The Recession Handbook: Brand Lessons From the Great Recession of 2009
AnxietyIndex Quarterly - Volume 4, Winter 2009

Topline Findings

Over the past year, our AnxietyIndex.com site has tracked nearly 400 brand responses to consumers’ recession-related anxiety in 27 markets. At the same time, our seven-year-old proprietary AnxietyIndex has quantitatively measured the levels and drivers of consumer anxiety in 13 markets.

In so doing, we have built a database of knowledge from around the world on consumer behavior and brand strategy in the Great Recession. As we begin to enter a recovery, we’ve reviewed this database, summarizing what we’ve learned and making recommendations for marketers that we believe will stand the test of time.

Our hope is to provide a primer for future downturns — a guide that goes beyond simply making the case for maintaining or increasing brand spend during a recession. (While this is a proper solution that has proved to work to the enduring advantage of brands, we understand the business realities that preclude many marketers from adhering to it.)

In our fourth AnxietyIndex Quarterly, we highlight key brand lessons from the Great Recession (accompanied by examples), which we believe will hold up in recessions to come.

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