An opinion from Kyle O’Brien

In a recent press conference, our lame duck president said something accurate about the economy:
“anxiety feeds on anxiety,” he stated. Sadly, it is true. The fear of a plunging economy has drastically changed our economic outlook, and we are certainly seeing that on the advertising and marketing front as well. Companies and business owners are scaling back their ad buys and budgets. In the auto sector we’re seeing million-plus dollar cuts to advertising budgets. The housing market is, of course, the worst and home builders are either going out of business or curtailing their efforts.
The anxiety of a diving market is causing more anxiety, and unfortunately, that means anxiety on the creative front as well. I fear that, as the economy continues to struggle, advertisers will look for less creative ways to get their messages across.

At the local level, fear of being different and “edgy” has always plagued the small to medium-sized business owner. They tend to favor cliched phrases and lists of assets rather than solid branding and creative efforts. Fear of the economy will, no doubt, create more closed-mindedness in taking creative chances, especially at the local level.

National advertisers, while feeling the pinch, will still count on their big agencies to deliver creative results, but local businesses with less capital to spend on advertising will look for the quick fix rather than the long-term goal of better brand awareness and increased ROI. Those quick fixes will mean more “sale”-type ads, more grocery list-type commercials and less time spent on the air. This, in turn, will mean less effectiveness for the campaign, especially on radio and TV, where frequency and message is king.

In a down economy, advertising and keeping your name in the public eye is more important than ever. That doesn’t mean you spend willy nilly, it means you make your advertising as effective as possible, and that means getting the best creative message out to the public. So, while anxiety can certainly lead to more anxiety, a down economy can be the perfect time to be more creative, not less, to stand out from the panicked crowds.

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