During an economic downturn, should companies prioritize maintaining marketing spend or shift investment toward R&D and product?

Harry Stebbings · published May 9, 2025

Companies that keep investing in marketing through a downturn are the ones that win; cutting marketing fast when times get hard is a mistake.

The data shows the ones who ride it out come out ahead on the other side.

43:36 Companies that maintain marketing spend through downturns win

Eléonore Crespo · published May 9, 2025

In a downturn the priority investment is innovation and R&D, more than marketing — build the best product during the quiet period and take the market when the crisis ends.

You come out of the crisis with both market share and the best product.

43:54 Downturn priority should be rd and product over marketing

Jason Lemkin · published Jan 13, 2023

Marketing has become myopic — only spend that converts revenue this quarter gets approved — and companies are over-cutting as a result.

CEOs under board pressure with lower revenue and longer runway requirements only approve marketing that creates immediate revenue, and only funnel-assist spend does that.

12:57 Downturn board pressure makes marketing spend myopically tied to immediate revenue causing over cutting

Gokul Rajaram · published May 5, 2020

Recessions make media much cheaper across digital and traditional channels, creating a golden opportunity to test channels companies were previously priced out of.

Lack of competition for media drives prices down.

source Recession driven cheap media creates a golden opportunity to test previously unaffordable channels