Should brands cut back on marketing during a recession?

Famed investor Warren Buffett understands the value of the brand. As a shareholder in Kraft, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Wrigley’s etc, he sees these entities as ‘low risk’ for himself and his company, Berkshire Hathaway, because they have enormous brand equity. Buffett understands that brand equity is important as it means that his investment can sustain its pricing even when the economy goes into recession. To quote Philip Kotler: ‘Great brands are the only route to sustained, above-average profitability’. So the question  is – if brand equity is a potential buffer to recessional effects, why would the marketing budget be the first place to cut costs?