Marketers are in the midst of a unique pandemic induced recession. For many, it is their first as a business leader. The decisions they make during this recession have major and immediate implications for their future profits, competitiveness, and careers.

Wharton Marketing Professors Raghu Iyengar and David Reibstein and Stephen Diorio, Director of Forbes Marketing Accountability Initiative, examined how business leaders should adapt to the current recession in the context of history, known academic research, and a survey of 352 CMOs to understand the actions leaders are taking today in the wake of the Covid-19 recession.