Many people are trying to figure out how (or if) to advertise during this time.
No one wants to be insensitive but businesses still need to make money, if they’re going to survive the economic impact that has come from the Coronavirus.
So what should a business do?
Look at what others have done during similar times. Let me explain…
Many of us know there was a Great Depression, but many of us don’t know there was a recession from 1920-1921 also known as “The Forgotten Depression.”
The Forgotten Depression of 1920-21
Wikipedia describes the depression of 1920-1921 like this…
“The Depression of 1920–21 was a sharp deflationary recession in the United States and other countries, beginning 14 months after the end of World War I. It lasted from January 1920 to July 1921.”
– Wikipedia Definition of 1920-21 Depression
But that’s not all.
What you need to realize is that this depression wasn’t the only difficult economic time that people had experienced.
Recessions in the U.S.
There were MANY recessions before this forgotten depression:
- The Recession in 1899-1900
- The Recession in 1902-1904
- The Panic of 1907
- The Panic of 1910-1911
- The Recession of 1913-1914
- The Post World War I Recession of 1918-1919
- The Recession of 1923-1924
You might be thinking…
“Who cares about all of these recessions? What does that have to do with whether (and how) I should advertise during this current economic downturn?”
I’m glad you asked. 🙂
A Legendary Advertising Book Reveals How to Advertise During an Economic Downturn
You see, a very famous advertising book was published just two years later in 1923.
IMPORTANT: That means it must have been written in 1922 and it must have been based on advertising that was used during the (then) most recent depression and all of those difficult years before.
What book am I talking about?
It’s a book that has sold over 8 million copies and that marketing greats like David Ogilvy, Jay Abraham, and others have recommended.
Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins
The book I’m talking about is Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins.
In that book, Claude Hopkins shared fundamental advertising lessons that he had seen work inside and outside all of those many years of recessions and economic downturns.
And what was his advice about advertising that he learned from all of these difficult economic times?
Listen to what he says and pay close attention…
“When you plan or prepare an advertisement, keep before you a typical buyer. Your subject, your headline has gained his or her attention.
“Then in everything be guided by what you would do if you met the buyer face-to-face. If you are a normal man and a good salesman you will then do your level best.
“Don’t think of people in the mass. That gives you a blurred view. Think of a typical individual, man or woman, who is likely to want what you sell.”
– Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
Claude Hopkin’s Two Tips for Advertising During Difficult Economic Times
Claude Hopkins revealed two powerful tips you can use to help you advertise during difficult economic times:
1. How you advertise during this time depends on WHO your typical buyer is.
That means you need to know who you’re trying to reach in the first place.
And that means that you should have ALREADY CHOSEN a target group that needs or wants what you’re selling (and has the money to purchase it).
But you need to also ask questions like: How are they doing financially during this time? Are they doing well, just ok, or poorly?
- This is what’s going to determine how you advertise during an economic downturn or recession.
- This is going to determine how you get their attention.
2. After you figure out the “who” and how you will advertise to get their attention, then everything you say in your ad is what you would say to them if you met them face-to-face.
Hopkins warns us NOT to think of them as just a mass of people. That will only give you a blurred view. Instead, we must sharpen our view. How?
To do that, Hopkins says you must create your ad based on what you would say if you met one of the people from this target group.
When you do these two things, you’ll not only create advertising that doesn’t offend the people you’re targeting, but it will also resonate deeply with them.
That is how you advertise during difficult times like we’re facing today.
(HINT: It’s also how you advertise to them when everything is “back to normal.”)
STAY TUNED: 38 Experts Share How a Business Can Survive and Prosper in a Recession
During the last two recessions (in 2002 and 2008), I interviewed 38 business, marketing, sales experts and got them to reveal how businesses can survive and even prosper in a recession.
The best part? I reread them both recently and 90% of the books are still very applicable to today.
Stay tuned.
I’m getting ready to drop a new podcast soon where I’ll share some of the things that these experts shared with me in those interviews.
(Plus, I’ll also be re-releasing both books as a package.)
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