A young, growing company is going to throw whatever at the wall and see what sticks. That's just how to learn what works and what doesn't.

I wouldn't extrapolate that experience to large companies that have weathered dozens of downturns. I'm not saying that large companies all have a clue what they are doing vis-a-vis marketing, but there are a few giants who understand their only asset is their brand. Think companies like P&G or Nestle. Largely, the biggests differentiating factor between toothpastes or frozen pizzas is brand awareness and distribution deals. These are the companies that know exactly how much more money they will make if they change the color red to yellow on a box for a product sold in Georgia.