Former GOP Senator Phil Gramm lobbed a PR softball across the plate for Obama to whack out of the park by calling our current state of affairs a "mental recession".

Recession can make you mental if you're part of a rapidly dwindling internal marketing team and often the first thing to go is the agency of record.

Beyond the old "it's cheaper than advertising," Trylon SMR founder Lloyd Trufelman has six reasons why companies should stay on the PR stick when times are tough in the latest issue of the firm's newsletter.

For full explanation of each of Trufelman's points, click here.

1. PR-based communications are credible, which is key in a recession.

2. PR programs can incorporate a myriad of effective communications techniques, providing important flexibility during a downturn.

3. PR enables companies to do more with less.

4. PR professionals become more valuable to journalists during a recession.

5. Personal connections and interactivity beat one-way communications when business activity slows.

6. PR is measurable-a must during a recession.

Are you hearing rumblings from your clients? Are they renegotiating for more modest deals? Get in touch here.