If you’re a loyal reader of this blog – and, if you are, thank you – then you know that 96.7% of the time, I use this space to share my thoughts on the vast world of marketing, branding, and promotional products. When I started blogging five years ago, my goal was simple: to share my knowledge to give back to an industry that has given me, well, everything.
As you might guess, this edition of my blog will be a bit different given recent events. What it comes down to as I write this today (Sunday, March 15, 2020) marketing just seems less important than ever.
Much like you, I assume, I’ve never seen such a dramatic freefall into a panic than I did last week. Last Thursday – in less than 24 hours – it seemed there was an announcement every five minutes that took away just one more piece of normalcy as life as we all knew it came to a screeching halt:
- South by Southwest (SXSW) canceled
- Coachella canceled
- Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo canceled
- Pearl Jam, Green Day, and Zack Brown tours canceled
- NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments canceled
- NBA season suspended
- NHL season suspended
- English Premier League matches postponed
- MLB season delayed
- NASCAR and Indy Car canceled races
- The Masters golf tournament postponed
- Disney Theme Parks closed
- Colleges, Universities, and local school districts extending Spring Break or moving to online learning
As we all know, the above isn’t even approaching a complete list and much more of daily life has been altered since Thursday. While I’m concerned about the virus and the potential long-term impact of the illness it will bring to many, my immediate concern is the economy. No, not because I’m praying my decimated 401K can be resuscitated; because so many in our land are only a few missed paychecks away from losing everything financially. For every NBA game that isn’t played, there are soft drink vendors who won’t get a paycheck. Every single day tourist attractions are closed, folks that typically make $12.00 an hour making things spic and span will instead sit at home wondering how to feed their families. For every conference that is called off, promotional products suppliers and distributors are holding unusable merchandise.
Then it occurred to me: it may not feel “right” to market products and services right now, but marketing is precisely what we need to be doing if we want a tomorrow that looks closer to “normal.” In lean times, marketing is usually the first thing that’s cut by businesses. On the surface, that makes sense since it’s often difficult to establish an accurate return on investment (ROI). However, I believe that thinking is wrong because this crisis will not last forever: there will be order, there will be protocols, there will be a vaccine, and we will return to life very close to what we all lived just ten days ago. By cutting marketing spend right now – especially at the inception of this crisis – is a disservice to your business and, I would argue, the global economy.
Much like the people who are inexplicably hoarding toilet paper, hoarding your budgeted marketing spend doesn’t make logical sense: people will eventually - perhaps immediately - need promotional badges, apparel, hats, drinkware, silicone straws to save the wee turtles, power banks, backpacks, Bluetooth speakers, coasters, pillboxes, jar openers, lanyards, writing instruments, automobile accessories and, yes, even stress balls. In an extremely competitive marketplace where the competition is providing the same products, the same decoration, at approximately the same price, where will your organization be when things return to normal if you eliminate your marketing now?
While the disruption of "normal" life may get worse before it gets better, we will get through this - and will do so together. Yes, the information we are all sifting through on an hourly basis is overwhelming and it's easy to turtle up, live in fear, and point fingers. I, for one, have chosen to live my life as close to my normal as possible. For example, after dragging my feet on a new grill that was needed, I saw an ad for one I had my eyes on for a few months and pulled the trigger. After I put it together, I spent time with my family, smoked pork shoulder, had an old fashioned or two, and did my best to enjoy the weekend. And, despite the uncertainty of our collective new reality, I did.
I'll forever look at that grill and remember how glad I am that I saw that advertisement because, frankly, I got a hell of a deal and it's a physical manifestation of living life. Without that ad - without marketing - that transaction never would have happened. Henry Ford said it best: “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” I think I was wrong at the beginning of this blog; marketing may be more critical than ever.
Here's to being smart, practicing social distancing, coming together instead of pulling apart, and living our lives as close to normal as possible as we sail through these unsettled waters.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, a digital marketing, media, and advertising agency, and has over 20 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, and immediate past president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, and developing branding that resonates with a target audience. He can be reached at bill@promocorner.com.