Many new clients come to us because they want to generate sales, or simply put, “sell more stuff.” They may not phrase it exactly that way, but that is often the goal they have in mind. “Selling stuff” is essential to a company’s bottom line, but in the effort to sell product, clients may overlook the intrinsic value of marketing their brand, which has been shown to produce results that go beyond sales. The importance of branding can be huge for a company, especially during tough economic times.

A study released in April by global consulting firm Millward Brown is a demonstration of the importance of investing in your brand during a recession. The third annual BrandZ™ Ranking, which identifies the world’s most powerful brands as measured by their dollar value, showed that “companies that own brands in the BrandZ Top 100 have significantly outperformed the stock market when compared to the S&P 500.”

An earlier study, an extensive one done for the FORUM for People Performance Management and Measurement by Northwestern University, PMA Educational Foundation, Inc. and The Dudley Group, Inc. found that 70% of high performing companies reported their organizations do a good job of delivering consistent brand messages in their communications.

Further, a white paper developed from the findings of the PMA study revealed a direct link between a company’s commitment to an integrated marketing strategy and improved profits, pointing out that the top two factors for improving financial performance are: 1) external – brand management and 2) internal – consistent culture.

In today’s complex marketing environment, branding success needs to begin with an integrated marketing plan – results-driven research and planning tied to reliable and unique marketing strategies and creative implementation. With an integrated marketing plan you can begin to communicate your brand to your varied target audiences through public relations, used to build a brand; advertising used to sustain a brand; and interactive media, used to push or pull a brand.

The Value of No-Fear Advertising

One of these tactics, advertising, when used consistently through both booms and down times, can help to sustain the necessary brand recognition for a company. A Mactech.com article suggests an economic downturn can provide the opportunity for businesses to build a greater market share through aggressive advertising. “Advertising can skillfully reposition a product to take advantage of new buying concerns, give an advertiser a stable image (brand) in a chaotic environment, and give an advertiser the chance to dominate the advertising media,” the article notes.

Numerous studies over the last 80+ years have shown that maintaining or even increasing advertising during times of recession can give businesses an advantage over the competition.

The pioneer study of advertising spending during tough economic times was undertaken by Roland S. Vaile and appeared in the April 1927 issue of the Harvard Business Review. It found that companies that had continued to advertise during the economic downturn of 1921-22 were 20% ahead of where they had been before the recession, while companies that reduced advertising when the bad times hit were still in the recession, 7% below their 1920 levels.

A study tracking advertising spending and sales before, during and after the recessions of 1949, 1954, 1958 and 1961 revealed that sales and profits dropped for companies that cut advertising, and that long after the recessions ended, they lagged behind the ones that had maintained their ad budgets. (Buchen Advertising)

During the 1974-75 recession, companies that did not cut advertising experienced higher sales and net income during those two years, and during the two years that followed, than those that cut advertising. (ABP/Meldrum & Fewsmith)

During the 1981 recession, business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising spending averaged significantly higher sales growth both during the recession and for the three years that followed. (McGraw-Hill Research)

Using conventional wisdom, companies may assume that because consumers spend less during a recession they are wasting their advertising dollars or that it’s “safe” to reduce their spending because the competition is reducing theirs too. In reality, increases in market share can be achieved more cost-effectively by continuing to implement the advertising tactic of an integrated marketing plan during a recession. And when your competitors drop their advertising, yours will be more recognized.

An Integrated Marketing Plan is the Key

With an integrated marketing plan that includes an advertising tactic, you can continue to sustain your brand through good times and bad. MillerWhite can assist you by developing an MW Fusion®. integrated marketing plan, implementing your advertising tactic with creative solutions and proposing a media mix, using formulas such as MillerWhite’s Diminishing Point of Return, that will support your goal to “sell more stuff.”

Bill White is a co-owner in MillerWhite Integrated Marketing. Now in its 28th year in business, MillerWhite is a recognized leader in integrated marketing, setting benchmarks for the industry. A recent finalist for the Kelley School of Business’s Johnson Center Entrepreneurial Award of Distinction, the firm pioneered the VeriSyst interactive verification system, which “seamlessly” brings a viewer from a DVD direct mail to any web site. MillerWhite’s clients benefit from its proprietary protected marketing formulas, MW Fusion®. and Unlocking the Power of Your Pledge®.. The firm provides integrated marketing/research, public relations, advertising and interactive media services from offices in Indianapolis and Terre Haute. Go to millerwhite.com to learn more and sign up for the firm’s eNewsletter, mwfusion.