AdAge Says Don’t Kill the Marketer

A month ago Emily Bryson published an article in AdAge entitled, “Food Companies Stay the Course” discussing the importance of continuing to invest in marketing and advertising despite the economic downturn. It seems worth revisiting the topic considering last week’s economic upheaval.

Bryson listed Kraft, Kellogg and General Mills among companies that see value in continuing to pump monies into their advertising budgets. At that time, the manufacturers found that upping their marketing spending allowed them to pass on price hikes without losing the customer. That idea might be a harder sell this week. Things have changed and manufacturers will need marketing more than ever to stay competitive with value focused private labels. But how do you continue marketing, compete with private label pricing and stay profitable? The answer is value engineering.

It is imperative that manufacturers get the most out of their marketing dollars — particularly for marketing in the store where brands are placed alongside private labels. Partnering with a display and fixturing company that is strong in value engineering, has capabilities in multiple materials (sheet metal, wire, wood and plastic) as well as in house engineering can stretch those dollars. Creating modular design elements that allow multiple configurations, making use of fixtures engineered for easy installation and graphic change out without additional hardware requirements are all solutions that maximize in store marketing investments. Another solution is international sourcing. Just be sure you have a partner that has many years of international experience and employees on the ground inspecting factory production processes to ensure you get a high quality product. 

In Bryson’s article, Larry Light, former global CMO of McDonald’s, articulates the value of marketing in today’s economy. “Investing in brands during a rough economy can not only fend off share loss but also boost the brand’s trajectory when things improve.” Light’s research classified companies who spent more on advertising and marketing during a recession as “winners” and those who cut spending as “losers.”

According to Light, “Losers cut marketing in a recession, and the result is they simply accelerated their loss in market share after the recession.” Value engineering keeps your brand in the game.