So these last few months have been extremely hard on the advertising industry and on me personally.  No matter where you turn it seems everyone is talking about the horrible economy, and about how to avoid a depression.

Sorry, but when people sound hopeful about avoiding a depression, that still does not help instill confidence.

Given this news, many of my clients have asked to cut their budgets in the last few weeks.  Below is a list of reason they have given for cutting their budgets, and what my colleges and I have said in response.  (remember we specialize in retail advertising so the answers and questions lean that way.)

1. We can cut budget and keep our share of voice, because our competitors have cut budget – Our goal has never been share of voice, but share of mind.   We want XX% of people to think of your brand for XX product.

2. Let’s cut for just a little bit and see what happens – The ramifications of cutting marketing spend are not instantaneous.  If I cut budget one week, my sales may not drop to the next etc., plus it may take some time to gain back the level of awareness we once had.

3.Spend to Sales is out of proportion - Let’s look at the numbers based on the long term not month to month, and figure out our best long terms marketing goals.

I wish I could tell you these all worked, but of course they did not.  Some cut, some did not, and more will cut in the future.   No matter how many blogs we read that tell us now is not the time for an aggressive advertiser to cut budget,  we all know it will happen anyway.

Let’s use this time not to complain or whine.  Let’s use this time to think more strategically, and try to get the most out of every dollar we do have.  What have you wanted to do with your marketing, that now might be a good time to try?

I’m taking a break from my Apple rant today, to talk about what everyone else is talking about today, the election.

This years election is fascinating, the internet and especially social media has allowed people to connect with their candidates like never before.  It started with the amazing connection many people felt with the old man out of Texas, Ron Paul, and then transitioned to other candidates.

Social media has allowed voters to feel a personal connection to their candidates, and has allowed the candidates to customize their message to reach specific demographics.

Obama did not personally connect with people online, but instead he encouraged his supporters to connect together and form a strong online community.  He allowed voters to find other people like themselves that were voting for Obama, and talk and develop an online connection. 9 out of 10 people I follow on Twitter have been telling me to vote for Obama and reasons why.  I have never met most of these people, but I trust them with other advice, why would I not trust them with political advice?  Especially when their reasons for voting for Obama are targeted to the online geek demographic I fit into?

Obama is capitalizing on, online word of mouth.  He has even segmented his supporters into groups.  Look at his website, under the people header.  There anyone can find a group to associate with, whether it is a Christian group, Arab Group, Latin American group, etc.  Instead of trying to be one brand for everyone, Obama has segmented his brand and tweaked it for each of these groups.

He is very generic with his mass media message and somewhat unclear, but then when targeting these small groups he has customized his message to appeal to them.  This would have been impossible to do with traditional media.

Each group of supporters has made the Obama brand their own.  Geeks love him for one thing and that is what he talks about to them, and Labor loves him for other reasons and he talks to them about that.

In some ways Obama has let his supporters take over the Obama Brand. They have made it their own, and have developed a strong connection with their views of who Obama is.

Could this backlash once he is President, and he has to make decisions that alienate groups of his followers? Probably, but I am sure he will once again engage the community, and talk to them online in a personal direct manner that appeals to their interest to minimizes the backlash.

It is an amazing strategy, and something political advisors will be studying for years to com