Over at brandchannel, my favorite site on branding, Barry Silverstein writes about marketing to consumers during an economic downturn.

Silverstein recalls one of the fundamental paradoxes of marketing that I remember learning about in my early advertising classes. In his article, he quotes Harvard Business School professor John Quelch:

“Instead of cutting the market research budget, you need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value and responding to the recession.” Quelch also points out: “It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

The moral of the story as far as I can see it is you have to spend more to make more. If brand experts, authors and 19 year-old college students all know this, why is it that hoards of top managers fail to see this point? Is it because during a recession (or any time, for that matter) only measurable results are valued? Or is it because as a whole, marketing and advertising are undervalued as a part of the business schema?

This raises an important point for me: retroactive investment won’t be as necessary if you value and invest in high-quality marketing from the inception of your brand. If your customers love you, they’ll do anything to keep you around even when times are tough.

[photo credit]