Articles

27.10.2010 P&G champions new products

Procter & Gamble, the consumer goods giant, is introducing a campaign encouraging existing customers to try new additions to its portfolio. The "Have you tried this yet?" initiative aims to encourage the 99% of US and Canadian households that already buy P&G products to trial several recently-launched extensions. More specifically, this effort focuses on 18 products, including Bounce fabric softening dryer bars, Charmin Sensitive toilet paper and Pringles Multigrain potato chips.

A temporary store in New York City will give shoppers the opportunity to sample offerings like Olay anti-aging body wash and CoverGirl Clean foundation makeup, as well as to buy these goods online. This promotional push is the brainchild of Melanie Healey, brought in last year to head up the North American division of the world's biggest consumer products company. The region accounted for 42% of the organisation's $78.9bn revenues last year, indicating its vital importance. While emerging markets offer growth opportunities, American consumers continue to bolster expensive products such as Tide Total Care detergent and Olay Pro-X skin cream.

This is reflected in spending patterns, with US customers investing around $100 a year in items from P&G's stable, compared with $20 in Mexico and $3 in China. The challenge in the US must be to stem P&G's declining sales outlined in Sanford Bernstein's analysis of Nielsen figures spanning the 12-week period ending October 2. According to this research, Procter posted a 1% drop in US sales despite offering a 1% lower average price than the previous year.

Research has shown that many consumers who buy Crest toothpaste don't necessarily purchase related products like whitening strips, mouthwash or Oral-B toothbrushes. To encourage trials in other product categories, P&G developed bundling promotions like the "3D White Collection", providing an opportunity to stress the benefits of using products in combination.

B.L. 27.10.2010