credit: l.yimg
You can stare down the recession. It's a time of opportunity, not fear. Everything is changing. Greed is out and communities are in. And in our community of marketers -- both advertisers and agencies alike -- we need to stand behind one idea: That marketing will get businesses going in this terrible mess.
The new economy is the great equalizer. Under the weight of panicked emotion all brands feel vulnerable -- kind of out of place and out of sync with how people are feeling after the meltdown.
We need to change the conversation and look upon idea generation and strategic and creative excellence as the true productivity tools. We need to look at marketing as the true growth indicator. It's the viable option, the last investment to make before you shut off the lights and evacuate the building.
Who says you can't use your marketing to provide consumers with a greater sense of value? Or, go one step further: By realigning your marketing priorities you can maximize efficiencies and maximize a "wow" factor. So less can also be a lot more.
And though it may seem counterintuitive, the way to do this is not by thinking smaller. It's by thinking bigger.
The first thing marketers need in this environment is a harder-working idea, one that operates in culture rather than in a product category, and lets consumers rethink your competitive frame of reference, defining it more broadly.
For example, premium-priced food brands may suffer in this environment due to consumers trading down to cheaper store brands. But if you position these high-priced foods items as a way to make a basic night in as inspiring as a luxurious night out, they start to seem like a bargain. In this instance, a premium food brand becomes home entertainment, not just a packaged good.
By Scott Goodson and Chip Walker
Posted by: Loïc LAMY
Posted on: levidepoches.fr/contagiousideas
Source: scottgoodson.typepad.com
