Advertising in soft economy is critical: study

May 25, 2009 by Dave Haynes

More ammunition in the quest to pry ad dollars from clients during a recession …

A new study from Ad-ology Research hammers home the notion that advertising is critical for businesses in the current economy, the notion being that businesses that go quiet are in trouble.

The study, says the Ohio-based firm, finds “advertising appears to play a key role in consumers’ view of how a business is doing, and by not advertising, businesses may be sending a warning signal to current and potential customers.”

“It is critical to advertise in the current economic climate, to maintain long-term positive consumer perception of your brand,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “Advertising not only assures consumers of a business’ reliability in a soft economy, but it can influence where and what they buy, especially when the ads address concerns about value,” Smith said.

Other key findings:

    * 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago
    * Most consumers are as willing or more willing to pay more for ‘healthy’ or ‘organic’ products than they were a year ago
    * A ‘deeply discounted price’ was the number-one factor that would make consumers more likely to purchase a big-ticket item (+$1,000)
    * TV, newspaper, direct mail, and Internet top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action
    * Store Web sites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online

Ad-ology will happily sell you the whole report, with lotsa charts and indices, for $495.