Recession? Depression? Lets Call it Reflection.

In the course of Fed Chairman Ben Bernake being barbequed at an appearance before a congressional hearing last week, one US Senator, like many others, demonstrated a complete lack of understanding i.e. economics when challenging Bernake to tell Congress whether he thought the US was in a 'recession', and if not, whether the US was headed towards a recession. In this widely-covered media event, the question was posed in an exasperated tone, as if the state of economy was his fault. Merely illustrating that many elected politicians are merely qualified to cast blame on to others in front of TV cameras.

Ask 100 economists what the definition of recession is, and you'll likely get 101 different answers. The common text book definition is 2 consecutive periods of declining growth in GDP; and lets not even talk about the definition of 'economic depression'.

Ask Joe the Plumber, Dave the Dentist, Harry the Hair Cutter, Bob the Builder, Sam the Salesman, Melanie the Mom, Barbara the Banker, Alan the Accountant, Bill the Bartender, or Patrick the Priest--we're in an economic recession.

The fact that the country's most famous hockey mom (Sarah Palin) is shopping at Neiman Marcus and spending $150,000 for a wardrobe for her and her family might suggest things really aren't so bad--or perhaps its the right approach--shopping for clothes is a patriotic thing to do in economic down times,as it boosts GDP. And $150k, in this environment might be insignificant, but every little bit helps.

How long, how deep and how painful this "recession" becomes is easy to predict--just buy yourself a crystal ball.

That said--Jay Berkman, a savvy marketing guy from Westport, CT's JLC Group suggests that "its all in the presentation", and proposes that we all adopt a new, refreshing phrase--"economic reflection" . Its soft, non-invasive, and touches all of the right positive-thinking buttons. Using this phrase, as opposed to the negative, fear-driven adjectives that marketers too often try to exploit in the course of positioning their products in times of financial stress can encourage consumers, buyers and anyone else reaching for their wallet to contemplate the value proposition of the underlying product.

We agree--and thank Jay for offering up that tag line for free use by any brand marketer, leader, or anyone else that wants to present themselves as a thoughtful, forward looking positioner.