Times are tough. Why your brand should be top of mind.

Arguably the largest obstacle branding agencies now face is making a strong case for sustained branding expenditures. Understandably, businesses like yours may be forced to make some tough-choices in the near future, and cutting costs is an unavoidable part of that process. With these realities in mind, we’d like to offer a few thoughts on why branding, more than ever, is so crucial, and should be considered thoughtfully when re-evaluating expenditures become necessary.

Think Long term

Given the realities of the market and historically low-levels of consumer confidence, branding has become a secondary and even tertiary priority for many businesses. We hear it all the time. Tangible improvements come first, like updating business equipment, or hiring new employees. Even more, you may be cutting expenditures business wide. On the surface, this seems like a sensible position to take, to ride out the ensuing wave of recession, keep spending low, and approach your respective market pragmatically. Not always. Because something is a seemingly smart short-term fix doesn’t ensure it will lead to long-term fiscal and organizational sustainability.

In his whitepaper ‘Capturing Opportunities’, Jeff Swystun, Chief Communications Officer of DDB Worldwide notes that “every economy brings opportunity for those who make brave and intelligent decisions. For companies the critical question now is: Are we proactively managing our brands as long-term assets through this downturn and beyond?”

How far ahead are you planning? Rather than rationalizing business decisions in the short-term, consider a broader perspective: although your business or organization may be slowing-down now, where would you like it to be in 1, 5, or even 10 years? Does that involve making sustained investments now to ensure long-term growth? For many of our clients, conversations center on the practicalities of making investments within the next financial-quarter, which can be counter-productive when evaluating where your business needs to be further down the road. Even more, competition will continue to tighten in the short-term, making top-of-mind presence among your customers more crucial than ever.

Think Positive

It’s sometimes forgotten that a brand should be at the core of every business. It drives your values, objectives, culture, marketing strategy, and just about everything else under the sun. Simply put, it is the total experience of your business. And much like a well-built foundation, a strong, properly maintained brand will withstand market pressures and instability to a far greater degree. Products and technologies may change, but a core vision and compelling value proposition will not. And fortunately, an effectively managed brand can present exciting opportunities in times of economic down-turn, where others may resist spending or be unable to guide their brand through uncertain territory.

Jeff Swystun also goes onto note that “[i]n a downturn, people do not stop buying; they just buy carefully, in a more deliberate and well-informed manner. What if they hear nothing from you? Take advantage of the general decrease in marketing investment to grab a larger share of voice and stand above the usual communications clutter.”

Although it seems counter-intuitive, for a thoughtfully managed business, today’s climate is a bit of a perfect storm (just about, anyways): strong brands driven by meaningful products or services, combined with generally decreased marketing investment among competitors. To be sure, irrelevant businesses built on the whim of a trend are likely to lose steam and die off (which, by the way, is precisely why a sound investment is more important than ever if you’re just starting out). Conversely, those who ensured the tough questions were asked and smart, forward thinking investments made are far likelier to ride out the storm, and even prosper as others lose market share or become irrelevant. Simply put, difficult times can be invaluable opportunities to stand out and remain top-of-mind while others fall to the way-side.

That said I invite you to ask yourself these questions: at a time when consumers are spending less and making more calculated, frugal decisions, why should someone spend their hard-earned money on my product rather than the next? Am I making a compelling enough case? Is it even relevant?

If your response is less than stellar, perhaps something is going overlooked, or missing altogether. Is the degree of spending the problem, or rather how your capital is allocated and how it relates to a larger, effective brand strategy?

Let us know what you think, we welcome any comments or feedback!