Hie thee to a newsstand

Unless you already subscribe to Advertising Age, that is.

The new print edition -- which you can access online -- is a special Marketing in a Recession issue. Packed with lots of interesting articles.

Two I particularly like are "Deal or No Deal? Cheap Prices Can Maim Your Brand" and "Study: Cutting spending hurts brands long term". Probably because both of them have to do with protecting the brand.

For example, part of the "Deal or No Deal?" story says " . . . the question becomes how much marketers can discount without doing permanent damage to their brands. "

A paragraph in the "Study" piece notes that "Companies and categories that are able to turn a recession into an advantage are [those] going against economic trends," Mr. Steenkamp said. "Ultimately, it takes courage. But it pays off in share and in terms of the stock market."

There's more. Like "Five Brands Doing it Right, Doing it Wrong" and "10 Principles for Bad Times that Work in Good Times Too."

Lots ot stuff to learn.