marketing , keeping the brand promise and buying the real estate on the customer's mind seems to be a luxury.
I have raised an open question and could get amazing answers from leaders all over the world. Thanks to every one.
" I guess, Branding must be considered as a catalyst to get more business.. I was going through this article, hope this might help you... "Will Kellogg, the CEO of Kellogg’s, was a marketing whiz who understood the principle of exaggeration. When the Great Depression hit, most American cereal companies downsized, reduced their advertising, and cut marketing costs. Kellogg, on the other hand, doubled his ad budge, made his cereal boxes bigger, increased his sales and marketing staffs, and erected the world’s largest billboard in Times Square. When the Depression was over, he owned the market." - Mani
"Branding can survive by keeping it constant and not changing it because the external environment, if you change your branding you won't be that particular entity which all people know you by. Marketing can survive by simply doing what you promise (nothing different than normal), a company can focus on retention strategies more than normal, because it's easier/less costs to keep happy customers instead of acquiring new ones. Even then, it's the internal aspects (product/service/USP) should be the same, because that's what your company is about. Marketing will be the differentiator towards the external environment, new sub-markets, new growth strategies, rethinking strategy based on newest competition analysis and so on."
- Gianluigi Cuccureddu
"Marketing in 2009 is about delivering measureable return on investment. It specifically is not about branding, creative ads, PR, etc. Those are the tools of the trade and should be viewed as commodities used toward a larger goal. In tough times, I guarantee that CEOs, CFOs and boards look at every action with an eye toward ROI and if a marketing initiative contains the means to improve ROI for a company it should get attention. Of course, one of the secrets is to package the proposal properly and that may in fact, ironically, involve making sure the words "marketing" and "branding" and "advertising" do not appear anywhere in the plan! They can have a bad image in a tough economy...as in "expensive".
-Chris Petersen , CEO, President, COO, GM
"Recession or not, I'm going to drink Coke, buy Charmin, and go to McDonalds.Strong brands have left there mark on us all. The wise marketer will stay true to their positioning, branding and the equity they've developed in better times. Ignoring marketing fundamentals in the name of cost cutting or to satisfy an ROI decision tree might just bury a lot of solid brands in these tought times. If you could do more with less, you would have done that last year. . .we all were not out wasting money in 2008. What marketers need to do in 2009 is focus on those areas that are of the greatest importance when it comes to reaching our target audience. " -
Steven Napoli Account Executive/Business Development at Gish, Sherwood & Friends, Inc. and Marketing and Advertising Consultant
" Hi Manoj I will recount what Richard Branson has written in his book "Business Stripped Bare" about Brand. Virgin brand, considered amongst the top 20 brands worldwide, is one of the exceptions in the way they have been able to associate it with variety of products and services. Unlike other 19, it does not ply a well-defined trade. It is the only brand that is diversified into a range of business activities, including airlines, trains, holidays, mobile phones, media – including television, radio, cable – the Internet, financial services and healthcare. As per him - Brands exist as a means of communicating what to expect from a product or service. A brand should reflect what you can do. You have to deliver, faultlessly and for all time, whatever your brand promises. So it’s better to make your offering sound witty and innovative than to pretend you’re more than you are. My take is, Branding and Marketing need to instrospect to get reconnected with what the organisation is capable of (at complete stretch)and cares to offer to the customers rather than flying off and trying to create a chimera which the organisation will fail to live up to. This should apply in good times as well as bad times
Links:
http://entrepreneur.virgin.com/tag/branding/ " - Deepak Nagar Strategic Innovation and Knowledge Management Evangelist
"A recession may be a difficult environment for establishing a brand, but a sustaining brand should be durable enough to survive an economic downturn. With ad rates down and many brands hunkering down or going dark, it could be an opportune time to extend a brand by making a personal connection with customers in novel ways to create future value. I would say an economic downturn as a particularly good time to capitalize on the reduction of competitor white noise in the marketplace to craft a marketing campaign that builds brand awareness during this time of relative 'consumer quiet' and spending restraint. This strategy isn't meant to solve immediate cash flow problems, but if the cash-strapped customer isn't going to buy your products today anyway, then the next best thing you can hope for is to position your brand in front of the customer so the first thing they want to spend money on when they have it again is your products. Been there. Done that. Lots of sleepless nights, but good things come to those who wait. " - Kathy Roach Senior Creative Interactive Designer
Thanks to all other who have contributed their time and shared their knowledge.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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