How P&G Plans to Clean Up

The consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble is investing in game-changing innovations even amid the recession, says CEO A.G. Lafley

BusinessWeek, April 2, 2009 — Since becoming chief executive of Procter & Gamble (PG) in 2000, A.G. Lafley has never had it tougher. Shares of the world's biggest consumer-products company have lost a third of their value since last fall. U.S. shoppers are trading down to private-label products from premium-priced brands such as P&G's Tide, Gillette, and Pampers. And the economic downturn is spilling into developing nations where P&G has notched its best growth. Lafley, nonetheless, seems undaunted. The 61-year-old sat down in his Cincinnati office with BusinessWeek's Roger O. Crockett to talk about managing through the recession. Here are edited excerpts:

Innovation Trickles in a New Direction

Products traditionally are created in rich nations and repackaged for emerging ones. But General Electric, Nokia, and others are reversing the process

BusinessWeek, March 11, 2009 — This month, General Electric's (GE) health-care division will begin marketing a first-of-its-kind electrocardiograph machine in the U.S. Although packed with the latest technology, the battery-powered device weighs just six pounds, half as much as the smallest ECG machine currently for sale. It will retail for a mere $2,500, an 80% markdown from products with similar capabilities. But what really distinguishes the MAC 800 is its lineage. The machine is basically the same field model that GE Healthcare developed for doctors in India and China in 2008.

As such, the diagnostic tool exemplifies a way of thinking that may be ideally suited to dealing with the widening recession: creating entry-level goods for emerging markets and then quickly and cheaply... continue reading

Toy Makers Reach Into Product Attic†

Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2009 — To cope with slumping sales, toy makers are trying to breathe new life into some old brands.

This year, Zizzle LLC is rolling out a doll called P.J. Sparkles that has a tiara that lights up and a dress that can be transformed into pajamas. But the line isn't new: It was retired by Mattel Inc., its original manufacturer, nearly 20 years ago.

The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World†

Consumers are flocking to blogs, social-networking sites and virtual worlds. And they are leaving a lot of marketers behind.

Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2008 — For marketers, Web 2.0 offers a remarkable new opportunity to engage consumers.

If only they knew how to do it.

That's where this article aims to help. We interviewed more than 30 executives and managers in both large and small organizations that are at the forefront of experimenting with Web 2.0 tools. From those conversations and further research, we identified a set of emerging principles for marketing.

Thinking by Design†

Brandweek, November 2, 2008 — While marketers have appreciated the value of distinctive design for some time now—at least since Apple and Target started making it a key differentiator about a decade ago—design thinking is something else. The premise is that if you tap a designer, or a designer's problem-solving approach, to tackle standard business problems, you will get game-changing results.