Ceasing to advertise during economically challenging times could harm your business, according to recent research from Ad-ology Research.

by Helen Leggatt
bizreport.com

Going off the ad radar during a recession isn’t wise, according to Ad-ology’s recent study, “Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy”. In fact, nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising from a store, bank or car dealership during a recession means that business is probably experiencing difficulties and struggling.

On the other hand, when a business continues to advertise, throughout tough times, consumers see this as a sign of commitment to doing business.

“It is critical to advertise in the current economic climate, to maintain long-term positive consumer perception of your brand,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “Advertising not only assures consumers of a business’ reliability in a soft economy, but it can influence where and what they buy, especially when the ads address concerns about value.”

Additional findings from the study include:

- 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago.

- Most consumers are as willing or more willing to pay more for ‘healthy’ or ‘organic’ products than they were a year ago.

- A ‘deeply discounted price’ was the top factor that would make consumers more likely to purchase a big-ticket item (+$1,000).

- TV, newspaper, direct mail, and Internet are the top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action.

- Store websites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online.

http://www.bizreport.com/2009/05/ad-ology_keep_advertising_in_tough_times.html