Recession Marketing

Market volatility, tariffs, Brexit, upcoming elections in the US, and economic indicators point to the high likelihood of a recession impacting consumers and brands soon. Last week on Branding Strategy Insider, Corien Kershey offered six recession strategies for B2B brands.

All the signs seem to point to a looming recession. Of course, recessions are almost always driven by emotional angst, and with every nervous sell-off or panicky tweet we set our course more firmly. Humans are nothing if not herd animals.

Some economists believe that markets are cyclical, others see them as random. But all agree that economics is about deciding what’s valuable, and in times of uncertainty people re-evaluate what is valuable in their lives and what is not.

There’s been some suggestion that the global “downturn” is upturning. However, for the most part, we’re still being challenged and nothing in the economic news – America’s debt, China’s slowdown, the flat-footed European economy, Britain’s economic woes, commodity trends – suggests a sudden and universal change of fortunes.

It is hard to underestimate the importance of a strong brand in relation to the company’s other assets.