Those antiAdvertising May Face Harder Times

To state a generality, those companies who not only survived but did well and grew during the Great Depression are those who continued to act as though there was nothing wrong and that the public had money to spend. In other words, they advertised.

These are industries who didn't wait for public demand for their products to rise, they created that demand even during the most difficult of times. Because so many companies cut spending during that era, advertising budgets were largely eliminated in many industries. Not only did spending decline, these companies actually dropped out of public sight because of shortsighted decisions made about not spending money and keeping a high profile.

Advertising cutbacks caused many customers to feel abandoned and associated the effected brands with a lack of staying power. This not only drove customers to more aggressive competitors but caused a certain amount of financial mistrust when it came to making additional investments in the no longer visable companies.

Both anecdotal and emperical evidence support the case that advertising was the main factor in the growth or downfall of companies during those years. To put it bluntly, the companies which demonstrated the most growth and which rang up the most sales were those which advertised heavily. The Great Depression offers classic examples of the power of brand advertising even during times of economic crisis. Are you planning to spend the same amount of $ in advertising your product and/or services in 2009?