A bad market doesn't mean you need to spend more. It means you have less room to spend badly. And sometimes, that's exactly what creates the opportunity.

When business gets tight, marketing should be questioned. Every dollar should be questioned.

And yes, we realize the irony of an advertising agency saying that.

The answer isn't to keep spending because "brands that advertise during downturns win." Sometimes you should cut the budget. Sometimes you should cut it a lot.

The mistake is cutting marketing without knowing what's actually working.

When business is good, mediocre marketing can hide.

When business is bad, every wasted dollar shows up.

That makes a tough market a pretty good time to figure out what you're paying for, what's actually producing something, and what you've simply gotten used to doing.

That might mean spending less. It might mean moving money.

And sometimes it means spending more in a place where your competitors have backed away.

Start With What You Can't Defend

If you had to cut 20% from your marketing tomorrow, spreading the cut evenly across everything probably wouldn't make much sense. Start with the things you cannot defend.

That doesn't mean every dollar has to lead directly to a sale.

Awareness matters…content matters…brand matters. But every investment should have a job.