• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 25, 2009

According to a new Ad-ology Research study, "Advertising's Impact in a Soft Economy," more than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling. Conversly, a vast majority perceives businesses that continue to advertise as being competitive or committed to doing business.

C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research, says "It is critical to advertise in the current economic climate, to maintain long-term positive consumer perception of your brand... advertising... assures consumers of a business' reliability... "

Other key findings include:

• 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago
• Most consumers are as willing or more willing to pay more for ‘healthy' or ‘organic' products than they were a year ago
• A ‘deeply discounted price' was the number-one factor that would make consumers more likely to purchase a big-ticket item (+$1,000)
• TV, newspaper, direct mail, and Internet top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action
• Store Web sites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online

For more information about the availability of the report, with charts, please visit here.