Keep Marketing During Tough Times

Don’t Disappear Now: Why Meat Brands Must Keep Marketing Through the Chaos

If you’re a CEO, CMO or VP of Marketing in the meat industry, you’re probably feeling the heat right now. Supply issues, market volatility, economic whispers of a slowdown, tariffs, fluctuating trade dynamics… there’s no shortage of reasons to pause, re-evaluate, and yes, consider cutting your marketing budget.

But let’s be clear: cutting your marketing budget right now is a mistake. A costly mistake that will undermine your long-term growth, erode your brand equity, and leave you scrambling to catch up when the dust settles.

Sure, you are thinking, exactly what someone who is a marketer would say.  It’s okay, you don’t have to listen to me… history and the facts paint the picture.

History Has Already Taught Us This Lesson

We’ve been here before.

History has proven it:  Brands that went dark to “save” money ended up losing far more in the long run. The WARC best practices paper utilizing the Kantar Millward Brown database showed that brands who slashed or halted marketing during the 2008 recession took three to five years to regain their former momentum.¹

And the brands that pulled back? According to a 2018 Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science study, going dark for one year leads to an average sales drop of 16%, and is even worse at 25% after two years.²

Fast forward to COVID-19. While many brands went quiet, industry leaders like Procter & Gamble doubled down.³ Others, like Domino’s, pivoted their messaging to focus on safety and convenience, meeting customers right where they were and reaping the rewards.

Do you see the picture I am seeing?  Staying in front of your customers is a proven growth strategy; going dark is not.

The Stakes Are Even Higher for Meat Brands

In our industry, relationships aren’t built in a vacuum. Whether you’re selling to retailers, foodservice operators or consumers at the meat case, trust is your most important asset. If you disappear when times get tough that trust erodes, sometimes permanently.

Back when COVID sent everyone indoors, meat sales surged as people began to cultivate a love for really great home-cooked meals. Brands that stayed visible through advertising, social media and value-driven storytelling, strengthened their emotional relevance. They weren’t just selling meat; they were showing empathy, acknowledging struggle, and reinforcing loyalty.

That same opportunity exists now.

Even as headlines bounce between inflation fears and tariff pressures, consumer demand for protein remains strong . What’s different today is that decision-making is tighter, scrutiny is higher, and brand loyalty is more fragile.

Cutting your presence now creates a void that will be filled by someone else (insert the name of your fiercest competitor).

Market Indicators Are Pointing the Other Way

While the conservative reasoning points to “pause and protect,” not all sectors are reacting that way. In fact, some of the most forward-thinking companies are actively increasing their marketing investments.

How do we know that?  Because major digital platforms are reporting healthy year-over-year ad growth. Both Netflix and Google have gone on record stating they expect advertising revenue to climb significantly this year.^4,5 Why? Because in challenging times, visibility is a competitive advantage.

No one is spending wildly, they’re spending wisely. They’re adjusting their strategies, optimizing for attention, and using performance-based models that tie budget to results.

Meat companies can and should be doing the same.

What You Can Do Right Now

This isn’t about keeping the status quo. This is about pivoting intentionally, not panicking reactively. Here’s how to move forward:

1. Call your team together. Align marketing, comms and PR around a shared objective: show up with clarity and confidence. What story are you telling right now?
2. Review and revise your messaging. Pull every ad, post or campaign scheduled for the next 30 days. Ask: Does this reflect the current mindset of my target audience? Is it relevant? Is it empathetic?
3. Stay in tune with your audience. Whether it’s retailers dealing with shifting supply or consumers evaluating price and value more closely, tailor your communication to be timely, helpful and authentic. Find tips on communicating effectively with your audience here.  
4. Use smarter tools, not just bigger budgets. Marketing today offers better precision than ever. Programmatic platforms, AI-powered media buys and performance tracking allow you to spend strategically and scale what works.

Don’t Let Your Brand Fade

In tough times, the default reaction is to cut. But for marketing leaders in the meat industry, the smarter play is to adapt and persist. Because once you disappear from your customers’ view, it takes exponentially more effort and investment to win them back.

We saw it in 2008. We saw it in 2020. And we’re watching it unfold again in 2025.

The companies that maintain consistent, meaningful brand visibility, especially during disruption, don’t just survive. They lead. They grow. They come out ahead.

So, before you greenlight budget cuts that may seem prudent in the short-term, take the longer view. Keep showing up. Keep delivering value. Keep the connection strong.

The market will settle eventually and when it does, your decisions today will define your success tomorrow.

² What happens when brands stop advertising? | Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science

³ P&G and Coke’s pandemic performances prove it: You don’t cut ad spend in a crisis – Mini MBA online courses with Mark Ritson

⁴ Netflix revenue rises to $10.5 billion following price hike | The Verge

⁵ Google Ads Saw a 9% Growth in Ad Spending in Q1 2025

This content originally appeared in Meatingplace