Our economic January

Yes, whoever you are, whatever you have done, you still deserve a wonderful present at Christmas. In our economy, and that of the rest of the world for that matter, we have been enjoying Christmas every day for quite some time now - in a way that Roy Wood could only dream of. But our economic January has come.

Staring in the mirror

CEOs, MDs, FDs and all manner of other corner office inhabitants will be staring in the mirror frowning at their unsightly bulges, determining how to remove their excesses.

As always, those that had the least self-control will have the most to do, whereas those who were more ‘measured' throughout will need to merely tone up. Those that have nothing to lose just didn't enjoy the Christmas enough.

However, at the other end of the spectrum, there will be the few that have been over-indulging for far too long with no eye at all to their ever-expanding frame and ever-decreasing attractiveness, and now that this season of goodwill to all has come to an end, so their obesity takes its toll: Farewell to the UK Woolworths and all the other companies worldwide that felt it was their right to take advantage of the good times without having any real point of difference, positioning, or reason to exist at all beyond just being there.

Visiting the gym

But what becomes of those that remain? This is where the work really starts. Admittedly at 5am in the morning the prospect of visiting the gym is never one that makes one jump out of bed beaming from ear to ear, but once we do get there we start to rediscover our forgotten muscles, the things that made us attractive before all this excess took over, and they slowly start to make their way to the surface again.

As clients and agencies it is time to set the alarm clock for ‘still very dark' and head for the Planet Virgin torture chamber.

In any recession or downturn the response from all consumers, or even clients for that matter, is obviously to stop paying for products, services and even people that simply don't offer ‘value'. We become less forgiving and we all move a few rungs up the necessity ladder. We look for guaranteed results and become more risk averse. We subconsciously and even consciously start to analyse the things we consume, searching for their point of difference, their reason to exist.

Bernbach's words of wisdom

This is when Bernbach's words of wisdom ‘the magic is in the product' really ring true, and when good advertising agencies shine by highlighting that magic. Those that have been doing this for a while, those that have partnered their clients to produce campaigns that capture the audience's imagination and yet are also true to the brand, the product, the ‘magic' and have made the relevance of their client's offering apparent to all, will already have secured them a much higher position up the necessity ladder than their competitors.

In fact, contrary to certain views, a recession is definitely not the time for weird new agencies with silly names where everyone is a creative-thinkery-doer-tron, or whatever the ‘rad' new expression is for a person without a disciplined mind.

No, a recession is when you want the people that guarantee success , when you need the tension between a damn good strategist and an equally brilliant creative team, all supported by people that have invested time and passion in understanding the client, the brand and the target audience. These are the people that win in a recession. The gobbledygook-speaking charlatans actually get found out in such times.

New ‘undowithoutable' necessity

But which clients will win out in these lean times? It is easy to see how basic necessities are safe havens. Supermarket-own labels, assuming the supermarket brand itself has done its job properly, should soar. That new ‘undowithoutable' necessity -cellphone airtime - that didn't even exist for most of us 15 years ago will continue to be in demand as people need to share their emotional woes.

The more exciting spectacle will be watching to see who will win within the different sectors and whether there will be any more ‘expensive' brands and choices that hold their own. For example, unlike its UK namesake, I have long been an admirer of the Woolworths product here in South Africa. I am particularly impressed that it is wholehearted embracing and championing the organic cause and making it accessible and relevant to me.

However, in these difficult times should I not be looking at Spar or Pick n Pay? Spar I could cope with, but perhaps just for the branded necessities or household detergents etc, but do I really want to entertain Pick n Pay with that ghastly 1970's space invader logo and everything personality and taste devoid that such a utilitarian brand CI promises? The answer is no, if you hadn't guessed; Woolies has done enough to guarantee my loyalty at least.

Personal and ‘irrational' choices

Now obviously my ladder is different to other peoples, but we'll all be making such personal and ‘irrational' choices - however rational we think they are - and it will be the canny marketers, the ones that invested and continue to invest time and money understanding our peculiar personalities and working with professional agencies to really appeal to them, that will clean up now that the moment of truth has finally arrived.

Is a BMW really worth that much more than a Honda? If I am only going to take my kids out to eat once a month rather than once a week, where are they going to have most fun? Where are we going to get most bang for our buck? - I'll be sending you in the direction of McDonald's. thank you very much, and I know you won't be disappointed.

Yes, now is the time for our clients to pump their ‘brands muscles' and as agencies we need to become our clients' personal trainers. We need to help them get into peak shape again. We need them to be as attractive and fit as possible, so that they can climb high up that necessity ladder. And to do that effectively, those members of the ad industry that aren't in peak shape probably need to pay a visit to the gym and tone up, too.