Survey: Wal-Mart Among Best 'Value' Brands†

YouGovPolimetrix places AIG at bottom of insurance heap

Adweek, November 4, 2008 — A recent survey by YouGovPolimetrix revealed that the slumping economy is having a significant impact on how consumers perceive brand value. Budget brands like Wal-Mart and Old Navy were ranked highest by consumers, while more upscale brands and financial services firms ranked lowest, reflecting a loss of consumer confidence.

P&G Taps Bloggers, Moms for Unconventional Product Launch†

Word-of-Mouth, Buzz Push for Crest Weekly

Advertising Age, August 21, 2008 — Procter & Gamble Co. is trying something decidedly new with toothpaste: launching a product designed to be used once a week. The idea, of course, isn't to get people to brush less often. Rather, Crest Weekly Clean Intensive Cleaning Paste, which is set to hit stores by mid-September, is billed as a weekly addition to people's daily tooth brushing. The goal is to provide that "just-from-the-dentist," smooth, clean feeling, as P&G and some bloggers who've gotten sneak previews of the product have put it.

Recession Can Be a Marketer's Friend†

From Soap Operas to IPods: History Suggests Slumps Spawn Innovation

Advertising Age, March 25, 2008 — The massive bailout of Bear Stearns from the brink of bankruptcy could be the first of many financial rescues needed. Despite double-digit plunges, U.S. housing is still overpriced by historical yardsticks. Retail sales have gone from slow to declining, and the consumer-spending binge that propped up the U.S. economy for years may not return for a long time.

In short, it's a great time to be in marketing.

Merger Challenge: Unite Toothbrush, Toothpaste†

P&G and Gillette Find Creating Synergy Can Be Harder Than It Looks

Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2007 — Among all the products brought together in Procter & Gamble Co.'s 2005 acquisition of Gillette, two carried particularly high expectations because of their natural fit: the world's No. 1 toothbrush and the world's No. 2 toothpaste. But putting together Gillette's Oral-B and P&G's Crest turned out to be more complicated than it looked.

Bright Lights, Big Challenge†

Why China's $700 Bil. market is as much an obstacle as an opportunity for marketers

Adweek, January 15, 2007 — Just 10 years ago, Procter & Gamble's Crest brand was unknown to China's population, most of whom seldom—if ever—brushed their teeth. Now P&G, the country's largest consumer products company, sells more tubes of toothpaste there than it does in America, where Crest has been on store shelves for 52 years.