Testing things for the future
For VPs: The Dollars Go Further in Slow Times
If it’s a marketing person you are talking to with strategic involvement, argue the benefits of maintaining an ad program during slow economic times. Business history books are full of examples of companies that maintained or increased their ad budgets during recessions and found that at recession’s end they had leap-frogged their competitors by wide margins.
My favorite story is the one between the Kellogg’s and Post cereal companies who raced neck and neck in the 1920’s to dominate the breakfast cereal business. When the Great American Depression came in the 1930’s Kellogg’s kept their advertising going while Post cut back. When the Depression ended so had the race between them as Kellogg’s emerged the dominant player, a position they have maintained to this day.
