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Pushing For Share of Voice During a Recession
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Oct 15, 2008 by Mark Maier
As the sale force of advertising, it is easy for us to "preach" to our clients that they must maintain and even use opportunities to increase their "Share of Mind" during a recession. If their competitor backs down in marketing, that leaves a hole and an opportunity for their company to have the highest share of the 62% of consumers who shop top of mind. That's the mindset around the premise, have your put it to practice recently?MediaPosts' Sarah Mahoney has a great seeding article for your clients, Karastan floor coverings are a luxery product that is out to increase share of mind in a recession.
"When the economy takes a turn for the worse, all our competitors pull back," says David Duncan, VP/marketing for the Dalton, Ga.-based Mohawk, one of the world's largest floor-covering companies. "From our perspective, it's very important to maintain our brand-marketing position, and really try to increase our share of voice." While it's true that people aren't buying lots of carpet right now, that doesn't mean they aren't craving it. And when houses do begin to sell again and America gets re-bitten by the home-decorating bug, "that share of voice will be worth more."
The article goes on to say that print and TV will be a part of the marketing mix, but a big percentage is moving online as more research is made on higher-ticket items than ever before...
"A new study from Unity Marketing, fielded just after the recent stock-market meltdown, found that the majority of affluent shoppers (those in the top 20% of earners, with an average income of just over $209,000) are changing the way they shop--shopping less often, buying more strategically, and doing more research before they venture into a store. Duncan believes the brand's positioning as an investment is still on target. (Current ads are themed "Make a statement. Your own.") The company expects to take some more lumps in the months ahead, and that 2009 will be a no-growth year. "But we believe in the brand. The first reaction with any company is to completely pull back the advertising. We don't want to do that, because we believe we have a competitive advantage."
If luxery brands are out to increase share of mind, we shouldn't be letting our clients pull back on their advertising, we should be sharing the story above and translating it into their business catagory.
To read the complete article click here
