Recessions help bring people back to reality: the realities of what qualifies as important news (maybe not to everyone), what political issues need to be dealt with and discerning what is really worth buying (and what one can forgo). This puts brands that don’t offer necessity or an emotional attachment in a predicament. They can scramble to change their messaging temporarily for the downturn, take a hit under the presumption that their brand’s desirability before the downturn will return as the economy strengthens, or they can attempt to modify the brand message to appeal to a wider audience. Because recessions bring marketers back to reality, marketers are forced to rethink the basics: “Who is my audience?” and “Why would they buy this product?”

My guess is that even the brands that are doing well in today’s market have rethought these basic questions. Bringing your marketing back to this level, even by necessity, should be considered a natural part of every brand’s life. As marketers “rediscover” their products or services, they may also identify new product opportunities, more viable markets, more relevant messaging, etc. that they might not have discovered otherwise.