The Idea List

Sounds risky doesn’t it? But in fact, advertising in a bad economy makes good business sense. American Business Press analyzed 143 companies during the 1974/75 downturn in our economy and found that companies that advertised during the recession had the highest growth in sales and net income during the two study years and the two years following the recession. They also proved that companies that cut advertising had the lowest sales and net income increases during the same study periods. McGraw-Hill also found similar results when they studied companies’ advertising during the 1981/82 recession. They found that companies that cut advertising increased their sales 19% following the recession while companies that continued to advertise during the recession experienced a 275% increase in their sales.

Companies that advertise during a down economy must adapt their advertising to fit the message that the buying public wants to hear. Auto manufacturers are now stressing fuel economy instead of performance or the size of their vehicles. Restaurants are now stressing their low cost menu items and take-out options to help consumers keep watch on their monthly food expenditures. An advertising message must concentrate on the company’s core values and benefits. Companies must focus on their benefits that they deliver to the consumer and rework their branding message to deliver a need and not a want. Home improvement companies must focus on how their products will save money in the long run for the buyers, and how their products will add value to a house when the economy begins to come back. The average recession over the past 100 years has lasted around 11 months. Keep your message strong and consistent, and focus on your core values, and customers will see your business as someone who has weathered the storm and they’ll be confident in doing business with your company when they become ready to buy.

The collective response from bloggers, (I could only guess the rest of the world) about the new Microsoft commercials featuring Jerry Seinfeld and developed by Crispin Porter + Bogusky can be summed up in one “digital” word - WTF?

Apparently the concept here in their first run is to, like the Seinfeld Show, create a “Commercial About Nothing.“

But seriously, is this Vista’s response to the relentless “mac attack”?

From Emma Hall of Advertising Age, August 11, 2008:

Imagine the reaction if the British determined that U.S. ads weren’t sexy enough — and saw to it that some steamier ones got aired.

Ridiculous? Maybe not so much, if you consider the situation Mars and H.J. Heinz recently found themselves in when U.S. pressure groups lobbied successfully to get their ads booted off U.K. TV. It’s a lesson learned in an internet age when no ad is local anymore and clashing cultures can intrude on a global brand. [...]

From Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan of the Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2008:

Kohl’s, Sears Build Brands As Children Clothe Their Avatars Online

Retailer Kohl’s Corp. this month launched a new line of apparel, but the plaid skirts and printed T-shirts won’t be sold in its 957 stores. Instead, it’s selling them on Stardoll.com, a virtual community for teens and tweens where kids can fork over “Stardollars” — purchased online at a nominal sum — to buy apparel for their online characters.

With back-to-school sales off to a slow start, more old-line retailers and clothing labels are reaching out to kids online, enticing them to try virtual versions of their togs in hopes of making actual sales later. Kohl’s first virtual line features pieces from its new Abbey Dawn collection, designed by singer Avril Lavigne. In its first 16 days, Kohl’s Stardoll boutique logged some 2.2 million visits and sold 1.8 million items. Kohls.com lured 97,000 visitors who clicked through from the boutique site. [...]

From Jeremy Herron of the Associated Press, August 18, 2008:

NEW YORK (AP) — Fewer Americans are reading newspapers and are instead getting their news online, but television remains the leading source of news in the country, according to a survey released Sunday.

Not surprisingly, younger people tend to get more of their news on the Internet, while older folks use traditional media such as television and newspapers, the Pew Research Center’s biannual survey on news consumption habits said.

Pew said the results show an increasing shift toward online news consumption, but that there is now a sizable group of a more engaged, sophisticated and well-off people that use both traditional and online sources to get their news. [...]