Your Company’s Credit Crunch Advertising Strategy

We have established that the main result of the recession for marketing is the widespread availability of bargain basement advertising. We have reviewed the change in consumer behaviour and investigated the importance of getting your recessionary message right. But what media should you choose? In yesterday’s post we suggested that just because a media was cheap, doesn’t mean that it is the right platform for your brand.  Today, we will look at some of the different mediums available and identify the opportunities and risks they each pose to your brand.
Get Online
Historically, marketing has always been hard to quantify. As a result, the small business and company formation sector have been reluctant to dedicate a huge amount of budget to it. However, all of this changed when Online Advertising – search and PPC- was added to the marketing mix.
Throughout the recession, online advertising is the only media that has remained robust. The success of search and PPC can be attributed to one factor – accountability. Online advertising allows you to select the audience you want to communicate with, serve your message and only pay for users who interact with your advertisement.  It also provides a level of tracking and transparency that allows you test what works ,what doesn’t and amend your strategy accordingly in real time.
For Adam Leary, CEO of e-commerce Company Boothby Fireplaces, online advertising accounts for 80% of his marketing spend and he suspects he competitors are the same.
“Even in hard economic times, small businesses are comfortable allocating budget to online because you can account for every penny you spend and assess your return on investment.” he says. “Though this has always been the case with online, the credit crunch has forced all businesses, big and small, to look at what they are spending their money on and focus on efficiency.”
In conclusion, it would seem that the transparency and accountability of online media has forced previously reluctant marketers to take a fresh look at the digital sector as a vital part of the mix.
Let’s Go Outside . . .
A few years ago no marketing strategy would be complete without some element of planned outdoor media. However, it has been confirmed that outdoor ad spend is down 20% year on year and as the country plunges deeper and deeper into recession, that figure is likely to increase.
Historically, brands wanted a marketing campaign that provided blanket, mass audience coverage. Demographics, reporting and return on investment were all still considered though not on the scale the recession demands today.
Kevin Hudson, sales director for Channel Outdoor, says ‘In the current climate advertisers are demanding the tangibility of digital advertising. This is something we cannot offer. Brands are still using outdoor advertising, though it accounts for much less of the mix than it use to.As a result, we have become more flexible, not only on price but on the way we plan campaigns and the space we offer.”
Hudson concedes that integration is the key “Use outdoor as part of your broader strategy to get your message out there and then give your customers a home online.”
Ultimately, a definitive marketing medium doesn’t exist. The recession has forced all businesses to take a fresh look at the different Medias available, the key is to ensure that before embarking on any new advertising campaign you establish your objectives and what the return on investment is likely to be.