Marketing in This Economic Environment

The Modern Brand Company has not updated its blog in a while because we’ve been busy trying to keep the doors open, the lights on, etc. Taking care of current clients and finding new business takes precedence over thinking about marketing in the broader, blog topic sense.

On a micro-level, that’s the right thing to do. You must attend to the business at hand before pontificating about business in the abstract. But big picture, long-term thinking can’t be completing ignored. And this moment in time, this economic environment, is the very best time to think ahead in terms of marketing and branding.

Why is that? Because it’s easier to stand out when there are fewer advertisers competing for your time. And with the open field, brands that have depended on word-of-mouth for years are getting out there and reminding us just who they are. That’s why we’re seeing Amway advertise on TV for the first time in a long while. High unemployment equals strong desire to be your own boss and control your own destiny. It’s a smart time to market self-esteem and self-improvement. (See also the influx of advertising from community colleges and vocational schools.)

One last thought: Is it just us or did anyone else mistake the Natural Gas brand campaign as advertising for another ED drug? Are we now trained to think of ED every time we see 40-somethings embracing in a lifestyle ad?