Markets do not like uncertainty, who does really?

The good thing (if you can say it is good) is that marketers have had practice dealing with uncertainty. We’ve experienced the hills and valleys of boom and bust economies. But when the unthinkable happened—a global pandemic— few (if any) were prepared for the impact that shut down industry sectors overnight.

Now, volatility on the political stage has sent markets into a different dimension of tailspin, with historic lows in Canadian consumer confidence. To keep me calm in this unpredictable turmoil, I watch late-night shows for comedic relief. But during the day, I return to a more mature way of managing stress. It’s a mantra coined by American Mathematician John Allen Paulos, who said, “The only thing certain is uncertainty.” 

So I’m embracing it and listening a lot – to everyone from financial experts, to SME business owners, to enterprise leaders, to researchers and scientists, and of course to the news and social media. One of these leading voices is IAB Canada, which Vovia hosted at our Calgary office this month to talk about the State of the Nation. IAB President, Sonia Carreno gave us an honest yet sobering summary from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The Bank of Canada reports that consumer sentiment is severely weakened as people worry about their financial health and job security. The FCB Angus Reid 2025 study indicates 63% of Canadians are cutting back spending.

But it is not all bad news. The Bank of Canada is reporting that consumer spending remains stable, for now. There is fragmentation—a dissonance between what is perceived and what is happening. Consumers, while anxious, are still spending.

Now, what do Marketers do?

If consumers are continuing to spend, the question is, how are their preferences shifting? While we can’t control these shifts, what we can control are the choices we make as business leaders and marketers. 

In these volatile times, do you:

• Roll back marketing efforts and investment?
• Hold the line and maintain your current approach?
• Invest resources and budget to reveal new market opportunities? 
• Innovate and find efficient, alternative go-to-market methods? 
• All the above?

A piece of sound advice I got from Sonia that resonated with me and I want to share is “Don’t contribute to the uncertainty.” Base decisions on the most recent and relevant data for your business, and stay informed; know your latest business results, weigh the variables unique to your operating environment, and balance the organization’s appetite for managed risk.

Look to past learnings to inform the future.

During COVID, we saw consumer trust in brands, political leaders, and institutions take a nosedive as tracked through the Edleman Trust Barometer. Inauthentic brands were called out as such. Brands that stuck to their truth and continued to have a steady or strong voice in the market emerged stronger from uncertainty. The past 3 global recessions (80’s crisis, 90’s slowdown, 2000 bust) have been studied, and research like the Harvard Business Review demonstrates that while cost cutting is a necessary evil, balance is key as “investment is equally essential to spur growth.”

There is no magic to a marketer’s success; we need to use reliable, recent and relevant data to “stay closely connected to customer needs” and use this as a filter to make calculated business decisions. Consumers are highly price-sensitive during uncertain times, which means loyalty is at its weakest point for brands. Right now, people are steady in their spending; however, they are making different choices on where to spend that hard-earned dollar. It creates opportunities for brands to build and strengthen beyond price to provide emotional value. Challenger brands can provide consumers with an alternative option to the norm.

What does success look like for marketers in uncertain times?

What I take away from all my listening and research is do not contribute to deepening uncertainty:

• You know your brand best; be its guardian and stay vigilant to your brand’s truth.
• Use good data (relevant, recent, historical) to make informed and calculated decisions, then test and pivot on results to capture opportunities.  
• A progressive and balanced approach to fiscal responsibility and investment, where it makes the most sense for your business, is imperative. 
• Don’t deviate from the tools you typically use for planning; they continue to offer value, e.g., risk assessment, mitigation strategies, contingency planning, diversification, monitoring industry trends and competition, nurturing customer experience, socializing marketing activities for buy-in across the organization, etc.

Need media expertise to help navigate through market uncertainty?

The team at Vovia are experts in media strategy, integrated paid media (digital, offline, content, AI tools and creative production) and marketing intelligence. We embrace change because, while sometimes scary, it frankly is the only constant; we view it as an opportunity to test, learn and further fuel innovation. Vovia has helped our clients navigate through uncertain times, be it recession, economic disaster like COVID, or even organizational business shifts. We understand the value of good data and how to action it, alongside the need for flexibility and nimbleness in media plans and execution. So if the late-night comics are only elevating your stress as a marketer, and you need to talk, feel free to reach out here.