When Outdoor Ads Reflect Reality

Steve Hall of Adrants offers this interesting commentary:

Worthless Zimbabwean Currency Used in Outdoor Campaign

To call attention to thew deplorable situation in Zimbabwe, TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS collected trillions of dollars worth of worthless Zimbabwe currency to create billboards, flyers and wallpaper. The purpose of the campaign is to support the Zimbabwean Newspaper which has been slapped by the Mugabe regime with a 55% luxury duty tax making the paper unaffordable to most citizens.

The campaign is running in England and South Africa where it is hoped people will buy the newspaper to support its ongoing coverage of the country's plight.

Create Value: Protect your talent, reputation in tough times

The good news? More and more economists note a definite rise in key economic indicators, possibly signaling that the official end to this brutal recession may shape up later this year. The not-so-good news? The net effects of these cruel financial times may linger for months, even years.

Small and large businesses alike have already faced furloughs, payroll delays, benefit cuts and layoffs. More are promised in the coming months. With anxious employees and top talent possibly looking for a way out, will they still be around when times turn upward? Will your investors and stakeholders stay the course with you, or look for an exit strategy?

These are important questions. Here are seven considerations to ponder as you navigate the turbulent months ahead:

Do your customers, prospects and suppliers still know that you’re a going concern? If you’re like most commercial companies, you probably cut your advertising and marketing budget in 2008 to conserve cash. Now is the time to think about positioning, but not necessarily to move product or sell services. According to national economist and forecaster Alan Beaulieu, companies today should now begin raising fresh and positive awareness of their operations. Otherwise, given the instantaneous viral nature of online communication, unanticipated rumors about your company’s possible demise can shatter reputation and smack your otherwise solid bottom line in a hurry.

To read more of the seven considerations, go here: http://www.mekgrp.com/whitepapers/creating-value.html

National Economist: How Are You Positioned for the Recovery?

What happens when a dominant and sagacious figure like Warren Buffet intones on national business television that “the economy has fallen off a cliff” and states to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that the U.S. economy “will be in shambles throughout 2009”?
Struck through with fear, some might start chanting the following in a tiny voice: “Go to a happy place. Go to a happy place.” Others – while acknowledging the unsavory 2008 historic data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – might put their heads down and go to work to carve out their part of the $14 trillion brute that represents the U.S. GDP.
According to economists and business consultants interviewed by MidwestBusiness.com, that latter bit is exactly what people should be doing right now. Despite the doom and gloom of job losses and stock deflation, critical national economic trends are starting to show real signs of an impending turnaround.
National economist Alan Beaulieu of the New Hampshire-based Institute for Trend Research accurately predicted in this column seven months ago that the U.S. economy would soon enter a “perfect storm”. With the Massachusetts-based institute claiming a 96 percent accuracy rate, what’s Beaulieu saying now?
“Companies need to now begin positioning themselves. Conserve cash and get ready for the recovery,” he said. “The recession will get worse over the next six months,” the economist continued, but noted that companies need to “start looking now at marketing to position themselves”.
Beaulieu and other business experts are not talking about traditional marketing here. They’re talking about ensuring that corporate prospects, customers and stakeholders know both that your company is still “a going concern” and is prepared for growth.
In 2008, the Massachusetts economist strongly advised companies to cut their marketing and advertising budgets in order to conserve cash. In doing so, these companies disappear from the radar screen of their prospects and customers unless they continued a strong public and media relations program to keep their names out in front.
In the absence of continued marketing to retain mindshare, news of the company’s performance can leak out through negative word-of-mouth and e-mail messages from employees. This negative brand bruising can be especially harmful if employees see widespread layoffs or have been subject to payroll delays or furloughs over the past few months.

For more, go here: http://www.midwestbusiness.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=19608