Rising Above Rough Times

Nationwide Recession

Tips for helping your brand rise above a sagging economy:

• Think small and become immature – According to a recent article in Ad Age by Avi Dan, “Mature agencies tend to avoid risk, and prefer safe ideas. For sustained growth in a recession, ideas are the currency of competitiveness. Make sure your communication partner is smart, nimble, and hungry.” (Did Mr. Dan say, “small and immature”? Yeah, we know “small and immature.” And “small and hungry.” And “small and, well, flat out weird.”)

• Don’t be a knee-jerk – Recessions tend to induce a short-sighted reaction away from brand building in favor of short-term blah blah blah price promotions and coupons. This not only devalues your brand, but it’s hard to wean consumers off it.
  

• Go for the low-hanging fruit – Instead of going for killer innovation, which usually takes time, try improving things that can give your brand a quick boost and injection of news without a daunting investment or lengthy development.  Things like improving your package design, communications, web design, and, of course, hold music.

Worldwide Letdown

Tips for hosting an out-of-town guest:

Our apologies to our Worldwide Partners agency, Marsh in Cincinnati, for the less than stellar hosting job we did. Here’s what we learned:

• Don’t tell someone you’re taking them to the new Iron Chef Michael Symon’s restaurant, and then end up taking them to a horribly average restaurant right next door to the Iron Chef’s restaurant (Sorry Joe. Who knew iron man would be booked for 2 months.)