Great Depression 2

I’ve had a lot of random thoughts about the current financial crisis, and the role the media in shaping the public opinion.  I get the feeling that the economy will bounce back when people get tired of hearing about bad news. Will consumer spending patterns really change so that Americans actually do some saving rather than live off debt?

I’m all set with every marketing campaign or event talking about how to do “x” in this economy, or in this recession, or in the downturn. From a sales/marketing perspective I haven’t heard anything from any of these sessions that wasn’t crap.

Yes, you should step up your marketing during a recession, the brands that do will never have an easier time getting attention. This is about as useful as saying “if you are in the desert you really need to drink more water”. The problem is that you have no budget and you need sales to get that budget.

Am I the only person that’s offended by these arguements? As if last all the projects I was working on last year were drowing in inefficiencies and had no concern for budget- “Yeah that free SUV campaign was a big mistake, and the junkets to the Bahamas, maybe we should try email campaigns, webinars and social media now”.

Panic and fear spread. I had a good laugh last night at the PRSA cocktail event as we came up with a list of the previous “Swine Flu” panics:

• Flesh-eating bacteria
• Mad Cow disease
• Bird Flu
• Killer Bees
• and a list of 5 more that I forget thanks to our dinner at The Brandy Library

Spreading disaster makes for great news, who cares that if you add up all of those they are nothing compared to Heart Disease, or diseases that could be wiped out of developing countries. That stuff is just too boring. I’m enjoying all the great buys on Craig’s List, but the financial news is boring me. Move along people, nothing to see here.