Is Branding Out During Recession?

Excellent!!

Brand and its visibility are very important particularly during times when economy is on a downslide!! It has to be handled with 'kids gloves'. Offers, market thrust and generally making it 'available' would mean a very healthy recall, constant emotional attachment and best of all a very 'take me home' attitude (depending of the usability) that tempts you to put it in your cart!!

I support this completely!

Definitely Syed no matter what the situation is and how many players are entering in a particular industry, if a particular brand has been able to create a recall value in the minds of the consumers then that will certainly help that brand going forward.Take an example of Hutch where they have used a dog in their Ad and every time people see the same kind of dog anywhere then they tend to associate it with Hutch.So branding can never be out of fashion even in recession time.

Yes it is very true that Brands are promise, for you and me who are setting on the other side of the table, we know what is Brand and it personality, value or message.But for the consumer there is no difference between Brand and the product. For him Product and brands both are same.

So Branding during the bad times is important. It would be the clutter breaker (as every one wants to cut there advertising budgets). To be there in the top of mind recall one has to be visible in the market place.

Two new brands Aircel and Tata Nano are the perfect example of branding during the recession. They are doing it on there own way. One throgh PR and onter with 360 degree.

Hi suman, I agree with your point to some extent because brand is a promise. so people will look up to the promise but do you really feel that in this time when we see lots of product entering the market with better attributes people will go for a brand image and recall.

Branding doesn't necessarily go out the window when companies hit hard times. In some instances, it can be stronger than ever before, as organizations contact their vendors more frequently, seek transparent relationships, and spend more time going over budgets and realigning priorities.

Prasad i agree with you during recession period Branding is more important than ever. If you can afford it at all, do it. Consider this: if you continue to address image building during a recession when fewer companies are doing it, you are going to have a stronger brand when we come out of the recession. It is easy during a financial crunch to focus too much on the short term, when long term vision is what makes companies great. Warren Buffett is likely to be much richer when we come out of this current recession because he is willing to invest -- and his "brand" will be even stronger because of the position he is taking.

so companies if want to distinguish themselves from others then they need to brand themselves even during hard times.

what do you guys say??

No, In my veiw the branding is not out. infact the companines are coming up with stronger campaign these days, this is because:

1. The companies whose brand recall are excellent i.e HLL products, Maruti or hero honda they are coming up with stronger brands campaign becuase they want to outplay the new entries by showing there stronger presences.

2. For the new companies and new products they  come up because they know that they have invested a lot to enter this competitive enviroment and if they give little space they will be out so by showcasing something really big they can excite customer to atleast think once.

The best example we can take now is AIRCEL who is competing Airtel and voda phone.They know that the competition is tough but they can create a niche by showing it to the world.

You will be heard till far end when there is low/ no noice. people will notice you when there is little/ no comparision.

Spend wisely but be there in front of your customers, they will notice you and will be more confident to buy your brand during good times.

Good thought

As the Hard time polishes the person and make him to stand for long. Recession helps the companies to position themselves in the Strong Foot and do the branding for creating long lasting impression in the mind of consumers that the quality and reputation is not affected by the short term fluctuation on the market. Hence it boosts the market image of the company in the minds of the customer

Hello sir,

In my opinion brand name is more significant in tough times rather than good days.The customers are more concerned about quality with the price.Still they need durable and sustainable products.They will go for the same brand which was at the top of their satisfaction level.So this is the brand name & brand image that matters in all the ups and downs. 

Regards

Suman Sharma

Hi omkar,

There have been numerous studies over the years that support the need to aggressively market during recessions. Including the launch of many brand leaders. The benefits to such actions are seen in both short and long term business results. Branding - overall awareness, top of mind and positioning can never completely stop. For many companies, it is the gasoline that powers the sales cycle.......