procter and gamble - harvard business review case study

Procter and Gamble is an American multinational company headquartered

in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded by William Procter and James Gamble. Its products include cleaning agents & personal care products.

PRODUCTS

BRANDS

APPROACH“Acquisition or

joint venture on small scale through trial and error, learn the formula for success before making a major commitment.”

PURPOSE“Improve lives

of customers through continued innovation to reach more consumers, in more parts of world, more completely.”

FOCUS•Growth of core brands and categories with unrelenting focus on innovation.• Building business with unserved and undeserved consumers.• Continuous growth and development of faster growing , higher margin businesses with global leadership potential.

CASE FACTS

Expenditure (2010): $8.68 billionSales (2010): $78.94 billionNet Income: $12.74 billionMarket Capitalization: $186.63 billion

Product Percentage

Household Care

Beauty and Groming

Health and Wellbeing

Sales by RegionNorth AmericaWest EuropeAsiaLatin AmericaCentral and east Europe

ACQUISITIONS• 1957- Charmin Paper Mill• 1963- Folger’s Coffee• 1980- Crush International

Limited• 1981- Frost Proof• 1981- Norwich Eaton

Pharmaceuticals• 1985- Metamucil• 1989- Noxell• 1991- Maxfactor• 2003- Iams• 2005- Gillette

Contributors to Success:

• R & D and Innovation• Global Business Units• Connect and Develop• Marketing Strategy

Innovation and R & D• Marketing

Secret Sauce• 1887-

Analytical Lab• Replacement

of trial & error• Products:

Crest toothpste,

Head & Shoulders, Pampers.

Global Business Units (GBUs)• Based on

product category• Three new

teams: 1. Development Team 2. Venture Team 3. Market Development Team

Connect and Develop• 50% innovation

from P & G and 50% from non P & G scientists and engineers.

• 7500 inside firm and 1.5 million beyond with permeable boundaries.

• Products: Swiffer duster, Olay Regenerist,

Crest Whitestrip and Crest Spinbuds.

Marketing Strategies• Function,

performance & price.• Separate design

unit• Consumer

centric marketing• P & G website• Return on

marketing investment• Multi branding• Personal

endorsement• Psychological

Surveys

CUSTOMER RESEARCH STUDIES

Qualitative(GDs, Consumer interviews, in-context visits,

in-store interviews)

Quantitative (Blind, concept and use tests,

quality monitoring,

study of consumer

habits)

•Crafting messages by mothers•Samples•Coupons•Opportunities to share opinions•Personal endorsement

•Customized by region•Strong connection to functionality•Design and emotion driven•Sponsorships•Celebrity endorsements•Social Media •Digital

• Introduction• Approach• Purpose• Focus• Case Facts• Timeline• Product Percentage• Sales by region• Acquisitions• Contributors to success• Marketing Strategies• Customer Research

Studies• Special Promotions• Advertising• SWOT Analysis