Arbitron, Nielsen Scrap Apollo Project†

P&G Was Big Backer of Ambitious Market-Research Program

Advertising Age, February 26, 2008 — Arbitron and Nielsen Co. have pulled the plug on Apollo, one of the most ambitious, expensive and heavily hyped market-research programs in history.

Apollo aimed to determine once and for all how exposure to a wide variety of media and marketing tactics influence purchases by tracking consumers' combined media and purchasing habits in a single-source database.

Recession, Eh? P&G, Colgate Boost Ad Bucks†

Thanks to Planned Price Hikes, Package-goods Giants Forced to Keep Pitching to Consumers on Merits of Their Brands

Advertising Age, February 4, 2008 — BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Marketing budgets get cut in a recession, right? Not according to several of today's package-goods leaders.

In a testament to how important advertising has become to their businesses, Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co., Kraft Foods and Kellogg Co. all have boosted or at least maintained their marketing budgets, even as they've had to implement cost controls elsewhere. And that trend looks set to continue as these giants are forced to hike prices in response to rising commodities costs — a move that will require them to continue pitching consumers on the merits of their brands.

A Web Site for Pet Lovers, and Marketers Who Love Them

New York Times, November 19, 2007 — KNOWING that you can never underestimate people’s love for their cats and dogs, NBC Universal and Procter & Gamble have set up a Web portal that looks something like a Yahoo or AOL for pet owners, with a bit of Facebook and MySpace thrown in.

Consumer products companies double down on brands

Associated Press, November 16, 2007 — Some consumer products companies are increasingly teaming up brands, combining two familiar names into one new product, such as Tide detergent with Downy fabric softener or Lever soap with Vaseline lotion.

At P&G, 'Product Experience' Drives Performance†

Adweek, November 5, 2007 — This September, Procter & Gamble announced that its Gain detergent had joined the sales ranks of the company's billion-dollar brands. Playing an integral part in that growth: the February 2006 launch of Gain Joyful Expressions, a line extension that has distinctly curvy shapes and an assortment of bright colors (in addition to long-lingering scents like Apple Mango Tango, Mandarin Lime Fusion and Gardenia Delight).

P.&G., the Pioneer of Mixing Soap and Drama, Adds a Web Installment

The consumer products giant has created “Crescent Heights,” a new online soap opera that aims to reach young viewers where they watch most — their PCs and cellphones.

New York Times, October 15, 2007 — Can young Ashley find success and happiness in the big city? Will the dashing Eric win her heart? Can she make consumers buy more Tide detergent?

Stay tuned. Or logged on.

The company that brought soap operas to radio, then television, Procter & Gamble, is trying the same strategy online with “Crescent Heights,” a new show intended to reach young viewers where they watch the most — their PCs and cellphones.

The Fastest-Growing Medium? Shopper Marketing†

Deloitte Study Shows In-Store Spending Is Outpacing Even the Internet

Advertising Age, September 27, 2007 — BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — The fastest-growing medium isn't the internet, but shopper marketing, where retailers and package-goods marketers are shifting hundreds of millions of dollars — doubling their expenditure in the past three years alone.

A new study finds shopper marketing has grown from 3% of the overall marketing budgets of the 19 package-goods manufacturers surveyed in 2004 to 6% this year. The manufacturers expect it to reach 8% of marketing budgets by 2010.

Selling P&G

How do you sell $76 billion of consumer goods? One brand at a time. Fortune's Geoff Colvin talks with Jim Stengel.

FORTUNE, September 5, 2007 — In the vast world of marketing and advertising, James Stengel just may be the king. He is Procter & Gamble's global marketing officer, and thus commands the world's largest ad budget - about $6.7 billion. It's an enviable position, but uneasy lies the head that wears an ad king's crown. The Digital Age is revolutionizing the way consumers use media, though no one yet knows what the new model will be or if it will last longer than an eye-blink. Product innovation happens faster than ever.

How P&G Led Also-Ran To Sweet Smell of Success†

By Focusing on Fragrance, Gain Detergent Developed A Billion-Dollar Following

Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2007 — Gain was nearly a loss for Procter & Gamble. The low-priced laundry detergent, launched in 1969, had grown a small following among cost-conscious consumers in the South but failed to build nationwide appeal. With sales dwindling, in 1981 P&G decided to give Gain one more chance by repositioning it as a heavily fragrant detergent. Touting scent, instead of cleaning performance, was a departure from the long-held formula of laundry marketing.

Why Unilever Lost the Laundry War†

P&G Has Been More Aggressive Than All Rivals in a Category It Really Cares About

Advertising Age, August 6, 2007 — In a 1999 interview with Advertising Age, then-P&G President A.G. Lafley shook his head at an admission by then-Unilever Co-Chairman Niall FitzGerald in a magazine article that at one point he and other Unilever executives hadn't been in a laundry room for years.

"That would never happen here," Mr. Lafley said.

In the end, that was the story of how one of the most fabled marketing battles of the past century was won — and lost. P&G had its head, literally and figuratively, in the laundry room. Unilever didn't.