In this type of economic slowdown, business owners look for costs in their business to cut. Unfortunately, advertising gets labeled as a “cost” instead of an “investment” and is one of the first areas to be considered for the cut. This is done to meet short term financial goals instead of staying focused on the long term plan for success within the business. Cutting the advertising investment is counterproductive in the fact that history has proven that businesses that maintain or increase their advertising investment during a period of economic downturn, increase their sales, market share, and “mind share,” both during the downturn and the impending upturn of our cyclical economy.