This week, I came across an interesting article on the keynote given at Cannes by P&G’s Chief Brand Officer. Marc Prichard talked about the company’s approach to marketing and in particular the task of “finding creativity in the everyday”. This approach is not rocket science. But it is a good reminder about how to use immersive insight as a springboard for impactful marketing. And the approach seems to be working well. The second quarter of fiscal 2024 was the 14th quarter in a row when P& delivered organic growth of 4% or more. This consistent performance is reflected in the company’s strong share price performance, well ahead of Unilever by comparison (see below).
In this post we look at the three steps proposed by Pritchard.
1. Find everyday moments that matter
The first step is to get out of the office and out into the real world, to do what we call “immersive insight”. This involves visiting people where they consume your product or service and where also they shop. Prichard explains well why this is important. “It requires human interaction to get the true essence of a moment. Like the first whiff of clean, fresh laundry, the importance of a smooth shave when kissing your grandson or the feeling of a soft, fresh pillow after a long day.”
In this way, you go beyond consumer understanding to consumer empathy: a deeper, more visceral connection with the consumer. And it is this deeper connection that is key to uncovering true human insight. “The answer won’t be found in the data or the algorithms. The answer is in the idea which comes from the heart and the soul,” as Prichard rightly points out.
Insight by the Safeguard brand in Chinese homes showed the importance of washing hands before eating, to protect your family’s health. The team also learned that this was especially true during one of the most important times of year: Chinese New Year. This led to a campaign urging people to “Wash Hands and Eat”
2. Find how your brand matters in those moments
The next task it to understand where and how your brand matters in the moments of truth. Here, P&G are still as focused on the product “sausage” as they were when I started my career in the company back in the late 1980s! “It’s important to define how the brand provides a tangible and noticeably superior performance benefit,” Prichard recommends. “Like clothes fresh as if dried outdoors, the cleanest, closest shave, irresistible softness and comfort from your favorite fabrics.”
In contrast to the very rationally focused marketing of the 1980s, P&G today also recognises the importance of adding emotional “sizzle”, by “thinking expansively about how your brand contributes to emotional outcomes.” For example, Ariel’s Share the Load campaign seeks to change the minds people in India that laundry is a woman’s jobs alone. A female executive hesitates about leaving home for a week to attend an important training course, owing to concerns about looking after the home. Her partner steps up by offering to learn how to do the washing!
3. Find the magic of a creative brand idea to make those moments matter more
The third step is where creative magic is needed to tell the product story in a compelling and memorable way. “It’s where both sides of the brain work together to combine logic and feeling. Logic connects the dots in your brain, and emotion makes you feel in your heart and your soul,” is how Prichard sums this up.
One example is the updated Don’t campaign from Head & Shoulders that I posted on a couple of weeks ago, here. This shows the confidence that comes from using the brand to be dandruff free. The series of executions use humour and references to popular culture, such as different movie genres (see below La La Land top right and Knives Out top left).
In conclusion, the simple three step creative formula is a good reminder of how to connect with consumers in their everyday lives to highlight opportunities for your brand.
