Should you continue to market and advertise in a recession?

This is an excerpt from an LA Times article regarding advertising during a recession - specifically the Superbowl.  Although it doesn't directly apply to our business, it does make a strong case for continuing to market your business (or yourself) during hard times.  Bottom line: YES YOU SHOULD!

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-superbowl27-2009jan27,0,7885040.story

Some studies have shown that companies that increase their marketing budgets in a recession do much better in the long run. Businesses that advertised aggressively during the 1981-82 recession had sales twice as high from 1981 to 1985 as those that didn't, according to a 1986 McGraw-Hill Research report.

To get a leg up on the competition was the reason tire maker Bridgestone Americas Inc. decided to continue sponsoring the halftime show this year.
"We're definitely being cost-conscious on an overall basis, but we don't want to cut things like the Super Bowl spots," he said.

Hyundai Motor America has made eight separate Super Bowl commercials and plans to run two during the game. 
"It's a terrible time for the economy but a wonderful opportunity for us to build market share and enhance our brand," said Joel Ewanick, vice president of marketing at Hyundai Motor America.

Next year's Super Bowl may be a different story. Many advertisers bought ad time for this year's game in the spring or summer, before the severity of the economic meltdown had been revealed. As the financial crisis drags on, advertisers may decide that the 2010 Super Bowl isn't worth the money.

Then again, companies such as Audi, which locked in its 30-second spot in mid-November after the stock market crashed, say the state of the economy motivated them to advertise rather than pass.