FT campaign urges businesses to keep advertising

The Financial Times is launching an ad campaign this weekend urging companies to continue advertising. The move comes just days after the Bellwether Report showed that marketers are severely cutting back their ad budgets as the economic downturn deepens.

The campaign, created by DDB London, will deliver a series of messages tailored to the current economic situation, but will continue to use the “We live in Financial Times” strapline. It will run across outdoor, press and online.

The ads aim to highlight strategies that will help businesses come through an economic downturn or recession and grow market share.

The outdoor, which will break across London on Monday (October 20), will see poster sites stripped back to bare board with just a small copy panel posing the question: “Global downturn. What’s the first mistake businesses make?”

The campaign will also run in trade press and will be supported by a new microsite featuring case studies outlining the benefits of continuing to advertise during a recession.

Frances Brindle, global marketing director of the Financial Times, says: “This new creative could not be more topical, and supports the argument that cutting back on advertising spend in recessionary or turbulent times hands a significant advantage to your competitors. There is considerable evidence to suggest that companies that continue to invest in advertising in tough times emerge stronger than those that don’t.”