Even before Sept. 11, North America was feeling the effects of an economic slowdown. Subsequent to the events of that day, it is widely perceived that we are in a full-blown recession. And due to increased news coverage preempting season premieres of popular TV shows, and the expensive commercials slated to run with them, there is a backlog of commercials waiting to air on both sides of the border.

According to Hugh Dow, president of M2 Universal, the media arm of agency MacLaren McCann, Toronto, many of these spots will still air, unless their content has been deemed controversial or insensitive relating to the recent terrorist attacks.

‘I suspect some advertisers are taking credits or not renewing, but for the most part it is a matter of rescheduling media weight that was not aired, because there was simply no commercial content for many days,’ says Dow.

Dow says that from speaking with colleagues across Canada and the U.S. there is a general anxiety among advertisers and agencies. He also feels that the effects will be felt more on the retail side of the economy than in the advertising sector. He adds, however, that the ad industry in Canada has not been as impacted as the U.S. market, where a recent report indicates that marketers intend to slash their advertising budgets by 12% in the final quarter of 2001 and the first of 2002. On the production side, many in the industry say that although business is slower than usual, the scenario is far from desperate.

‘Things have been pretty tight for a while, but I really don’t see a scale-back,’ says Michael Schwartz, owner of Toronto’s Avion Films. ‘I don’t even think the board flow has been that much different than it was before the attack. In the last four or five months it’s been okay, but not brilliant. A lot of clients are postponing or canceling things, and there have been some really tight budgets. There is also a lot more competition than there was five years ago.’

Schwartz says there have been no layoffs at Avion. He says even if times were tough enough to begin cutting staff, the money saved would only go to people outside the company that would have to do pick up the slack. He says he is surprised, however, that some less busy shops owned by a parent company haven’t merged, and is curious to see, should the economy worsen, if that will begin happening.

Don’t get spooked

‘Stay positive,’ offers Toronto-based Sparks Productions founder and executive producer Andy Crosbie. ‘Whether it is because of the economy or political forces, if we all get spooked, we are useless. This slowdown started as early as last November or December. I think all that the events [subsequent to Sept. 11] have done, frankly, is expose it under a harsh light.’

David Crichton, head of Toronto agency The Crichton Kim-Kirkland Company, believes the so-called recession is not as dire as many are making it seem, and says surviving in the current economy is a matter of employing common business sense. He admits that some frightened clients will be looking to cut ad spending, and feels the industry will be looking into some higher-concept, lower-budget initiatives to keep brand awareness high.

‘The smarter advertisers might shift their focus. The quality of the work will depend on the agency keeping it up there,’ says Crichton.

Co-creative director Lisa Francilia, of the Vancouver office of agency Bryant Fulton & Shee, says the client always expects high-concept, low-budget thinking.

‘It is not as much of a shocker for us,’ she says. ‘We push our media department to see how we can stretch the dollars to begin with. Any business that would be affected by what has happened isn’t going to be advertising as much right now. The irony is that they probably should be, but they won’t, because they don’t have the money.’

Crosbie, Schwartz and M2’s Dow agree that the ad dollars out there will come back to Canada. The consensus is that the current push by U.S. agencies to keep commercial production at home, specifically in New York, where initiatives are underway from coalitions such as We Love New York, can only last so long. The fact remains, says Schwartz, that it is cheaper to make an ad in Canada, and that will be top of mind in the current economic climate.

‘U.S. agencies might do a little bit of [shooting in NYC] now to help carry the flag and help New York get back on its feet, but it gets back to a bottom-line issue,’ he says.

-www.maclaren.com

-www.avionfilms.com

-www.sparksproductions.com

-www.ckkc.com

-www.bfs.ca