Stepping Up to Lead in 2021

As we begin a new year, we find ourselves at a unique moment when brands are expected to step up and lead in ways never imagined. Just as we thought things couldn’t get more disruptive, they did, as we’re now facing the confluence of the pandemic, economic downturn, racial injustice, and effects of climate change. 

This quadruple-whammy of events accelerated the disruptions already underway in the world of brand building. After a brief spike, traditional TV reach returned to its steady decline. Digital media kept growing, but trust further eroded with scrutiny of platforms escalating. At the same time, over-the-top streaming services exponentially expanded entertainment occasions, but with no ads.  

Consumer expectations are changing. The pandemic has increased their reliance on trusted, well-known brands. Now more than ever before, people expect brands and companies to step up and help solve the world’s most pressing problems. E-commerce retailing is accelerating even faster, while omni-retailers create ecosystems with media, online ordering, store pickup and home delivery services. And data, analytics and technology dominate operations with programmatic media, artificial intelligence, and virtual collaboration tools transforming daily experiences and how we work. 

The events of the last year have accelerated disruption to unimaginable levels, and it will undoubtedly continue. So what’s the best way to deal with perpetual disruption? Lead it. At P&G, we choose to lead constructive disruption. Constructive disruption creates value for all. Innovation flourishes. Consumers benefit from better offerings, increasing consumption so markets grow. It fuels more innovation, more purchases, and more value – a virtuous cycle of growth.

At P&G we are constantly reinventing consumer experiences in a way that drives growth. Here’s our roadmap:

REINVENT INNOVATION

We’re reinventing innovation…raising the bar on all elements of superiority. We compete in household and personal care categories with daily-use products where performance drives brand choice. And since performance matters, we’re always working to achieve superiority in the elements consumers care about – product, packaging, brand communication, retail execution, and value – which together, create an experience that’s irresistible.

We want to delight people from the moment they see the brand on their phone, to when they buy it, to when they use it every day. We’re innovating faster by combining 183 years of expertise with the entrepreneurial spirit of a start-up.

With the pandemic, we’ve had to reimagine how we connect with consumers, retailers, and entrepreneurs who are interested in partnering with us. So, at CES 2021, we’re debuting our P&G Virtual LifeLab, using an engaging gaming platform to create a unique virtual exhibit experience. We’re innovating how we showcase our innovations, and you’ll see this experience at more events in the future.

The LifeLab allows people to create their virtual self and dive into P&G’s showcase of latest innovations in an immersive experience, such as the Oral-B Experience. You can see how Oral-B iO is reinventing oral care with iO’s linear magnetic drive system that directs more cleaning energy to the bristles, and combines Oral-B’s unique oscillating and rotating round brush head with gentle micro-vibrations for a professional clean feel – removing and preventing plaque, while reducing gingivitis for the best gum health. Embedded 3-D tracking technology learns how you brush and guides you across highly personalized brushing modes for your best clean. It’s a WOW brushing experience, and with a clear link between oral health and whole-body health, Oral-B iO is reinventing an important daily habit.

There’s much more to discover at the P&G Virtual LifeLab including the Happy, Healthy, Hygienic Home Experience, featuring products that reinvent home cleaning and hygiene. And you can get immersed in the Sustainability Experience, featuring EC30, our innovative swatches produced without water, and the 50 Liter Home – a collaboration between P&G and multiple companies to create solutions to reduce home water consumption to only 50 liters a day. 

REINVENT MEDIA

We’re also reinventing media…to achieve mass reach with greater precision for experiences consumers prefer.

For years, we’ve called for transforming media, demanding proof on ad viewability, audience reach, and ad fraud elimination. We’re raising expectations again – calling to eliminate hateful content in online media, common privacy laws so consumers consent to data that’s collected and data signals across platforms so we can avoid reaching the same person over and over. We want a Responsible Media Supply Chain with quality, civility, and respect for consumers at the center.

In the meantime, we’re taking more control, starting with opt-in first-party data that consumers can trust will be used for their benefit. Consumers trust our brands, and we aim to ensure data they share will be used in ways they prefer.    

We’re also bringing more media work in-house, with in-house planning at 80% in the U.S. and 100% in China. We’re using analytics to help brands reduce media waste while increasing reach. And we’re doing more media buying deals in-house, disrupting the legacy systems that have historically favored sellers. 

And we’re accelerating automated, programmatic media buying. For example, in China, 90% of media spending is digital and more than 80% is bought through programmatic media. In the U.S. and Europe, we’re shifting from generic demographic-based audiences to “smart audiences” with profiles that enable reach with greater precision through programmatic buying. This is clearly the future of media with connected TV next on the horizon. 

We’re reinventing media to constructively disrupt the definition of the “world’s largest advertiser” – it’s not who spends the most - it’s who reaches the most efficiently, effectively and with experiences consumers prefer.

REINVENT ADVERTISING

We’re reinventing advertising to create ad experiences that are more superior, more useful and more interesting so that consumers actually look forward to them. 

We’re making advertising more interesting, by merging the ad world with the creative worlds of film, music, comedy, sports and journalism. 

For example, Tide teamed up with the NFL to create the #JerseySwap campaign for their Tide Hygienic Clean launch. Tampax joined forces with Amy Schumer for the hilarious “Educating Amy” mini-series. And Old Spice partnered with Deon Cole and Gabrielle Dennis for the “Men Have Skin Too” series, even during quarantine:

REINVENT BRAND CITIZENSHIP

We’re reinventing brand citizenship…to build brands that are a “force for good and a force for growth.” The events of the past year have made it clear that this is becoming a bigger part of the experience consumers expect from brands.

This expectation became obvious and urgent during the pandemic, and we activated several efforts to help fight COVID-19. We created ads to support several benefit events that raised money for COVID-19 relief, such as Global Citizen’s “Together at Home” for healthcare workers and vaccine development… Univision’s “Altisimo” for Hispanic frontline healthcare and farm workers… BET’s “Saving Our Selves” for emergency healthcare and PPE for Black Americans.

As you know, it got worse. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Rayshard Brooks…and too many more. The brutal reality of systemic racism was laid bare and could no longer be ignored or set aside. P&G used our voice to spark conversations about racism and inequality. We joined multiple networks and platforms to support broadcast specials such as Oprah’s Where do we go from Here Town Hall, and John Legend’s Bigger Love. We re-released “The Talk” which shows conversations that Black parents have with their children to prepare them for the racism they’ll inevitably face. We re-released “The Look” to help people learn about the racism that Black men face every day.  And we created “The Choice” to encourage the white community to be anti-racist and join our “Take on Race” program. The intent of these films is to help people learn about and engage in conversations about the realities of being Black in America. Because conversation leads to understanding…which leads to empathy…which leads to action. 

And action is what matters. In addition to using our voice in advertising, P&G is taking determined action to constructively disrupt the systemic inequalities in the creative and media world.

1.    Achieving equal representation in the creative and media supply chain. This means that every link in the chain – marketers, agencies, production crews, and media providers – reflects equal gender representation and representation of race and ethnicity equal to the U.S. population. 

2.    Eliminating systemic investment inequalities in the creative and media supply chain. Only 5% of marketing industry spending is invested in businesses owned by Black, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific or Native Americans – compared to 40% of the U.S. population. So, we’re eliminating systemic investment inequalities by working directly with Black, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific, and Native American-owned and operated media providers. 

3.    Accurately portray all humanity in advertising and media. Only 6% of TV roles are Hispanic, 4% of roles are Asian-Pacific, and Native Americans at 0.3%, and too often, they’re stereotyped or diminished. The images in advertising and media matter, so we’re stepping up to eliminate bias.

4.    Taking action to eliminate hateful content in online media. Recently, the Association of National Advertisers Board met with the digital platforms to review plans and timelines for eliminating hateful content. This review helped, but it’s astonishing that 30 years into the internet age with $300 billion of media spending monetized – we’re still operating with very few boundaries other than those that are self-imposed or that marketers try to enforce. 

5.    Frankly, we are tired of wasting time monitoring bad content. We want to spend time on creativity, innovation, doing good, and driving growth. We want to do more of what matters…Join Forces to Create Content for Good. In the past several months, we’ve worked with agencies, broadcasters, platforms, and partners to create fifteen powerful programs supported by more than 15 thought-provoking ads…to help raise nearly $200 million. And we’re not done. Join us in our commitment to 2021 acts of good in 2021.

There you have it…P&G’s roadmap to leading constructive disruption by reinventing superior consumer experiences to drive growth. Disruption is everywhere and we’re ready for it. We’re looking for technologies to reinvent innovation, ideas to reinvent media and advertising, and citizenship partners to be a force for good and a force for growth. Most of all, we’re looking forward to leading constructive disruption with all of you! Thank you.