Recession marketing– who gets it?

There is a New American Consumer

Right now we are experiencing a brand new period in the consumer market because the recession has spawned a new American consumer. Over-the-top expenditures, over-the-top status symbols have all gone the way of the Hummer (which, I suppose, also means they’ve migrated to China). This is what we are hearing daily, this is what we are telling ourselves, and this is how we are acting in our personal lives and as a class.

Now try explaining that to America’s consumer advertisers.

During the run-up to the start of the holiday ’09 shopping season, the usual clichéd appeals to and depictions of the consumer were rampant. Kohl’s and Target had their hyperbolic hyper-shopping women beside themselves with anxiety prior to black Friday. After the official launch of holiday shopping, Kohl’s gave us TV spot after TV spot showing that old standard of pre-recession marketing: the female consumer on the rapacious and unquenchable hunt for goods, goods, and more goods, dangling her trophies out of car windows in mall parking lots and extolling her own purchasing successes.

This is a recession, right? A mind-boggling downturn in the American economy has swept aside home equity, savings, job security, homes proper, and millions of jobs themselves. CNNMoney.com reports today (1/12/10) that there are six jobseekers for every available position in the United States. In your town and mine we pass scores of empty store fronts in dedicated retail centers and on commercial streets. It certainly feels as if they will be joined by other closures soon.

So where is the new messaging from America’s advertisers? Where is the thought leadership that speaks to this new reality? Where is the appeal that incorporates the depth of the recession into is pitch?

You’ll have to look quite hard.

The only two national advertisers I have noted that are taking the recession head-on without blinking are Hyundai and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, arguably, began its “Save money. Live better.” tagline and ads in 2008 prior to the full formation of the disastrous economic collapse. And they have been steadfast in repeating that message over and over again, framing it with a happy bridge mix of families going about their daily lives with the improved possibilities that Wal-Mart’s pricing allows them. No big breakthrough conceptually, but a consistent drumbeat. One that speaks clearly and loudly to the economic distress we are all experiencing daily.

Hyundai goes much further than Wal-Mart in communicating a position based on the economic downturn. The Hyundai Assurance Program allows car buyers who lose their jobs after purchasing a Hyundai to return their car to Hyundai without damaging their credit. What a coup! The company has parlayed its value-based-but-rapidly-improving-quality image with a guarantee that may sway potential buyers balancing their lack of job security against their need for a new car. The very liquid yet honest-sounding voice of Jeff Bridges has made the television ads for this program believable and powerful. Also successful, since Hyundai’s sales in the US have soared more than 40% in the last two months when compared against last year.

My guess is that more advertisers will attempt to crack the success code on the meaning of the economic downturn for their products. Why it hasn’t happened already and thoroughly is beyond me.

--Timothy Cohrs

www.TimothyCohrs.com