It’s tough out there, and brands, even the strong ones, are struggling to
survive. The ‘R’ word being bandied about is not helping matters either.
Recession is defined as general slowdown in economic activity in a country
over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction. So what
can marketers do to turn recession into revenue?

brand survival guru Simon
Silvester of the global
Y&R Group and editor of
the book ‘AAAGH! – A
Deep Recession Changes
Everything’, flew in from
London to specifically give the audience at
the latest Journal of Marketing breakfast,
moderated by Jeremy Maggs, sponsored by
Absa and held at the Michelanglo in Sandton,
some insight into brand survival strategies
during an economic downturn. He was joined
by a panel of top marketers which included
Mark Jakins, chief commercial officer of
Peermont Hotels Casinos & Resorts, Greg
Garden, marketing director at Nedbank,
Nikki Rule, KFC’s chief marketing officer and
Jacques Brent, vice president of marketing
and sales for Ford and Mazda.
Silvester opened the discussion by taking
some key points from his book. He says
7th August 2007 will become an even more
memorable day in history than September 11,
as that was the day the credit markets froze,
forming the basis of the recession.
When it comes to rebuilding brands, he says
marketers need to offer certainty and value,
not low prices. They need to sharpen up the
offer and not rely on habits of consumers
as these are always reassessed during
tough financial times. Marketers must not be
pointless; they must watch word of mouth and
reconsider their target market. In addition, he
says they need to educate the next generation
and consider introducing price layers as the
shape of the market changes.
But just what kind of shape is the market in?
Brent says the automotive industry has always
been a lead indicator of the overall economic
perspective, and it has eroded quickly over
a very short space of time. Jakins says the
hospitality industry is not as badly off as the
automotive one, but they are operating on low
single digit growth. The fast food sector on
the other hand, according to Rule, is flying.
She says every market has its threats and
opportunities and while the lower income
groups of the market may be dropping out,
the higher income groups are trading down
from fancy restaurants to fast food. “In
addition ours is an immature market that is
currently in a growth phase, even though it
has slowed down,” she says.
On the banking front, Garden says that
while worldwide there is a large amount of
consumer anger towards banks, the South
African banking industry has come through
the crisis well, with all four banks still
profitable due to the regulatory environment
of the National Credit Act which has provided
proper risk management. “While the banks
earnings are certainly down, it is still a vibrant
and healthy industry,” he says.