During an economic downturn, there is a great opportunity for a company to gain exposure. For one, their competitors may be spending less, which opens the door for increased market share. And because advertising budgets often take a hit, in some situations it may be cheaper to advertise as agencies and ad mediums are looking for more business.
An interesting article written by Josh Bernoff of Forrester, in February, provides insight into why advertising budgets are often the first to go in a slow economy:
Consumers in a down market pinch pennies. Brand advertising in mass
media loses effectiveness because it’s harder for consumers to go from
“I know about that product” to “I’m going to buy that product” when
they’re worried about their financial future. And it’s less painful to
cut ad spending than headcount. Result: Advertising budgets suffer in a
recession.
Because the recession is driving spending towards performance-based marketing, PPC campaigns will survive the recession. In many cases we may even see some of the traditional advertising dollars move towards paid ad campaigns. If advertising budgets must be cut, it’s much easier to make a case for PPC spending because it has vividly measurable results that you can verify immediately. That’s not to say it’s more meaningful than lasting brand advertising, but it’s just more difficult to argue with real-time metrics when something has to be axed.
