Value trumps escapism

In a poll for AdweekMedia, ad/marketing professionals on social network LinkedIn were asked what the most effective tone for advertising is during a recession.

They were given five options. Of the five, the vast majority of respondents (52%) argued the best tone was "a focus on value," Adweek reports. The preference was also shared almost equally between genders, with 54% of women selecting it and 52% of men.

Age was slightly more divisive. 57% of 18-24-year-olds selected "a focus on value," followed by 51% of 25-34-year-olds and 35-54s. Those of the 55-and-older group were disproportionately more likely to select "same rules apply as at other times" — that is, an ad's message in a recession isn't more or less effective in a recession versus in a healthy economy.

Besides "a focus on value," other options for the best ad message approach in a downturn were:

• "Empathetic realism," which won 15% of user responses
• "Same rules apply as at other times," the third-most-popular response (13%)
• "Lighthearted escapism" (9 percent)
• "A focus on price" (8 percent)

Rounding out other differences in the poll responses, users living in New York were twice as likely as the rest of the nation to pick "A focus on price" — 22% of New Yorkers opted for the latter.

What's more, "Lighthearted escapism" was the option of choice for 26% of inhabitants of Chicago, "where people still imagine the Cubs will someday win a World Series," Adweek quipped.

View the full results of the LinkedIn/AdweekMedia survey, or participate in another ad-related poll.

Image credit: "Father and son walking," courtesy of Jennifer Echols Photography. Views expressed in this article do not represent those of the photographer.