By Linda Clarke, EVP

For those of us who survived the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, the current economic tailspin is eerily reminiscent of the fear, dread and despair that became part of our daily lives.

During the dot-com bust I was VP Marketing at a well-funded start-up, and watched in horror as our dreams of being the ‘next big thing’ went up in smoke.

But as I sit here munching on the Halloween candy I’m supposed to be saving for trick-or-treaters, I’m hopeful that the tough lessons we learned then have better prepared us for a more managed and thoughtful approach to today’s downturn.

While some of our clients are doing a little budget trimming, they are using a scalpel instead of an axe, mindful of the fact that companies who invest in marketing in a recession, when competitors are cutting back, are better poised to increase market share when the economy bounces back, as it inevitably will.