Kid Stuff
Ongoing news stories about the shaky economy continue to surface. Former Fed Chairman Greenspan even played Grinch at Christmas, explaining that, in his opinion, there is a 50/50 chance the U.S. will fall into recession.
Along with the threat of a weakened economy comes a more hidden, but no less crippling, corporate condition. It’s what psychologists call neophobia: the fear of new things. As the economy gets tighter, so do marketing budgets; ergo so do the level of risks clients are willing to take or new programs they are willing to introduce. It’s the complete opposite of what any company looking to make gains on its competitors should be doing, of course. When competitors are pulling in their marketing talons, that’s the moment savvy companies extend theirs.
Picasso said, “Every child is born an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once one grows up.” The same goes for our desire to overcome our fear of new things, regardless of the environment in which we happen to be. As young children, we’re taught to stand up despite our fear of the pending, or perhaps, inevitable, fall. We’re taught not to run and hide behind our parents when introduced to someone new, but rather, smile and offer a pleasant greeting. Many of the things we’re taught at an early age are designed to make us better human beings and better able to excel socially. Apply that same simple lesson to marketing/PR. If companies are always too timid, shy or averse to standing up for fear of falling or failing during difficult economic times, how do they ever hope to excel?
Many companies could take a page from Mario Andretti’s philosophy, a man considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in history. Andretti described his winning style this way, ‘If you’re in control, you’re not driving fast enough.”
Companies willing to push the gas while others are hitting the breaks in 2008, will snag the checkered flag … and the money that goes along with it.