Name: Accelerating your brand in the face of a recession
Uploaded: 2023-05-22T12:08:08.511Z
Duration: 348.16
Description: When times are tough the natural inclination is to reduce spending. But is it really the best plan? Vicki Young, founder, and CEO of Nalla Design, explains why brands should consider investing even more in their brand-building during a financial crunch, and highlights case studies from previous recessions to illustrate the point.

Vicky_Y_recession v4.mp4

Vicky_Y_recession v42.vtt

English

{{00:00:00}}
What I would advise businesses to do
is to not look at the cost, but look

{{00:00:05}}
at the,  where the spend is happening.

{{00:00:08}}
So not just looking at trying to
cut costs or reduce, it's about

{{00:00:11}}
actually with the money that we've
got, how can we spend it more wisely?

{{00:00:24}}
The interesting thing about when brands
and businesses invest in marketing

{{00:00:28}}
is that in the in face of a recession
or any sort of financial situation

{{00:00:33}}
in the market, they tend to sort of.

{{00:00:36}}
Tighten up,  and stop spending,
which is the exact opposite

{{00:00:39}}
of what they should be doing.

{{00:00:41}}
I feel that brands should continue
to invest in,  kind of evolving

{{00:00:45}}
their brand and brand marketing and
investing in new sub-brand during a

{{00:00:49}}
time of recession because they need to
prepare for when the recession ends and

{{00:00:54}}
you've got to almost have that,
mindset of doing the exact opposite

{{00:00:59}}
that you might feel comfortable
doing, which is stop reducing

{{00:01:02}}
spend and invest in spending.

{{00:01:05}}
And this is quite comparable to
the stocks and shares market.

{{00:01:08}}
If you've got stocks and shares,
if the market's in decline,

{{00:01:11}}
you tend to think panic and
think, I'll hold or I'll sell.

{{00:01:15}}
And actually you should be
doing the complete opposite.

{{00:01:17}}
You should be buying
at that point in time.

{{00:01:20}}
And that's the frustrations with
marketers in their business is that

{{00:01:23}}
they can see that there's an investment
required or continuation of, and

{{00:01:27}}
it's, they really struggle with a
kind of almost getting that message

{{00:01:30}}
up to the C-suite and the boardroom.

{{00:01:38}}
Recessions aren't new.

{{00:01:40}}
They typically happen every 10 years.

{{00:01:43}}
Unfortunately they're part of our kind
of business cycle and global economy,

{{00:01:48}}
and they're nothing new, which means
that businesses have been around for

{{00:01:51}}
a long time, have experienced several.

{{00:01:54}}
And when you think about even
new brands that you might think,

{{00:01:57}}
oh, they're, they'd weather
the recession really well.

{{00:02:00}}
Even the new brands have been around
for sort of 24 years, 25 years.

{{00:02:04}}
You think of people like Google,
Netflix, they've  both of those

{{00:02:07}}
businesses are about 24, 25 years
old, and what we advise our clients to

{{00:02:12}}
do is to just look back at historic,
what can we learn from the history

{{00:02:17}}
and how can we learn from looking
at our current situation as well?

{{00:02:21}}
And in the 1920s there's a really
interesting story,  and data captured.

{{00:02:25}}
There were two businesses in the US.

{{00:02:27}}
There was post cereal and there was
Kelloggs, and both of these businesses

{{00:02:32}}
happened to,  be in the cereal
market, breakfast cereal market.

{{00:02:36}}
And what happened was that post
decided to cease any marketing

{{00:02:40}}
spend during the 1920s recession.

{{00:02:42}}
And what Kelloggs did is
they decided to double down.

{{00:02:46}}
And by doing that, They basically
made that they, when they came

{{00:02:49}}
out of the recession, they really
saw their trajectory shoot off

{{00:02:54}}
and they were able to increase
their market share significantly.

{{00:02:58}}
And today they're the market,
number one in the market.

{{00:03:02}}
They've totally smashed post and
a lot of people don't actually

{{00:03:05}}
know who post are, but everyone
knows who's whose Kelloggs are.

{{00:03:14}}
So the impact of a really strong
strategy,  to get you through this

{{00:03:18}}
period of uncertainty is immeasurable.

{{00:03:21}}
It's so valuable and really what I
would advise businesses to do is to

{{00:03:26}}
not look at the cost, but look at
the,  where the spend is happening.

{{00:03:31}}
So not just looking at trying to cut
costs or reduce, it's about actually

{{00:03:35}}
with the money that we've got, how
can we spend it more wisely,  and

{{00:03:38}}
it, and invest in what's right
for us and perhaps trim off the

{{00:03:42}}
areas that aren't working so well.

{{00:03:44}}
In terms of what areas businesses
should be looking at investing in,

{{00:03:48}}
in terms of brand and marketing at
the moment, that really does depend.

{{00:03:52}}
I think it all goes back to
understanding your customer needs.

{{00:03:55}}
What do they want?

{{00:03:56}}
What are they looking for?

{{00:03:57}}
What innovations are happening
in within your market and

{{00:03:59}}
your direct competitors?

{{00:04:00}}
And they're making strategic
decisions about where to invest,

{{00:04:03}}
spend, be that brand building, or be
that marketing,  on a more kind of

{{00:04:08}}
pay-per-click or s e o point of view.

{{00:04:10}}
They should always be investing in
innovation and bringing new products

{{00:04:14}}
to market, really tapping into customer
needs and staying ahead of the game.

{{00:04:18}}
So there's no time really, that you
should be pausing any investment

{{00:04:22}}
in business innovation, in business
brands, and, and really always

{{00:04:27}}
making sure that you understand your
customer at every step of the way.

{{00:04:37}}
When I'm talking with businesses and
we work a lot with small businesses

{{00:04:40}}
up to global 'FTSE' 100 brands, it's
about understanding,  where to kind of,

{{00:04:46}}
where to leverage the spend, I guess.

{{00:04:49}}
And obviously if you're struggling
and you're right on the brink of

{{00:04:52}}
clinging on and you're about to slide
into bankruptcy, you know, You know,

{{00:04:56}}
I'm gonna be honest, investing in
brand might not be the right thing

{{00:04:58}}
for you because there might be other
priorities in the business, but for

{{00:05:01}}
the majority of businesses that are
gonna survive weathering a storm, it's

{{00:05:06}}
about looking at the long-term vision.

{{00:05:08}}
And this is where a
lot of people go wrong.

{{00:05:10}}
They don't think about the investment.

{{00:05:13}}
In, you know, sort of 3, 5, 10
years time, they're very much

{{00:05:17}}
f fixated on the challenge and
the storm happening right now.

{{00:05:20}}
So it'd urge the C-suites,  if
you're having a problem with,  if

{{00:05:24}}
you're a marketer and you're having
a problem getting, you know, that

{{00:05:27}}
message over to the boardroom,  I
would do, do some forecasting.

{{00:05:31}}
I would show them the impact that this
is gonna happen,  with, if we don't

{{00:05:34}}
invest in brand and marketing,   where
our kind of,  market is gonna drop off

{{00:05:39}}
versus investing and where it can grow.

What I would advise businesses to do
is to not look at the cost, but look

So not just looking at trying to
cut costs or reduce, it's about

actually with the money that we've
got, how can we spend it more wisely?

The interesting thing about when brands
and businesses invest in marketing

is that in the in face of a recession
or any sort of financial situation

Tighten up,  and stop spending,
which is the exact opposite

I feel that brands should continue
to invest in,  kind of evolving

their brand and brand marketing and
investing in new sub-brand during a

time of recession because they need to
prepare for when the recession ends and

you've got to almost have that,
mindset of doing the exact opposite

that you might feel comfortable
doing, which is stop reducing

And this is quite comparable to
the stocks and shares market.

If you've got stocks and shares,
if the market's in decline,

you tend to think panic and
think, I'll hold or I'll sell.

And actually you should be
doing the complete opposite.

You should be buying
at that point in time.

And that's the frustrations with
marketers in their business is that

they can see that there's an investment
required or continuation of, and

it's, they really struggle with a
kind of almost getting that message

Unfortunately they're part of our kind
of business cycle and global economy,

and they're nothing new, which means
that businesses have been around for

And when you think about even
new brands that you might think,

oh, they're, they'd weather
the recession really well.

Even the new brands have been around
for sort of 24 years, 25 years.

You think of people like Google,
Netflix, they've  both of those

businesses are about 24, 25 years
old, and what we advise our clients to

do is to just look back at historic,
what can we learn from the history

and how can we learn from looking
at our current situation as well?

And in the 1920s there's a really
interesting story,  and data captured.

There was post cereal and there was
Kelloggs, and both of these businesses

happened to,  be in the cereal
market, breakfast cereal market.

And what happened was that post
decided to cease any marketing

And what Kelloggs did is
they decided to double down.

And by doing that, They basically
made that they, when they came

out of the recession, they really
saw their trajectory shoot off

and they were able to increase
their market share significantly.

And today they're the market,
number one in the market.

They've totally smashed post and
a lot of people don't actually

know who post are, but everyone
knows who's whose Kelloggs are.

So the impact of a really strong
strategy,  to get you through this

It's so valuable and really what I
would advise businesses to do is to

not look at the cost, but look at
the,  where the spend is happening.

So not just looking at trying to cut
costs or reduce, it's about actually

with the money that we've got, how
can we spend it more wisely,  and

it, and invest in what's right
for us and perhaps trim off the

In terms of what areas businesses
should be looking at investing in,

in terms of brand and marketing at
the moment, that really does depend.

I think it all goes back to
understanding your customer needs.

What innovations are happening
in within your market and

And they're making strategic
decisions about where to invest,

spend, be that brand building, or be
that marketing,  on a more kind of

They should always be investing in
innovation and bringing new products

to market, really tapping into customer
needs and staying ahead of the game.

So there's no time really, that you
should be pausing any investment

in business innovation, in business
brands, and, and really always

making sure that you understand your
customer at every step of the way.

When I'm talking with businesses and
we work a lot with small businesses

up to global 'FTSE' 100 brands, it's
about understanding,  where to kind of,

And obviously if you're struggling
and you're right on the brink of

clinging on and you're about to slide
into bankruptcy, you know, You know,

I'm gonna be honest, investing in
brand might not be the right thing

for you because there might be other
priorities in the business, but for

the majority of businesses that are
gonna survive weathering a storm, it's

And this is where a
lot of people go wrong.

In, you know, sort of 3, 5, 10
years time, they're very much

f fixated on the challenge and
the storm happening right now.

So it'd urge the C-suites,  if
you're having a problem with,  if

you're a marketer and you're having
a problem getting, you know, that

message over to the boardroom,  I
would do, do some forecasting.

I would show them the impact that this
is gonna happen,  with, if we don't

invest in brand and marketing,   where
our kind of,  market is gonna drop off

Expert Insight

When times are tough the natural inclination is to reduce spending. But is it really the best plan?
Vicki Young, founder, and CEO of Nalla Design, explains why brands should consider investing even more in their brand-building during a financial crunch, and highlights case studies from previous recessions to illustrate the point.

Marketing

Brand

Marketing insights

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thumbnail_1671814956140.jpg

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1671814956140.jpg

Vicki Young

Founder and CEO

Young shares the best strategies when companies face a recession to prevent long-term damage.

The challenges of recession

Economic crises are part of the business cycle. Young gives some advice on how companies can learn from previous recessions. 

Learn from history

Young shares some ideas on the best way to use your budget during an economic crisis.

Invest budgets wisely

A good marketing strategy is crucial according to Young, and will help to convince the leadership team to look past  the difficult period. 