Under the direction of 2008 president Moray McLennan, European chairman of M&C Saatchi, the trade body has produced a book of case studies showing how advertising affects the bottom line.
Dubbed The Little Book of Growth, it will be sent out to the chief executives of FTSE-350 companies, as well as opinion-formers, such as analysts, financial journalists and fund managers. It will be launched at the president's reception later this week.
The book recounts the story of 38 brands, including Tesco, Marmite and The Number 118 118, and examines the challenges they have recently faced. The case studies extend beyond big TV campaigns. For example, the book highlights a Hasbro campaign to boost sales of Monopoly that turned London into a real-life representation of the board game.
The publication also draws on the IPA's databank of case studies to examine the specific challenges faced by brands, the action taken to overcome them, and the campaigns' end results.
Marks & Spencer famously attributed its improved sales figures to the dual effects of RKCR/Y&R's chocolate pudding ad and a women's clothing push, featuring models Twiggy and Erin O'Connor, in an announcement to the City in 2006.
However, it is uncertain how effective the book will be in persuading chief executives that, during the tough times being forecast for the first half of the year, advertising is more than just a luxury.
McLennan was realistic about the recession-busting properties of the book, admitting that it was more of a brand campaign for the advertising industry than a direct response initiative. 'It will leave an impression that a creative idea can have an impact on business,' he said. 'The alternative is to do nothing and cross your fingers.'
McLennan explained that the message to advertisers in the new year is to 'be bold'. He added: 'Especially in tough times, use the talent that's out there in adland to grow your brands and your business.'
Research has shown that investing in advertising during a recession can help brands improve their market share.
However, Phil Georgiadis, chief executive of Walker Media and one of the advisers who persuaded M&S to invest in TV, warned against seeing advertising as a panacea to a recession.
'Clearly if you have got the wrong message and the wrong proposition, you can double your spend but you won't see any result from it,' he said.
'Not enough time is spent by marketers working on how much to spend on their campaigns.'
But Georgiadis also warned those in charge of a company's marketing budget to be wary of those agencies that claim they can save clients money.
'In normal life, if someone says that they can save you money, it makes you suspicious, leading you to ask yourself what the downside is,' he explained.
Georgiadis added: 'Too often clients are seduced into thinking that they can do the same for less. More often than not, they are offered more marketing channels and end up with a situation where they're trying to do the same amount for less money on more channels. Our mantra is to do fewer things better.'