Procter & Gamble sees inflationary pressure for ads to perform, but isn't giving up on purpose

Inflation and the rising cost of living for consumers is increasing senior management scrutiny on advertising spending and creativity, and Procter & Gamble Co. has flipped its marketing mantra to put the “growth” part first in its “Force for Growth. Force for Good” slogan. But in his speech in the Palais at Cannes on Tuesday, Pritchard said he's not exactly giving up on the "force for good part" (a.k.a. "purpose" in many marketers' parlance, but not in Pritchard's). And in an interview, he disputed a recent media report that he’d said the industry had gone too far on purpose in a speech last week at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, and said he made no reference, direct or implied, to any competitor. Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here “What I did say,” Pritchard said, “is that we used to say ‘Force for Good. Force for Growth.’” But the company recently has flipped the order, he said, “to ensure that people focus on the growth driver, which is our superpower.” In his Cannes talk, Pritchard said growth “could be considered our industry’s most fundamental reason for being. But as we come together this week to celebrate creativity, this is worth discussing. Because too often, chief marketing officers will ask, ‘How do I convince my CEO and CFO that marketing creates value and is worth investing in? And more and more, ‘What is the business case for creativity?’ Particularly relevant questions as investments come under increased scrutiny with inflation and costs rising. As we continue to face disruptions in the world around us, it may be more important than ever to double down on our core job.” Doing a good job on growth, he added, “creates value that leads to good. It’s creativity that makes markets bigger, that inspires innovation to attract new people to markets, that advances economic inclusion where more people benefit through higher incomes.” Despite that talk about increased scrutiny toward marketing because of inflation, Pritchard said that doesn’t mean P&G plans to cut spending. It does mean that productivity of spending is more important than ever, he said. “We want to get this mass reach with greater precision, and not waste as much reach as possible,” he said. “We need to raise the bar on communicating performance and doing it in a creative way.” He noted a host of ways P&G is doing that, from Gain’s “Gainiac” campaign with Craig Robinson to Pampers ads for “Poonami-proof pants” and Venus’ “Pubes Song.” Efficiency also means P&G is still trying to avoid doing deals via the TV upfronts as much as possible, which he said leads to over-buying, make goods and other inefficiencies. “What that means is direct partnership discussions and agreements, obviously the large ones,” Pritchard said. “Our agencies are involved in that process as well. ... We have a lot that we don in the programmatic world, including over-the-top [TV].” And Pritchard said P&G has been approached to do tests, such as he outlined in March at the Association of National Advertisers Media Conference, on real-time matching of audience availability and brand media plans rather than upfront commitments for gross rating points in specific programs based on estimates that are almost always wrong. “It’s a reasonable request—matching supply and demand more closely,” he said. “There’s plenty of volume, because our audience is pretty much everybody.” Cannes Lions 2022 Read all of Ad Age’s festival coverage here Check out our live blog here

Procter & Gamble sees inflationary pressure for ads to perform, but isn't giving up on purpose

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