iii) Focusing on a few brand-pack-market combinations: If the company is operating across many countries in the world it can choose to focus on the top few brand-country combinations that have much higher inherent strengths and profitability.

If the company is operating mainly in India it can choose brand-pack-state combinations based on competitiveness, media rates and sales tax rates to sell profitable cases. For instance, if five brands have 20 distinct packs in 22 states the total combinations are 440.

From these you might choose two brands and within those six packs in six states (36 combinations or 8% of total combinations) to increase focus through higher support. The paradigm "less is more" works well most of the time.

iv) Negotiating lower rates: When overall advertising is going down for channels, a company with a substantial budget can get media rates that are far better than market rates.

Since TV time is a perishable commodity you can explore having a portion of the budget that uses last minute rates that could be drastically lower. Therefore, higher media weight need not mean higher spend levels if you negotiate shrewdly.

Similarly, in-store visibility rates can also come down when other companies are cutting back. Everything is open to a fresh round of negotiations when the situation is unusual.

The main purpose of this article is to show various ways in which companies can generate funds to pay for higher presence and visibility.

The 'gloom and doom' in the environment shouldnt overshadow some clear opportunities that also exist. There is more to smart management than re-sizing and cutting advertising budgets!

Written by Vivek Bali who is associated with ANV Consulting, Singapore

Originally published in "The Economic Times" dated March 20, 2009, Ahmedabad