Advertising in a Recession

Bernard Ryan Jr

Since the 1920s, U.S. advertising practitioners have done many studies showing that firms that maintain their advertising during recessions tend to gain market share during the recession and increase their profits afterwards.

Advertising in a Recession

Bernard Ryan Jr

THE BEST DEFENCE IS A GOOD OFFENCE

The idea of conducting a study to prove that a company should maintain advertising during a recession goes back to the 1920s when an advertising executive named Roland S. Vaile tracked some 200 companies through the recession of 1923. In the April 1927 issue of the Harvard Business Review, he reported that the biggest sales increases throughout the period were rung up by the companies that advertised the most. But Vaile did not take into account such elements as profits or market share. His news fell...

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