Marketing in a Recession
By Robert Hamer
Recession, recession, recession...
"It’s life Jim but not as we know it" I wonder if The Enterprise actually landed here in 2008, because those words of Spock to Captain Kirk seem pretty accurate right now.
I’ve been in advertising and marketing long enough to have witnessed the recessions of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s and although they all have similarities they were also very different. Political commentators liken this recession to the great depression of the 30’s and yes there are similarities, but there are also many differences.
Right now, if people are in work there is no doubt that they are better off than they were this time last year. Interest rates are down, so are mortgage rates, energy rates are so much lower. Petrol, which was at £1.20 a litre, is now down to 80 odd pence. Gas and electricity prices are falling as I write this. The price of food is lower and the amount of retailer offers on the high street mean that inflation having already fallen is going to fall lower still.
So what’s happening out there?
At The Bank, we have been spending time understanding how our clients and our consumers are being affected by these market forces.
Are the psychological effects of a downturn bigger than its immediate financial impact?
Are economic downturns a good time to market innovations?
What insights do we have relating to communications during an economic downturn?
These are some of the questions we have been asking ourselves and yes, there are some really surprising answers.
A lot of our discoveries are obvious...
People are re-defining their priorities, what are necessities, not just wants.
They are looking at price, but value for money is still king.
There is a great awareness that this downturn is going to be deep and long and will affect us all.
Families are now spending more time at home which has many implications in lots of areas.
Pensions and property are coming under greater scrutiny than ever before.
But we also found things we didn’t expect, which led us to some really smart suggestions we are making to our clients, so that they can find a way through. And yes there is a lot of evidence that clever thinking and appropriate initiatives can pay dividends now and into the future.
If you would like to talk to us about those findings and our advice of how to market in those difficult times, simply pick up the phone, we’d love to share our viewpoint with you.
Hannah Kennedy Clark
+44 (0) 207 612 8000
hannahk@thebank.co.uk
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