Programme overview
Introduction:
Recession marketing strategy is often set in panic: advertising is cut across the board, discounts spread without a plan and loyal customers drift to cheaper rivals while competitors that keep investing gain share. This Core Concept course gives marketing, brand and commercial managers a structured way to read how a downturn reshapes demand, protect share of voice and brand equity, shift spend to efficient channels, redesign offers for stretched budgets and keep trade partners and customers loyal. Participants build a Downturn Marketing Plan with scenario budgets for a case brand.
Course Objectives:
- Diagnose how a downturn changes category demand, customer segments, trade-down behaviour and price sensitivity for a brand
- Decide how much advertising weight to hold using share of voice against market share and competitor spend cuts
- Reallocate a shrinking marketing budget toward channels and activities with the strongest short and long-term payback
- Redesign offers, pack sizes and price tiers so core customers can keep buying without eroding brand value
- Shift effort from acquisition to retention, loyalty and trade partner support in consumer and B2B markets
- Produce a Downturn Marketing Plan with recovery-shape scenarios, spend triggers and a recovery launch sequence
Target Audience:
- Marketing managers who set annual marketing budgets and defend them in cost reviews
- Brand managers accountable for brand health, positioning and market share of a product line
- Commercial managers responsible for revenue targets, key accounts and trade terms
- Trade and channel marketing managers who fund distributor, retailer and reseller programmes
- Customer marketing and loyalty managers who own retention and CRM programmes
- B2B marketing managers who support long sales cycles and account-based campaigns
Course Outline:
Day 1: How a Downturn Reshapes Demand and Brand Risk
- Recession Mechanics for Marketers: Confidence, Credit, Employment and Category Spend
- Downturn Consumer Segments: Slam-on-the-Brakes, Pained-but-Patient, Comfortably Well-Off and Live-for-Today
- Spend Category Sorting: Essentials, Treats, Postponables and Expendables
- Trade-Down, Private Label Switching and Purchase Deferral Signals
- Brand Exposure Audit: Category Elasticity, Customer Mix and Competitor Posture
Day 2: Brand Protection Models and Lessons from Past Recessions
- Generic Lessons from Past Recessions: Brands That Held Investment Versus Brands That Went Dark
- Share of Voice Versus Share of Market and Excess Share of Voice Logic
- Brand Equity Erosion Risks: Awareness Decay, Price Anchoring and Distinctiveness Loss
- Recovery Shape Scenarios: V, U, W and L Curves Applied to Category Demand
- Defend, Hold or Attack Posture Grid by Brand Strength and Cash Position
Day 3: Budget Reallocation, Value Offers and Retention
- Zero-Based Marketing Spend Review: Working Versus Non-Working Media
- Channel Efficiency Ranking: Cost per Reach, Owned Media and Always-On Digital
- Value Offer Redesign: Smaller Packs, Entry Tiers, Bundles and Price-Pack Architecture
- Retention Before Acquisition: Loyalty Mechanics, Win-Back Offers and Service Recovery
- Reassurance Messaging: Tone, Value Proof and Trust-Building Communication
Day 4: B2B, Trade Partners, Scenario Triggers and Return Under Pressure
- B2B Downturn Marketing: Buying Committee Caution, Cost-Saving Value Cases and Account Prioritisation
- Trade and Channel Partner Support: Co-Marketing Funds, Stock Terms and Distributor Health Checks
- Discount Trap Warning Signs: Promotion Dependency and Reference Price Damage
- Scenario Spend Triggers: Leading Indicators, Stop-Go Rules and Reserve Budgets
- Lean Return Tracking: Payback Metrics, Brand Health Pulse and Test-and-Learn Cells
Day 5: Case Brand Downturn Marketing Plan
- Case Data Pack: Consumer Goods Brand Facing Falling Category Volume
- B2B Services Case: Protecting Key Accounts Through a Spending Freeze
- Case Scenario Budgets: Base, Deep Downturn and Early Recovery Allocations
- Recovery Launch Sequence: Relaunch Timing, New Offers and Share Capture Plan
- Downturn Marketing Plan Presentation to a Management Review Panel
Skills You Will Gain:
- Downturn Demand Diagnosis
- Share of Voice Planning
- Marketing Budget Reallocation
- Price-Pack Architecture
- Customer Retention Planning
- Channel Partner Support
- Scenario-Based Marketing Planning
- Recovery Launch Planning
Why Attend This Course:
- Leave with a Downturn Marketing Plan and three scenario budgets you can put in front of finance
- Argue for holding brand investment with share of voice evidence rather than instinct
- Know which spend to stop, which to protect and which triggers restart growth activity
- Compare downturn responses with peers from consumer goods, retail, services and B2B organisations
Conclusion:
Downturns reward brands that make deliberate choices rather than blanket cuts. The course moves from how recessions reshape demand, segments and spending categories, through share of voice, brand equity risks and recovery-shape scenarios, to budget reallocation, value offer redesign, retention, B2B and trade partner support, scenario triggers and lean return tracking. The final day applies these methods to consumer and B2B cases and produces a Downturn Marketing Plan with scenario budgets and a recovery launch sequence ready for management review.