Dr Eden Yin and Dr Omar Merlo discuss the importance of marketing and brand building during a recession and warn that long term value creation must not be sacrificed to short term challenges. They explain how companies that survived previous recessions all continued to invest in their brands during these down turns, eventually emerging stronger. The answer: striking a delicate balance between maintaining a consistent brand image and flexible brand management. Drs Yin and Merlo explain how this can be achieved.