Most people in the advertising business have seen a significant uptick in activity in the past month.  This activity has led many, myself included, to ponder whether this means that the recession is over.  While the activity is increasing, the money has not quite followed.  There has been a flurry of boards and bids, but decisions are still very slow in coming.  Also, those jobs that are moving forward are doing so with smaller budgets and in different fashion than before.

There is fairly solid consensus that the rest of 2009 will continue to be challenging.  The truth is that there is no where for ad spending to go but up.  However, this new spending comes with significantly increased accountability.  We will all have to learn to work differently from this point forward.

One thing is for certain, online will change the way the television ad business works going forward.  Online will affect how TV programming is distributed and how advertising will integrate with the new distribution methods and models.  For an interesting look at how online video ads will impact live TV ads, take a look at this study by CBS.

CBS Study: Online Video Could be More Valuable than Live TV

Have you seen the recession easing?  Let me know.

This is a re-post of a blog entry by my good friend Phil Cooke that I thought was so poignant that I would share it here.  In every recession or downturn, I have found that the first thing that companies do is cut their media and marketing spend.  No recession can end until companies realize that in order to sell, they must advertise.  Once they begin to return to advertising and marketing, things begin to turn around.  I am certainly beginning to see things move and improve, but we have a long way to go.

Thanks for the post Phil!

Budget Tight? Then Advertise

Are you watching the car companies? They have no money and are in the middle of a government bail-out. So what are they doing? Spending money on advertising! While some people are surprised, they’re actually doing exactly the right thing. Most leaders pull back from media and marketing during challenging times, but that’s the moment you should be advertising the most. Understand that advertising is about recognition and perception. During difficult times, your problem is awareness – how do you get people to try the product, open the door, or listen to your message? Obviously quality products and great service matter. But without recognition and awareness, those great products just sit on the shelf, churches sit empty, and service companies don’t get calls. If you’re struggling financially, be very careful about dumping your advertising budget. That could be the very thing that gets you back on track.

See the original post here.