More than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank, or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling. Likewise, a vast majority perceives businesses that continue to advertise are competitive or committed to doing business.
The latest Ad-ology Research study, “Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy,” analyzes consumer perception about businesses that continue to advertise, and those that do not, in the current economy.
The study finds advertising appears to play a key role in consumers’ view of how a business is doing, and by not advertising, businesses may be sending a warning signal to current and potential customers.
“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,” Smith said.
This is a great study to take on our next call to help a potential advertisers see that just because customers are not buying, the are still creating perceptions about the products and services they will eventually buy.
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