Recession Spending

Advertising sales are slowing in the current economy, especially in traditional media, reports Financial Times.

Advertising weakness is spreading from newspaper and radio groups to the
rest of the media and casting a shadow over a year that was supposed to benefit
from the Beijing Olympics and a high-spending election season, analysts
warn.

The biggest threat to the industry from big advertisers such as car
dealers, banks, retailers and airlines, among others, as they tighten their
belts.

Larry Haverty, portfolio manager at GAMCO Investors, said: “What we’ve got
here is a recession in advertising. It started in local media – radio and
newspapers – and is now spreading to TV.”
The latest red flags were reports
that Coca-Cola and General Motors planned to target marketing budgets as part of
cost-cutting efforts.

The thing to remember is that for the stated companies and types of companies, this is brand and promotional advertising. This is not equivalent to our direct-to-consumer acquisition and cultivation efforts. For us, this is our Point Of Sale. Cutting our POS would be the equivalent of Coca Cola shuttering distributors (preventing product from reaching POS) and GM closing dealerships and deliveries. Or the equivalent of banks cutting hours or retailers closing stores.

Just something to remember...