It's currently an impossibility to open a paper and not read another doom and gloom story. Only yesterday I read about the "roast crunch" and the 25% increase in the cost of a traditional roast beef dinner for a family of four. It is seemingly never ending.
However, I do categorise myself a half-full rather than half-empty type of person and I firmly believe that the recession might actually bring about some positives, particularly for the marketing industry.
Since the last downturn and dotcom bust the marketing industry has enjoyed a pretty stable climate. While not as heady and cash rich as the 80s, there have been some large budgets sloshing around and hence a plethora of jobs.
In my mind this has led to short-termism. In 1983 the average job tenure in the UK was 17 years for women and around 22 for males. In 1990 this had reduced to 12 years and 18 years respectively.
Fast forward a decade and the average tenure for a marketing director is just 18 months. This combined with an explosion of new technology and marketing theory has created an almost "not on my watch" mentality and marketing directors have been comfortable with sticking with what they know will deliver for them.
Consequently rather than taking a long-term view of a brand there has been a tendency to concentrate on six-month tactical plans. Success is measured by ROI and reach for single campaigns and their affect on the bottom line.
Even if there is a strategic five-year plan in place, it can often be ignored because by then half the staff will be working somewhere else. Marketing directors want results and they want them now.
With the current economic cloud hanging over the UK I believe there will be a marked sea change. Already the job pages in the trade press seem lighter and calls from recruitment agencies trying to poach my employees also seem to have dropped off indicating that the job market just isn't as buoyant as it was this time last year.
Furthermore, with mortgages, loans and reduced credit spending becoming the focus for most individuals -- a recent report by G2 Data Dynamics showed that over the past six months consumers had reduced credit card spending by a staggering £4.4bn -- moving jobs has become riskier and it seems many people are now more content to stay where they are and ride out the downturn.
Another contributing factor is the change in marketing practices. In response to the recession we are seeing a shift from customer acquisition to the retention of existing ones, predominately because it costs more to find a new client than it does to keep the ones you've got.
Indicative of this change at Millennium we have experienced an increased interest in tighter targeting and segmentation. Brands are beginning to understand the importance of the over 50s market -- not least because this group has the most disposable income of any other UK demographic.
However, there are many organisations out there that still communicate with this vast group of individuals as one -- which is simply ludicrous. A 52 year old woman will have a very different outlook on life than her 83 year old mother -- or put another way Madonna is at a completely different life stage to The Royale Family's Liz Smith and this must be taken into consideration in order to make the most of the grey pound during the downturn.
The revised approach is leading to more strategic plans being put into place focusing on campaigns designed to engender loyalty interspersed with brand building activity, rather than the immediate win or sale.
This concentration on the brand can only be beneficial and I believe we will see organisations coming out of the downturn with a stronger, clearer picture of their long term objectives and a strategy in place to ensure they are attained.
Fiona Hought is managing director at Millennium.