Focusing the Brand for the Coming Recovery
Is there a glimmer of light on the horizon? Perhaps. There are certainly glimmers of optimism that the worst recession since the 1930's may be abating, yet unemployment is still on the increase and consumer spending continues to be noticeably down, wreaking havoc on economies and confounding Marketers.
Is there a glimmer of light on the horizon? Perhaps. There are certainly glimmers of optimism that the worst recession since the 1930’s1 may be abating, yet unemployment is still on the increase and consumer spending continues to be noticeably down, wreaking havoc on economies and confounding Marketers.
The ultimate outcome and timeframe may still be uncertain, but what is clear is that this recession is not merely deep; it is creating a sea-change in consumer behaviour. By all accounts we are witnessing what economists term a ‘structural break’– a concept popularized by David Hendry meaning an unexpected shift in a macroeconomic time series. This break represents the discontinuity of a trend whose origin dates back to the post-war boom of the 1950s. While we will hopefully see a return to some measurable degree of growth in the next year or so, the behavioural changes are considerable such that traditional notions of consumer behaviour and market segments may no longer be valid.
