In 2020, as a growing marketing firm, we were prepared to guide our clients through uncertain economic times with one consistent message: lean into your marketing and advertising, don’t pull back. Now, five years later, the same advice is still relevant. Even if we’re not entering a formal recession, persistent economic headwinds and uncertainty are still reshaping decision-making for businesses of all sizes.

It’s tempting—almost instinctive—for leaders to reduce or eliminate marketing and advertising when budgets tighten. These line items often feel more flexible than payroll or rent. But history and data tell a different story: brands that maintain or increase their marketing efforts during downturns emerge stronger and grow faster once recovery begins.

The Data is Clear: Marketing During Downturns Pays Off

Nearly 25 years ago, a study by the Malik PIMS organization found that companies that increased spending on marketing and R&D during downturns significantly outperformed competitors who did not. More recently, Kantar estimated that brands that “go dark” to save money during a recession lose an average of 39% in brand awareness—a decline that delays recovery and makes it harder to regain momentum later (Forbes, 2019).

In the 2008 recession, Kantar Millward Brown reported that 60% of brands that stopped advertising for six months experienced a 24% drop in brand use and a 28% decline in brand image. Brands that cut more deeply than competitors were more likely to lose market share (Avalaunch Media).

Historical Proof: Bold Moves Lead to Market Leadership

Smart companies have used recessions as springboards to growth:

• Kellogg’s, during the Great Depression, increased its ad spend and invested in R&D. The result? The launch of Rice Krispies and long-term dominance in the cereal market.

• During the 1973 recession, Toyota increased advertising while American automakers cut back. By 1976, Toyota had become the top imported car brand in the U.S. (LinkedIn, Kunal Gupta).

• In 1991, McDonald’s scaled back advertising and saw a 28% drop in sales, while Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, who maintained their presence, grew sales by 61% and 40%, respectively.

• Amazon launched the Kindle during the Great Recession in 2009 and grew nearly 30% that year, a strategy echoing the company’s resilience after the dot-com bubble burst.

Even at the local level, we’ve seen it firsthand. 5Points Creative was founded during the Great Recession and doubled in size during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis. Part of our strategy included increasing our own advertising budget in 2020. The results were immediate and measurable.

Hold the Line—Or Better Yet, Push Forward

While budget scrutiny is warranted, cutting your advertising spend shouldn't be your default. Brands that stay visible and present during downturns build trust, gain market share, and stay top-of-mind while competitors fade. This isn’t just a theory—it’s a proven business strategy seen time and again across decades of economic uncertainty.

You might have to make tough decisions. But as you evaluate your 2025 and 2026 plans, be sure your marketing and advertising budgets are given the strategic attention they deserve—not the ax.

Let’s talk about how to make the most of your budget—no matter the climate. We can help you stay visible, stay relevant, and stay growing.

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Recently, a friend who owns his own handyman business was staying at our house. He knew we had bought some lights to go above our kitchen island, and he was also aware we had not installed them yet. Those of you who know me probably realize I’m about the last person you’d want to change a light fixture. While my wife is quite good with that type of task, we had been busy and just hadn’t quite gotten to it yet.

You could tell it was bugging my friend Gary. He wanted to help, he knew he could make the change, and he was itching to get it done. Right after the “Okay, if you’re sure you want to do it,” he was up and getting it handled. He had great knowledge of what was needed, a system for handling the project, and knocked it out cleanly and efficiently.

As we admired his work, he said, “See? Super easy.”

I replied, “Yes Gary. That was simple, and thank you. But it wasn’t easy.” Just because you know how to do something— maybe even with your eyes closed—doesn’t mean it’s easy to do. It took our friend Gary years to know how to make changing out a light fixture in a kitchen look so easy. 

How This Information Can Make a Difference4Your Organization

Employees acquire skills and learn how to build their own systems and processes (well, the good ones do, anyway). Find the right people to help you accomplish your project goals, and assign the proper team members to the needed tasks. It’s a simple solution, but that doesn’t mean it’s “easy”. You can admire people for making things look easy, but make sure you pause to admire the effort that went into the skill it takes to make it look easy.

A quick example comes to mind.

We’ve been buying media for 16 years now, and for us, it’s “easy”. For our company, it’s acquired knowledge, a created system, strong relationships, and a collaborative approach. We may make it look easy, and we have dozens of clients who count on us to make these buys work for them. The key to it is simple, but it’s generally not an easy task.

Gary probably wouldn’t want to buy media any more than I wanted to change out those cool new light fixtures. I knew when to let Gary help me. Is there something you’ve been holding onto that someone could provide a simple solution for?

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Back when I was leading advertising sales departments at local television stations in the Midwest, I’d periodically hear from business owners that advertising doesn’t work. They were usually in the retail or service business, and although I didn’t hear it frequently, it happened often enough that I remember those conversations.

Sixteen years ago (this month actually), I started my own marketing and advertising firm, and over the years, we started doing more business-to-business marketing work for clients. I got close to those clients and learned about their struggles and challenges. Periodically, a few of them would tell me marketing doesn’t work. They were trying to communicate with their current and former customers and didn’t think it was having an impact.

I couldn’t disagree more with this thought process.

In this world where measuring click-response interactions influence which marketing activities get prioritized and influencers drive advertising campaign success, I’m more convinced than ever that advertising and marketing work. In fact, they work great.

A Change2Make

There’s only one way to make an impact with your advertising and marketing investment. Stick with it. Be consistent.

Too many nonprofits, businesses, and medical practices have lost the heart for the process of winning new relationships with donors, customers, and patients. The average business owner starts to think advertising and marketing doesn’t work around the same time the target of their message is beginning to take notice. This is not the right time to stop or back away.

One former client comes to mind when I think about this topic.

They were a business-to-business services company that decided to terminate our relationship a little over a decade ago, after three years of working together. They said the marketing wasn’t working. Roanoke is a small city—maybe like the one you do business in—and word gets around. Four or five years after we had parted ways, two different MAJOR new clients of my former client mentioned that they were both doing business with the firm. It was years after the marketing outreach had started the awareness, but the connection was evident. And the efficacy of the campaign was clear.

It took years for the results of that campaign to jell.

My guess is that neither my previous client nor his two new clients would recall the ways their business relationships had started. I did. It was the marketing that started the process, and I’d stake my 16 years of doing this work (and my 35 plus years in advertising and marketing) that it was the marketing that was responsible for their business relationships.

Advertising works. So does marketing. Of this, I have absolutely no doubt. If you do, I’d welcome a one-on-one conversation and a chance to change your mind.