In advertising, what once was will likely be again

Despite all the financial gloom, a recent article on Yahoo interested me when it highlighted four bright spots in our economy.

1. Farming – “U.S. agriculture remains relatively resilient.” We can attest to that.  Agriculture is still our largest category of business. While other agencies have experienced significant losses and/or reductions, our agency continues to grow and thrive with the help of our ag-based clients.
2. U.S. Corporate Buying Frenzy – It’s hard to get through a week without hearing or reading about an acquisition, merger or hostile take over between two major brands. Just the other day while making my prospecting calls, I talked with two such companies involved (or trying not to be) in an acquisition of some kind.  Thankfully, I was aware of their situations.
3. Detroit and the automotive industry - Having worked in an advertising capacity with General Motors for 14 years more than a decade ago, I continue to watch the automotive industry with interest. Witnessing what happened was no surprise but a very sad and frightening part of our history considering the economic impact. I am, however, happy to say I have done my part in helping in the automotive industry recovery with the recent purchase of a new vehicle.
4. Manufacturing growth – In reading many publications for my job, I see the ups and downs of the manufacturing industry. What we do know is that inventories have been pretty much depleted and production has ramped up again.  Many companies used the last two years as an opportunity to trim the fat from their businesses both from a production perspective as well as a manpower perspective resulting in loads of cash.  This puts them in the position of being able to buy not only materials, equipment, etc., but also each other (see point No. 2). I’m seeing it in the form of companies being interested in getting back in the marketing game or increasing their positions within their markets, fueling our growth.

One of the things I’ve witnessed in my almost three decades of this business is that it is cyclical. What once was will likely be again.