Due to a variety of financial reasons, or change in strategic focus, sometimes brands stop broad reach media advertising for a year or longer. These long dark periods have not been subject to much study, so little is known about the likely consequences. This exploratory study addresses this omission by documenting the sales performance of 41 beer, cider and spirit brands that advertised on and off over almost two decades. Changes in aggregate brand sales are reported for the years when brands stopped advertising relative to the last advertised year. On average, brand sales declined immediately in the first year, and every subsequent year of advertising cessation. Decline was generally faster for smaller brands and brands already declining in sales prior to advertising cessation.

Hartnett, N., Gelzinis, A., Beal, V., Kennedy, R., Sharp, B. (2020) "When Brands Go Dark: Examining Sales Trends When Brands Stop Broad Reach Advertising for Long Periods". Forthcoming in the Journal of Advertising Research.

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