Advertising in times of uncertainty: Why cutting back may cost you more

Economic uncertainty is nothing new, but how businesses respond to it can make or break their future growth. With headlines around U.S. tariffs sending tremors through financial markets, many Canadian companies are feeling the pressure to reassess budgets. One of the first areas often considered for cuts. Advertising.

But history and data tell us that pulling back on advertising is often the wrong move.

Investing through uncertainty leads to long-term gains

More than 100 years of studies confirm a powerful truth: businesses that maintain or increase advertising during times of uncertainty outperform those that go dark. While the instinct to conserve cash is understandable, reducing ad spend weakens brand equity, customer relationships, and future sales potential.

One landmark study during the 1980s recession found that companies that advertised aggressively during the downturn had sales 256% higher than those that didn’t when the market recovered.

The cost of going dark is real and measurable

Brands that go silent during tough times may not see an immediate crash in performance. But the long-term impacts are serious:

• Sales decline by an average of 16% after one year without advertising
• Brand awareness drops, making recovery more difficult and expensive
• Share of voice erodes, leading to long-term market share loss

A CPG brand in Canada that paused advertising during a slow period saw website traffic drop 22% month-over-month, while a competitor that stayed active saw a 14% lift in brand searches over the same period.

Brands who stay visible, win

When others pull back, the advertisers who remain visible benefit from greater share of voice at a lower relative cost. It’s a window of opportunity to capture attention and loyalty.

Take the Toyota example from the 2008 financial crisis. While many automakers slashed ad spend, Toyota maintained its presence, focusing on product value and reliability. As a result, it recovered faster than peers and became one of the top-selling automakers in North America post-recession.

Closer to home, a leading QSR brand in Canada leveraged Bell’s SAM targeting and kept marketing through the pandemic, reaching “Fast-Food Diners” through TV. The result? A 1.7x increase in app-based purchase consideration and an 81% share of web traffic generated from exposed households.

Canadians expect to hear from brands right now

In uncertain times, advertising isn’t just about selling — it’s about showing up. According to Bell Media research:

• 78% of Canadians say it’s reassuring to hear from Canadian companies during times of uncertainty
• Advertising serves as a signal of stability, reliability, and continued service
• Brand saliency is key to staying top-of-mind and being chosen when purchasing power returns
• 82% say Canadian companies that show up during times of uncertainty earn lasting loyalty. 

Lessons from across industries

Here’s how brands across categories used strategic advertising to their advantage during recent disruptions:

• Travel: A major travel brand used SAM and Bell Attribution Insights to target “Burgeoning Families” during a post-pandemic rebound. 83.8% of web traffic came from exposed households, and brand consideration jumped nearly 80%.
• Financial Services: A Québec-based financial institution improved customer sentiment and drove 104% higher website traffic by using TV to reach a niche, high-value audience.
• Entertainment: An audio streaming company targeted non-users through a competitive conquesting strategy. With SAM activation, they saw a 21% lift in likelihood to visit the app and a 3.7x lift in brand value.

These aren’t just survival stories, they’re growth stories.

Uncertainty is temporary. Brand equity is long-term.

Economic cycles come and go. But brand equity, customer relationships, and mental availability are built over time, not paused and restarted. Advertisers who understand this build resilience into their business.

When staying visible matters, Bell Media can help. While the headlines may push caution, the smart move is to lean into advertising, not pull away. With rich first-party data, advanced targeting, and cross-platform attribution, we make it easier to plan, measure, and activate campaigns that drive impact today and build lasting brand equity for tomorrow.