Back in 2009, as the mortgage crisis turned into a recession, a men’s clothing store in NYC put up signs in its storefronts that said:
“Cashmere sweater: $2,500. Recession price: $2,500.
“Lamb’s fleece jacket: $11,000. Recession price: $11,000.”
As you can probably imagine, some passersby burst into the store, fuming and asking to speak to the manager about the shameless tone of those ads. And at such a time!
But other passersby saw the sign, remembered that they urgently wanted to splurge on something expensive, and came in and bought an overpriced lamb’s fleece jacket.
Fast forward to today:
I don’t read the news and so I was convinced that we are now in a recession, and have been in one for some months. But I did check the news just now, and it turns out to still be a matter of uncertainty, of anxiety, of will-he nill-he, of how-do-you-define-it. A few things are certain:
1. The economy has shrunk for two quarters in a row
2. Stocks have lost 18% of their value since the start of the year
3. Ocean shipping rates have plunged 60% this year
So do all those useless numbers that mean it’s time to raise your own prices to shameless levels… keep them there in spite of the current and coming economic pain… and even proudly advertise the fact?
Well, that’s for you to decide. To help make up your mind, you might want to give a listen to the talk below. It was given by crusty but highly successful marketer Dan Kennedy, back in 2009.
I first listened to this talk two years ago, during “these uncertain times” of enforced lockdowns and economic inactivity. It was one of the most enlightening marketing talks I’d heard in a long while. It remains so, and so I revisit it from time to time.
Only thing is, if you’re easily offended, you’ll definitively want to skip this talk. In fact, Dan Kennedy says at the start that, out of the thousands of talks he’s given in his life, this was the only time he got a complaint letter ahead of the talk itself, and not just after.
So consider yourself warned. If you’re still up for it, here’s where to go: