The Economic Times in India reports that companies that hiked ad spend during the slowdown last year recorded higher revenues and profits. Of the 250 publicly listed firms studied, 140 increased their ad and marketing budgets over the last fiscal year. The aggregate revenue of these firms rose 26 percent year-on-year, while net profit rose 20 percent. By contrast, the firms that didn’t increase marketing budgets saw revenue rise 17 percent and net profit grow 10 percent.
This reinforces the long-held argument—based on data from past downturns—that marketers that maintain or increase spend through a recession tend to fare better than their competitors, especially once the economy improves. (JWT’s report on historical thinking about why marketers should spend during down times—an audit of material published by ad organizations, researchers, marketers, journalists and consultants—can be downloaded from the Trends and Research page.)
For more on how Indians are faring on the anxiety factor, download our latest India research here.
Amid all the news items on the downturn, India’s 
Indians’ attitude toward religion has seen a fundamental shift in the past few years. Today religion is not so much about karma, about suffering for past sins or doing good deeds for rewards in the next life, about destiny or scriptures. It’s become much more about serving as a coping mechanism—a way to manage life’s ups and downs. It’s also become much more about mental and physical well-being in addition to spiritual health.
