Advertising During The Economic Downturn
The UK has seen a tough few years, as many businesses close due to falling trade and rising costs.
This has certainly been the case in the retail industry as shops see their rents go up, their rates go up but their sales go down. As internet shopping has grown and retail competition has grown, surviving in the retail industry has been a dog eat dog game.
However considering the global spend on advertising over the last few years, things have remained very much unchanged, if anything the spend on advertising has only increased across mediums such as TV advertising, advertising at cinemas, radio advertising etc.
Advice From Advertising Companies
Advertising companies are always going to advise that advertising is the best way to generate exposure, as they have an interest in you spending money - however advertising does generate exposure.
TV advertising has become more accessible to smaller businesses that do not have the funds of the larger companies which means that smaller campaigns can be organised without committing to expensive campaigns.
For any business, marketing during the recession is a risky business, as everyone is desperate for work and client confidence is low. However only the strong businesses survive, the ones that have a good marketing message will be the ones to stand out in the crowd.
Top Advertising Mediums
There are a wide range of advertising mediums available to UK businesses and each one has it's own strengths and weaknesses.
- TV - Highly visible and can be targeted, however only really B2C advertising (advertising consumer products).
- Radio - Very affordable and good for local advertising, however difficult to target age groups.
- Billboard - Highly visible however only good for brand awareness and larger businesses.
There are many other kinds of advertising available to both large and small businesses (targeting businesses and consumers) but each one has to be used in the correct context for the advertising campaign to be successful.