When a company stops spending money on marketing, it is a “sure sign” that the business is in trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was a key lesson former Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond learnt while working in the highly-competitive airline industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his book Crash and Burn<\/a><\/strong>, which details the demise of Comair, Orsmond shared his experience working with Dave Novick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Novick was a pivotal figure at Comair and was behind many of the company’s hugely-successful ventures – including the launch of low-cost airline Kulula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In their battle against competing airlines, Novick told Orsmond that when a company stopped spending money on marketing it was “a sure sign” that company was in trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “For some reason, Dave’s advice about marketing spend being a barometer of a company’s health resonated with me,” said Orsmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I never forgot this lesson and during my next airline project it served me well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Orsmond’s lesson in marketing is epitomised by the world’s best companies – including Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billions of people worldwide know the Coca-Cola brand and its products, yet Coca-Cola continues to advertise aggressively every day to ensure it maintains its marketing-leading position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This drive to remain top-of-mind sees Coca-Cola spending over $4 billion<\/strong><\/a> (R72 billion) each year on marketing and advertising – strengthening its brand equity and allowing new products to quickly gain traction in the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\nEveryone knows Coca-Cola for a reason<\/h2>\n\n\n\n