Advertising during the COVID-19 recession

When faced with a recession, most firms cut back on advertising alongside cutting other costs, yet there is a body of evidence that suggests a positive impact for companies that keep advertising during a recession.

Marketing in the COVID-19 recession

This article is part of a series of articles from the WARC Guide to Marketing in the COVID-19 recession. Read more.

During the 2008-2009 recession, I wrote an article, with my son, about how firms should advertise in a recession (Tellis and Tellis 2009). That article was based on a review of all studies in the previous century, which had estimated the cost and benefit of advertising in versus after a recession. Our conclusion was simple, clear, but counter-intuitive.

Firms are better off acting counter-cyclically. That is, by increasing advertising in...

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