Marketing/advertising lessons from the Great Depression- Part II:

Chrysler’s fortunes in the Great Depression are another classic example of (marketing while your competition pulls back).

Chrysler had been the third player in the U.S. auto industry, behind G.M. and Ford. But early in the downturn it gave a big push to a new brand—Plymouth—targeted at the low end of the market, and by 1933 it had surpassed Ford to become North America’s second-biggest automaker.

On a smaller scale, Hyundai has made huge gains in market share this year, thanks to a hefty advertising budget and a guarantee to take back cars from owners who have lost their jobs.

Those gains may turn out to be temporary, but in fact the benefits from recession investment are often surprisingly long-lived, with companies maintaining their gains in market share and sales well into economic recovery.

So I ask again, why are you waiting to add video to your marketing mix?

Send in your answers- and more examples of marketing during downturns, and I’ll post them up for discussion!