I confess to a morbid fascination myself, as is abundantly evidenced by my posts about the economy, real estate, etc.  I've watched with fascination as people started pointing fingers at each other in blame.  "It's the bankers' fault" some say.  Others blame homeowners, the media, the government, the…well, almost everyone.  Basically the recession is the most significant event since at least since 9/11 and it has had arguably a greater impact on our daily lives than any event for a couple of generations.  As much as we'd like to we can't escape it.

All this has me wondering: why is every company out there playing off the recession to sell their services.  Many seem to be using gimicky plays on the 'stimulus plan', as in "Come shop at ACME shoe store and take advantage of our toe stimulus plan!"  Or they come across with messages like "We know times are tough, that your budget's tight, so we're offering deep, deep discounts on…"  My problem with this approach is:

• I hear enough about the recession on the news, at the water cooler, etc.  I don't need to be reminded of it by every merchant out there.
• How is it effective marketing to remind me that I'm broke as you try to sell me your discounted wares?  The reality is that if I'm broke and if your product isn't a staple (milk, bread, eggs, Nintendo Wii) then I'm not going to be swayed by your discount.  In effect your discount is going to woo people who have money and still have their jobs so why create a negative association with the recession? 
• If everyone else is doing it how are you separating yourself from the herd? 

My advice?  Go back to the basics and play up your strengths.  Better quality, better service, customers are treated like family, etc.  Unless you're Wal-Mart the likelihood that you'll win on price is pretty low, and who really wants to be known as the cheapest shop in town?

So merchants of the Piedmont Triad please, please, please do me a favor.  Don't sell me a recession, sell me what you've got.