Lisa-Bradner  [Posted by Lisa Bradner]

Last week, Tide announced “Tide Basic”, a lower cost and less featured version of their iconic brand.  This is a wise response from P&G, driven by the realities of a recessionary marketplace that has consumers:

  • Defecting to private label. A recent Forrester survey reveals that 45% household product consumers say the recession will drive them to buy more private label products (see figure below).

  • Finding discounts and deals everywhere they can. In Forrester's Q1 2009 online retail survey, 49% of online women said the current recession is driving them to look for more coupons online.

CPG_Product purchase


In this kind of environment P&G is smart to find ways to extend the brand franchise and reach out to strapped consumers without over discounting its flagship brand.  For the full report on how CPGs are fighting the recession and what other marketers can learn from them, Forrester clients can click here.

Want to learn more about how  marketers are spending differently in the recession, how marketers can prioritize to survive and thrive in a recession and how the recession can be a great opportunity to reframe your business?  Join my colleague David Card and me September 15 in Cambridge, Massachusetts for our Recession Marketing workshop.