A week or so ago at Tony Koenderman's Brainstorm seminar, brand strategist Andy Rice cautioned brands about what to do during a recession. This past week, newspapers carried more reports that mentioned that word: recession. At the annual Magazine Publishing Association of SA (MPASA) annual PICA Awards on Friday night, the dinner table talk was about the fear pervading media houses, particularly consumer magazines and newspapers at present, as ad revenues begin to fall. There were a few recently retrenched editors present and I wondered how they must have felt as speakers spoke in glowing terms about the industry. Awful, I suspect. Rice has this to say for brands during tough times and it's to stick to the 'knitting': "Know your brand, know your customers and go where they want to see you. Focus on retaining existing customers and growing existing share of wallet. Consumers will stick with stronger brands during a recession, so be prepared to look for additional market segments where your brand can perform. Remember the top brands and how they got there and don't make rash decisions. Plan now for when you get to the other side, not just for today." Sound stuff. Basically it means: don't panic! Some of the greatest brands in the world were launched during a recession: Microsoft, Google, even Bizcommunity! Comfort also needs to be drawn from the fact that South Africa has survived recessions before and we have a massive global event coming up that is resulting in infrastructure spend and development increasing, not slowing down, creating jobs and providing cash injections for the economy: 2010. It's about time we started getting excited.
Laduma! Louise Marsland, editor: editor@bizcommunity.com. All marketing news to: marketingnews@bizcommunity.com. Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive or on our blog: http://blog.bizcommunity.com.