Advertising Age just posted an article reporting how a number of ad agencies are heavily discounting their services as a tactic in this recession. It’s interesting that agencies, who should know the long-term negative impact of devaluing a brand, are doing just that when they discount or give away their services.

What message about their abilities is being communicated to the market? One message that I would take out of it is that these agencies haven’t really learned some basic classic marketing principles. As such, I’d be concerned about any strategy that they would suggest to me.

Recessionary times are tough, but giving away long-term value for dubious short-term possibilities is a very suspect strategy. At Domus, our strategic thinking is rooted in fundamental, classic marketing principles, from which we develop ideas effective for today’s market place.