We welcome you to the debut episode of Elasticity’s brand-new podcast: Stretching Boundaries, where we invite you to the frontlines of marketing innovation—introducing you to the authors of the next chapter of marketing, advertising and public relations as they share tales of triumph from the industry’s cutting edge.

As our first guest we welcome,Advantage Solutions CEO Dave Peacock, who brought up an interesting point: 

“The better performing companies are the ones who are leaning into brand health. I was with one yesterday – their CEO and marketing and sales leader – around why they actually really doubled down and taken some heat from Wall Street around the investment they’re making…but it’s working. They’re actually winning in the second half [of 2024] when you look at their numbers compared to a lot of other CPGs.”

It seems counterintuitive, right? The economy is in a rough and volatile spot, and the majority of companies are doing their best to cut costs, batten down the hatches and try to weather this financial storm. Yet it’s the ones who are going against that conventional mindset and more deeply investing in their brands that are finding the most success. A real-life example of the adage “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Now this doesn’t mean you can just throw money at a problem to make it go away. You must be even smarter about where that investment should go to get the best return. What are smart investments you should be leaning into? Here are a few ideas:

People

Despite being one of the highest points of overhead (and therefore, often one of the first things to get reduced when money is tight), people really are the most important part of your business. Having the right team makes all the difference, and a cohesive and motivated group can pull off damn near anything, something that will definitely come in handy when the chips are down like they are now.

We all know the hiring process can be long and arduous – finding the right experience level, the right location, the right culture fit (and that’s before even mentioning salaries). Even when you find the right people, you must then worry about retaining them. Dave even jokes that the “E” in “CEO” often stands for experience, empowerment and even empathy. Raises, vacation days, WFH and a number of other, softer factors – if you’re not actively working to retain your people, don’t be surprised if you see them working across the street for your competitors in the near future. 

Technology

Your technology makes a marked impact on your company’s ability to deliver. From software that expands your capabilities to the hardware that can keep up with demand, your equipment must be ready to meet the moment.

It can be tempting to try and get another year of life out of that old machine or justify to yourself that changing software environments will be a lengthy and costly process. But these issues are far outweighed by the speed, efficiency and broadened range of deliverables your company will be able to achieve. 

This doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy new computers for everyone in your organization tomorrow, or jump into the newest, trendiest AI software available – speak to your employees about what they need and where their pain points are, then find them the technology to help them address those needs.

Marketing

Marketing can feel arcane to some: You throw a lot of money at it and the results are difficult to measure. It’s no wonder why advertising budgets are an early expense on the chopping block when you’re in belt-tightening territory. But you should really reconsider that position.

Maybe it sounds a little self-serving coming from a marketing agency, but it’s true – if you’re not putting yourself in the conversation, no one’s going to know who you are. And if no one knows who you are, it’s going to make it a lot harder to sell to anyone. This is true for anytime, but especially in times of economic strife. 

Trust your marketing folks. Work with them to discover value wherever they can find it and then be bold in making that investment. This is your opportunity to make an impact while everyone else is hesitating. Don’t miss your window.

Look, it’s scary out there. No one’s denying that. And the urge to hunker down and hold onto whatever you can is natural and understandable. But you can’t hit the ball if you’re too scared to swing. So lean in and make an investment into your business. Because the results are worth it. 

Hear more from Dave Peacock and catch a new episode of Stretching Boundaries: An Elasticity Podcast every month at goelastic.com/stretchingboundaries.