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.

P&G's Global Target: Shelves of Tiny Stores†

It Woos Poor Women Buying Single Portions; Mexico's 'Hot Zones'

Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2007 — Every day, Martina Pérez Díaz spends about five hours sewing 70 pairs of black loafers by hand for a wage of 120 pesos, or about $11. When she wants to wash her hair, she walks to her local tiendita, or "small store," to buy a 0.34 ounce, single-use packet of Procter & Gamble Co.'s Head & Shoulders shampoo. The price: two pesos, or about 19 cents. "That I usually can afford," she says.

Shoppers like Ms. Díaz factor heavily into P&G's plan to conquer more of the globe. The consumer-products giant has a goal of increasing total sales by 5% to 7% annually over the next three years.

Finding That 'Sweet Spot': A New Way to Drive Innovation

Knowledge@Wharton, June 27, 2007 — Larry Huston was vice president of knowledge and innovation for many years at Procter & Gamble. During that time, he was the architect of its Connect + Develop program, the creator of P&G's Brand Bootcamp operation, and innovation leader for the company's global fabric and homecare business, among other initiatives. He is now managing partner of 4INNO, and recently joined Wharton's Mack Center for Technological Innovation as a senior fellow. Knowledge@Wharton asked Huston to talk about innovation and its role in the global economy.

P&G Using Influence To 'Bring The Love Back' To Brands

MediaPost Publications, June 15, 2007 — PROCTER & GAMBLE IS "BRINGING the love back" through what it calls influencer marketing--sort of a public relations on steroids. P&G's Anthony Rose described it in depth at yesterday's ANA Masters of Integrated Marketing event. Rose, associate director, Global Beauty External Relations, and co-leader, Influencer Marketing Center of Excellence at P&G, was really echoing a message others had delivered during the day: telling consumers what they need to hear doesn't work.

P&G Rekindles an Old Flame†

New Febreze Candles Aim to Extend Product Line; Is Growth a Burning Issue?

Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2007 — Procter & Gamble is selling candles again, nearly 90 years after the rise of electric lighting forced the company to stop making them.

This time around, though, the company says its candles will do more than just light a room. P&G claims they can trap bad odors using new technology, and quickly fill a room with fragrances such as "Linen & Sky" and "Meadows & Rain."

Sophomoric? That's The Idea

BusinessWeek, May 28, 2007 — Ricky Van Veen has an important question for his lawyer, and that's why he is diving for the phone. He and his staff have just dreamed up an advertiser-supported contest. The prize: free plastic surgery. "Is that legal?" he asks General Counsel Josh Sussman excitedly.