Advertising during hard times might appear to be a Catch-22. Sales are down, customers are staying home–why throw money out the window? to paraphrase Kevin Costner, “make them aware of it and they will come.” Your brand’s constant presence during a crisis can offer a degree of comfort, by being something else that hasn’t changed. And when things improve, guess who will be on the top of customers’ minds? Not that reactionary freak who slashed his ad budget and stuck his head in the sand. It’s even backed up by research. Advertising during a recession will increase your sales both during the bad times and–more importantly–after things have improved.