News to Use
Recession Got You Down? Marketers Want to Help
With Headlines Mired in Gloom and Doom, Flurry of Ad Messages Tries to Tap Into Consumers’ Need for Hope
Published: May 12, 2008
DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Don’t worry. Be happy.
So advises Ian Beavis, exec VP and exec global client director at Aegis Group’s Carat. He believes advertisers are hammering away too much on the negatives in their marketing these days. The media agency’s qualitative research, conducted with thousands of Americans across the country three weeks ago, revealed that “people are weary of hearing about one-sided, negative economic news,” he said.
“Americans by nature are a very optimistic bunch of people,” said Mr. Beavis, who happens to be a native Australian. Carat found, he said, that while consumers aren’t Pollyanna-ish about the nation’s state of affairs, they are looking for more hope and optimism.