Your Brand is an asset that gains value during market down turns.

Business leadership is faced with budget restrictive factors to include global inflation, supply chain obstacles and economic uncertainty. Higher costs equal cutting budgets to weather the current inflation. CMO and CFO should resist the pressure to slash marketing budgets. Recent history results conclude that companies that invested more during these economic conditions saw a 20% or more gain in market share.

RESIST THE URGE TO CUT MARKETING BUDGETS TO SATISFY SHORT-TERM CASH-FLOW GOALS. 

Corporate CFO’s are tasked with maintaining their organizations profitability regardless of economic conditions. Marketing budgets are an easy consideration in a list including hiring freezes, workforce reductions, dropping lesser profitable business revenue streams, postponing new projects to name a few. In reality your brand presence and perception raise consumer interest, resulting cash flow for listed interests above. If marketing was a pure cost center, it would be understandable that business leadership would look to their marketing budget as a viable budget cut. However, a dollar spent on office supplies, IT or a lease is not the same a dollar spent on business growth or opportunity.

To focus on marketing as an expense, missing its ability to drive revenue is a costly mistake, more evident in tighter economic cycles. WHY? Both short-term and long-term profitability are affected. In addition, the brand investment made in all previous years suffers when consumers need to see consistent brand strength and presence when making their product and services decisions on a cost saving budget. This is a CMO’s opportunity to really shine alongside the CFO making critical profit center decisions. Evaluate your brand as the asset it is, representing your business the public in mere seconds. A well-planned marketing campaign will achieve high ROI, effectuating “every dollar well spent”.

“YOUR BRAND IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE IN YOUR BUSINESS.”
           Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine

Traditional marketing is largely measured success by demand lead numbers. Although a great measure of consumer engagement and brand exposure, marketing dollar value must include post sale consumer engagement as well as reputation building and sales tools. The compound interest of your annual marketing budget is your brand asset defined and current brand perception realized. Now is the time for CMO’s to focus on an updated consumer database and work closely with their marketing agency to make sound investment decisions to capitalize on a 20% or greater growth goal. Rely on your marketers through brand building and awareness to meet consumer needs where they seek and when they want your product or service. Marketing dollars will have increased value moving away from individualize leads and focusing on buyer groups and opportunities over leads.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF YOUR BRAND ASSET?

AWE! partners have vast experience in working with brands of global recognition, national and regional. A brand value assessment is key to producing a branded strategic plan. You have SEVEN seconds to make a first impression. An iconic brand is like a person, always growing in complexities and value, remembered and chosen. A logo is the face, and the brand is the character and integrity of the business it represents. At AWE! we are passionate about the face and presence of your brand. Whether your brand is known around the world, and you want to do something fun or fresh to strengthen your identity or a trusted local brand ready for the next level of market share, we are excited to hear your story and catapult your brand. Generating revenue is measured by the level of connection you have with your current market share while obtaining ROI growth through stellar design, rich content original to your story to create strong relationships with your consumers that will resonate for a lifetime.

Listing marketing as an expense can cost you more than you want to spend. CFOs, CEOs, and CMOs know what their business has spent on their brand and marketing.  Do they know what their brand asset returns are? I’m guessing most do not fully know, largely not their fault. There is no one quick line item to look up (unlike the expense line item). Brand value is comprehensive and must be reviewed through several measures to know its true value. We can assess the asset value of your brand. Essential knowledge to have before treating it as an expense and devaluing it. Not to mention losing the important short-term and long-term revenue that measures the success of all business, regardless of size and current economic conditions. Furthermore, business competitiveness and customer perception are jeopardized.

“A PRODUCT CAN QUICKLY BE OUTDATED, BUT A SUCCESSFUL BRAND IS TIMELESS.”
           Stephen King

Business leadership should collectively take this opportunity to lead their business forward realizing the value of branding. A corporations’ intrinsic value is in direct correlation to its strength of brand and marketing spend. Brand equity is the is a measurable investment reflected in customer loyalty, profit margins and market base of your business among industry peers just share a quick sky view.

Securing your marketing budget…. or maybe even making a bold move to increasing your marketing budget to advance your brand investment is not the reflex decision in current economic times …. but is worth considering adding to your brand equity and increase share of market at a discount. Other departments may have issues with this decision in the short-term as the pressure to tighten budget in all departments is the usual “go to” for preserving cash flow. Path less chosen in the long term for maintained marketing budget will add to budgets for other departments as well as protect a significant asset that produces revenue. It’s well worth sharing with your peers that cutting your marketing budget could have negative short-term and long-term consequences that may cause departmental budget cuts beyond current market conditions.

“A GREAT BRAND IS A STORY THAT IS NEVER COMPLETELY TOLD”
          Scott Bodburg, CFO of Brand Leverage

Now is the time to evaluate your brand, protect it and strengthen its equity through a strategic marketing plan. Your consumers are making their decisions with careful considerations of brand loyalty, quality, and brands that align with their beliefs. Be bold! Trust your brand. Resonate with your consumers and be “their go to brand”. At AWE! we are excited to hear your story and elevate your brand and use your brand asset dollars skillfully.