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&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;We executives live with risk, but also work to mitigate it. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;And these times are riskier than normal.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;So at first glance it&#39;s no wonder that the media industry is bracing for a downturn&amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://adage.com/article?article_id=131145&amp;amp;search_phrase=economy+slowdown&quot;target=_blank&amp;gt;in advertising&amp;lt;/A&amp;gt;.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Conventional wisdom (and a quick review of history) suggests that the marketing budget is the first thing we cut when revenues are under pressure and the future seems dicey.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Big mistake.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;And let me explain why.&lt;?xml:namespace prefix=&quot;o&quot; ns=&quot;urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office&quot;?&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;(Full disclosure:&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I am a longtime media executive and some of my company&#39;s revenue comes from advertising.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;But that doesn&#39;t make me wrong.)&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;For most of us our biggest cost center is personnel.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Most of us are more than hesitant to reduce costs by cutting people.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It hurts.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Beyond that, people have become the core asset and differentiator for most companies.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;So when things tighten up we tend to chop non-personnel costs.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;And marketing is often a big fat target.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Since most execs have &quot;ROI angst&quot; about marketing, there&#39;s an additional rationale for cancelling ad and marketing campaigns.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Easy doesn&#39;t make it right&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;The fact is most modern businesses rely on marketing for revenue success.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Word of mouth only gets you so far, and counting on momentum to outlast a downturn is playing with fire.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;If you miscalculate &amp;#8211; and many do &amp;#8211; you are in for a vicious cycle.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Less marketing equals lower revenues, which means more cutbacks.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Cut your marketing spend again and you risk even lower revenues.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Now you&#39;re forced to cut more costs &amp;#8211; and probably people &amp;#8211; but you&#39;re doing it from a lower base, ever closer to the brink.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Ready for the rebound?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;And when the economy starts turning around, where are you?&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;On your heels, that&#39;s where.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Your brand awareness is down, your traffic is down, and you have even fewer resources than when the vicious cycle started.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;You may have survived, but what about your career?&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Your company may have survived, but is it prepared to compete after the dust settles?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Instead, why not &lt;i style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style: normal&quot;&gt;focus positively&lt;/i&gt; on marketing during a downturn, even a bad one like this?&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Pick your battles and concentrate with your strongest weapons (those marketing vehicles with the best ROI).&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;There are lots of ways to address marketing during a downturn and it&#39;s certainly worth rethinking strategy and re-focusing resources.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;If you are Web-based and need traffic, power up your search engine marketing.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;If you&#39;re brick and mortar and need traffic, focus on outdoor or radio advertising, or whatever provides the best value for your dollar.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;And if brand awareness is the goal, concentrate on those channels that work best and cut the rest if necessary to gain efficiency.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Take a look at which companies are branding and marketing themselves when you&#39;re surfing the Internet, watching TV, or reading the paper.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;They are working to drive whatever revenue is out there now and they&#39;re positioning for the recovery.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Think of it as accelerating through the turn.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;TEXT-DECORATION: none&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Calibri&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Derek Loosvelt

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