Marketing In A Recession: Lessons From Fdr

Submitted by: Allan Starr

There is a strategic marketing lesson to be learned in the following words uttered before a rapt audience of Congressmen and United States Senators: So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

This line was the most famous quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), regarded by many historians as one of the two or three most effective American chief executives in the history of our republic. It also represents a piece of marketing strategy that was so effective, it was credited with playing a major role in pulling the United States economy, circa The Thirties, out of a ditch the likes of which have not been experienced until this day. Indeed, it was also an unprecedented gem of public relations.

It was delivered in his 1933 inaugural address, in the depth of The Great Depression, at the start of his first term. Reading a bit further into Roosevelt’s address, we realized that he was referring to the economic conditions of the time; a time when 13 million were unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. FDR was essentially saying, “If we can’t shake our pessimistic economic outlook, it will be tough to turn things around.” Yes, Roosevelt, a hard-nosed realist was calling for a little irrational exuberance.

Were these the words of a blathering idiot .. . a political Pollyanna who couldn t see reality through his rose colored glasses? Hardly. Indeed, Roosevelt was a practical person, one who earned his historical stripes by being the author of The New Deal, an unprecedented program with the goal of putting people back to work and setting the stage for the post WWII boom. The impact of Roosevelt s words rode America to victory on the back of a brilliant piece of copy writing of which any advertising agencies or marketing agencies of the day could have been proud.

Dealt a short straw in a physical sense since young adulthood, the 32nd President, who suffered from debilitating polio throughout most of his political life, was a gamer who never admitted defeat, leading the US and its allies during what was perhaps the darkest period of our history, the terrible twins of a world war waged simultaneously in, both, the Pacific and Europe. That we won the war and righted the gravely wounded economy are as much a testament to his strength and resolve as perhaps any other single factor.

Roosevelt must have been an inveterate optimist; else how would he have been able to strap on those weighty, iron leg-braces every morning, stick out that jutting jaw, and, often with a smile on his face, lead the free world through the shambles of WWII and an economic firestorm? That he died with his boots on, early in his fourth term, was perhaps the ultimate indicator of his spirit and legendary determination. And that he was a man with a specific marketing strategy is, likewise, undeniable.

The President was a man with specific marketing plans on this occasion, but more than anything, he was a man of action. If he was able to press ahead, working energetically and with inventiveness during times of turbulence, arriving as he did at a momentous ultimate victory, is there a lesson in it for you and for me? I think so. Scaled down to the scope of our own burdens, these, too, are terrible times. But like those Americans in the first half of the Forties, those of us who choose not to be victims, who persist against all odds, ultimately, will survive, succeed and prevail.

About the Author: Allan Starr founded Marketing Partners in 1976. The Phoenix-based firm provides local, regional, national and international strategic marketing, advertising, public relations and sales promotion services for a diverse client list. He also has been a nationally known photographer, award winning copywriter and editor/publisher of national trade magazines.

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