Insead's Dr Stewart Black's favourite examples are:
INTEL: During the 1991 recession, California-based semiconductor company Intel launched its 'Intel Inside' marketing and branding campaign, and emerged a household name.
'Before that, it was an anonymous microprocessor supplier. Now, we think of Intel as a brand and we want an Intel chip inside our computer. Since then, they rarely, if ever, retrench, and consistently make investments during recessions.'
WAL-MART: During the 2000 recession, American discount retailer Wal-Mart pushed its 'Everyday low prices' slogan. This year, it has launched 'Save money, live better'. 'Wal-Mart, known for its low prices, doesn't mind recessions because some people who shop at the higher end tend to come down a little bit, but in the last two recessions, they have taken advantage to position themselves strategically.'
TOYOTA: When the big car companies were busy laying off workers from 2000 to 2003, Toyota expanded operations, and emerged with a higher market share.
During that time, it shut down a plant in Turkey for 10 months but kept all its workers, and trained them. When it restarted again, it went on to have some of the highest productivity and quality ratings at any Toyota plant globally.
This year, Toyota in the US is not going to lay off any of its around 4,500 employees. They have shut down plants for three months and are training workers in new techniques and new models. 'They are also keeping them in shape with exercise, so that when the factories start up again, the workers will be ready to start.'