How to Stretch Your Ad Dollars Further

4 Min Read

If you’re in advertising, you’re probably a little concerned right now. In June the annual inflation rate hit 9.1%, common goods are costing more, and consumer spending is in flux. For the second time since 2020, the economy is looking a little shaky – and we all know that when times get tough, brand marketing budgets are the first to get cut. But despite popular belief, cutting back now is the worst thing you can do. In fact, you don’t have to turn your back on brand marketing channels like TV at all – you just need to prove their performance and justify your team’s value.

To help brand marketers out, Jon Zucker, Senior Product Marketing Manager at MNTN, will be joining Ad Age to share best practices for brands during economic downturns, discuss why brands need to prioritize ad channels with measurable returns, and prove how TV can be a growth driver in good times and bad. Regardless of your industry, if you have any marketing plans for the rest of the year you won’t want to miss this – RSVP here for free. In the meantime, here are just a few of the tips Jon will share for how brands can stretch their ad dollars further this fall.

Spend Money to Make Money

It might seem counter-intuitive, but economic downturns might be the worst time to decrease ad spend. A Harvard Business Review study of the 2008 economic recession found that brands who experienced growth during that period maintained their ad spend and leveraged their TV presence. On average, increases in ad spending during times like these improve sales performance at the same time.

And it doesn’t just pay off during times of economic uncertainty. Companies that maintain ad spend during recessions see 256% higher sales than their counterparts later on. During the most recent economically uncertain time, COVID, agile direct-to-consumer and digitally native brands started fast-tracking customer engagement initiatives that they had already started pre-pandemic. They increased digital ad spend, booted their customer service, and fortified their digital capabilities. As a result, only 22% of DTC brands reported sales declines during that time, compared to 80% in larger, more traditional retailers. The takeaway is clear: maintaining or increasing ad spending during times of economic uncertainty improves sales performance and better positions brands for the future.

Stay on Message

In October 2008, 33% more people visited coupon sites than they did in October 2007. Why? It was the height of the last recession – and consumers were looking to save money both for everyday goods and early holiday gift shopping. When belts tighten, consumers are looking for the best deals around. For advertisers, the old adage holds: give ‘em what they want – and that’s ad campaigns that deliver deals. Ads that showcase hot deals will be a successful strategy this fall, especially when targeted toward user segments most likely to be interested in the product or service (more on that in a minute). 

And just like in October 2008, customers are expected to get an early jump on their holiday shopping this year – both to spread their spending out over a few months and to find the best offers. 37% of consumers polled agree that there are better deals earlier in the season, and as a result, 36% of retail executives are expected to start promotions earlier. For advertisers, the takeaways are simple: the best strategies this fall are to create campaigns that promote deals and deploy them early. 

Invest in the Performance (TV) Play

Thanks to its laser-precision targeting and transparent reporting, premium CTV platforms like MNTN Performance TV play a key role in helping brands maximize every ad dollar – both in good times and bad. Performance TV has thousands of audience segments to choose from – from the remarkably granular to the incredibly broad – and enables first-party, third-party, and CRM data to always find your current or potential customers. Then the platform automatically optimizes your ad thousands of times a day to distill it down to the perfect form.

Transparent reporting shows you how every campaign is performing and who’s converting, and full Google Analytics integration lets you compare your CTV ad performance against other campaigns. The result is the effectiveness of TV ads with less guessing, fewer wasted dollars, and concrete evidence of how budgets perform. This in turn proves ad performance impact, your ROI, and helps to protect both your marketing budget and justify your team’s value.

By We’re Just Getting Started

There are plenty of more best practices and insights to be discussed. RSVP to save your seat for Stand By Your Ad: Why CTV is Every Marketer’s Ally in Good Times and Bad to learn how these lessons can be applied, see how Connected TV has forever changed how marketers are impacted by down economies, and learn CTV success stories from popular brands. We look forward to seeing you there.