News from JAR
Introduction
Open access to an article on what happens when brands stop advertising for a year
INTEREST CATEGORY: MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
POSTING TYPE: Calls: Journals
Author: Alan Saywood
What happens when alcohol brands “go dark”
Brands in the alcoholic drinks sector typically witness double-digit sales declines if they stop broad-reach advertising for a year, according to a study published open access in Volume 61, Issue 3 of the Journal of Advertising Research.
“When Brands Go Dark: Examining Sales Trends when Brands Stop Broad-Reach Advertising for Long Periods” analysed the performance of 41 brands drawn from the beer, spirits and cider categories in Australia that advertised intermittently over a period of nearly 20 years. And its dataset included 57 instances where brands stopped advertising for a year or more.
Why it matters
With budgets under pressure, whether for cost-cutting or broader strategic reasons, it can be tempting to reduce advertising to zero where firms simply regard this activity as a cost center. Following that approach, however, can do significant damage in terms of long-term revenue trends.
Takeaways
- The study found that alcoholic drinks brands which halt broad-reach advertising i.e., efforts to build equity, image or brand using mass media, particularly TV typically witness a sales decline.
- On average, this decrease stood at 16% after one year. In the second year, it stood at 25%. During year three, it came in at 36%.
- Bigger brands that were already growing often saw demand continue to rise if they stopped advertising. Smaller growing brands saw an immediate sales slide, though.
- Sales fell at a higher rate for smaller brands, as they did for brands that were already in decline.
The authors
The study was written by Nicole Hartnett, Virginia Beal, Rachel Kennedy and Byron Sharp, all from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, and Adam Gelzinis, from Endeavour Group.