Continued Optimism

In an effort to keep the 2009 glass half full, here’s some interesting information from Martin Bishop over at Brand Mix.  The greatest fear in our business is that marketing and innovation budgets are going to be slashed this year, but perhaps we’re swinging the pendulum into negative territory too fast.  When an economic bubble bursts, often the corporate mantra shifts to a “back to basics” approach as Martin suggests. This doesn’t have to mean that anything new or innovative suddenly gets taken off the table.  Instead it means remembering the fundamentals of a brand and the reasons for its success and building from there.  If brands keep this as their mantra, rather than using it as an excuse to cut back, they will be in much better shape once consumer confidence bounces back.  In fact, “back to basics” might be the best approach all the time, regardless of economic conditions.