P&G Marketing: At the ANA Multicultural Marketing Conference, P&G’s Mark Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, The Procter & Gamble Company, and Leyla Coffey, Vice President, Multi-Cultural Business Acceleration, The Procter & Gamble Company, showcased P&G brand initiatives in which they used the 4R Framework: a system encompassing four elements; Relevance, Reach, Representation, and Resonance, that matter in brand building for inclusivity.
P&G’s Mark Pritchard and Leyla Coffey told fellow brand marketers that there is a massive business opportunity in meeting the needs of African American, Hispanic, AAPI, and LGBT+. For example, they showcased a recent research, marketing and advertising initiative for Always.
The Opportunity: Increasing Relevance for Always
Always, Procter & Gamble’s menstrual care brand had a sales performance gap in the Hispanic and African-American markets. To assess the
situation P&G took the necessary steps to really understand the consumer (The relevance component in P&G’s 4 R Framework). So, the Cincinnati headquartered CPG giant researched for insights into the job to be done to improve. They found out that Hispanic and black women have higher performance needs and protection needs from Always than the overall U.S. female population. Specifically, Hispanic and African-American women have more fear of period leaks and gushes.
With these insights, P&G developed Always Ultra Thin Pads, a new product that absorbs gushes two times faster without fear of leaks. These product attributes were translated into campaign creatives with the tagline “Fear no Gush” or for the Hispanic market: “Preparada para lo imprevisto”.
P&G Marketing: Representation and Reach
P&G also ensured that the advertising for the new Always Ultra Thin Pads commercial, see below, is representative of the diverse makeup of the Hispanic and African American consumer (The Representation component in the 4 R framework). According to Pritchard, DE&I is a means to achieve growth by having diverse work and product development groups.
The third component of the 4 R Framework is the reach component; Marketers need to be able to answer questions like: “Where is the campaign showing up? Are your communications reaching target consumers at sufficient weight? What % of spend is with suppliers representing diverse communities? These questions were answered by “Always” media team by increasing both programmatic and TV spending using outlets including Univision and Group Black. ” Reach amounts to advertising effectiveness and efficiency. We are working very individually on reach and effectiveness,” Pritchard noted. It is important as an industry to measure effectiveness. If It works, measurement will attract more dollars and media inventory.”
It is important as an industry to measure effectiveness. If It works, measurement will attract more dollars and media inventory.
P&G Marketing: Resonance
The final component of the 4 R Framework, Resonance, is about taking action to sustain wider cultural and social change and should answer questions such as:
- “Are you authentic in everything you are doing?
- Does your brand have the right to show sustained, consistent, and committed support of the community?
- Are you able to manifest a cultural impact?
To obtain relevance for its “Fear no Gush Campaign”, P&G instituted the Always Sonando and Always Dreaming Scholarships. Both scholarships were created to provide support, mentorship, and financial assistance to prepare 50 emerging Hispanic or Latina leaders to live out their dreams confidently. Each scholarship recipient receives US $ $2,500 to go towards education.”
Both Pritchard and Coffey emphasized that while reach is very important, it is critical for marketers to shift from a reach-only approach and also evaluate resonance.
Results
By applying the 4R’s Framework to the Always brand, P&G grew share among Hispanics and African American women and held share among all other groups, according to Pritchard and Coffey. Surveys showed an increase in trust of close to 50% for both constituencies. This was also reflected in an increase in purchase intention of 38%. “It’s about insights and product development. That’s what companies do. We are doubling down because we see the opportunity.” Pritchard asserted.
Insights and product development is what companies do. We are doubling down because we see the opportunity.
Advice for Other Marketers
Pritchard and Coffey advised fellow CPG marketers that to take full advantage of the opportunity, they need to “serve all constituencies and dig deep for insight to design superior products the highest needs.” Additionally, they said that “in order to affect change, you need to impact internal structure and processes.” Asked by audience members whether the application of the 4R Frameworks needs large marketing budgets, they replied that “it’s about insight and focus not about money.”
It’s about insight and focus, not about money.