Lahore School of Economics

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Managing Marketing Strategies in Economic Downturn
March 31, 2010

Naila Hafeez

Seminar on "Managing Marketing Strategies in Economic Downturn" was held in Lahore School of Economics on March 25, 2010. The objective of the seminar was to give graduating MBA and MSc (Economics) students an understanding of the issues that the marketing heads of organizations faced while managing marketing strategies for their organizations in economic downturn. Four speakers representing two companies spoke on Marketing Strategies in Recession.

Ahsan Afzaal, the Marketing Head Engro Foods gave a detailed presentation on managing marketing strategies in economic downturn. He was of the view that organization should focus on the changing needs of their customers and partners and should adapt their strategies to the new reality. He threw light on treating an economic downturn as an opportunity. Atif Shehzad Bhutto, Assistant Brand Manager Tarang was of the opinion that that proactive marketing was an example of being positive in tougher environments.

Ali Rasid Khan expressed that an organization's brand equity needed to be continually invigorated during recession. Saad Munawar gave a presentation on snacks. He said that brands that increased advertising during recession when competitors were cutting back could improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during better economic times.

In his concluding remarks, Tariq Saeed Saigol complimented the Lahore School of Economics for choosing such a timely topic and arranging such an absorbing session for students. He talked about the macroeconomic position of Pakistan, inflation, currency and leadership. Tariq Saeed Saigol was of the view that businessmen should have a long term strategy to come out of recession.