Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble (P&G)

This detailed article investigates a variety of issues concerning the marketing mix of Procter & Gamble (P&G). It assesses the 4Ps i.e. product, price, place, and promotion techniques and strategies adopted by P&G to meet the needs and desires of its customers profitably and effectively.

Product strategies of Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Procter & Gamble is a well-known household brand around the world. It produces products in many different categories including beauty care, baby care, feminine care, fabric care, home care, personal health care, and grooming. The range of products in the company’s portfolio are as follows:

Beauty care: Skin and beauty care products are under this category. Some of the brands under this range include Head and Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Olay, Pantene, and Aussie.

Baby care: Diapers and wipes fall under this category under the brand name Pampers. This is one of Procter and Gamble’s famous products.

Feminine care: The brands in this category include Always and Tampax.

Fabric care: Laundry products such as Ariel, Daz, Bold, Fairy and fabric conditioners such as Lenor come under this category.

Home care: Kitchen products such as Fairy and odour eliminators such as Ambi pur and Febreze are included in this category. Viakal, used for kitchen and bathroom cleaning, is also in this category.

Personal health care: Clearblue for pregnancy, Old Spice for hair and skin care, Oral B for dental hygiene, and Vicks for cough and flu relief are in this category.

Grooming: Gillette, and Braun, used for personal grooming are in this category.

Procter & Gamble has been very innovative in product development. Many of its products have won different awards and accolades such as ‘Product of the Year USA awards for 2020’ (Brunsman, 2020). It also won 27 awards and named ‘Company of the Year’ in ROI Festival in Shangai in 2020. However, it should be mentioned that the company is accused of destructing forestry and being indifferent to poor labor practices in many countries such as Canada, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Pricing strategies of Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Procter & Gamble faces heavy competition from many global and local competitors of different sizes. Therefore, the products need to be priced accordingly. When competitors reduce prices of their products, it affects the sales of Procter & Gamble products. Therefore, its products that face high competition are priced competitively.

For premium quality products, P&G charges high prices. These products are aimed at consumers who can afford to buy at high prices and are willing to do so. When introducing a new product that is already sold by competitors, the company charges a lower price. This helps it gain more sales and increase profits. These instances show that P&G’s pricing policy changes in line with the circumstances, customer segments, and actions of the competitors. 

Place/Distribution channels of Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Place is the next area of analysis in the marketing mix of Procter & Gamble (P&G). Procter & Gamble pursues an intensive distribution strategy. It has a very efficient distribution system to reach out to all the customers. Its products are sold at retail stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, discount stores, supermarkets, and authorised dealers in different countries around the world. Many businesses such as hotels also purchase its products in bulk for use in the daily operations of their business.

Promotion strategies of Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Procter & Gamble promotes its products on television, social media, and print media. It also uses celebrities for the same purpose. In 2015 Indian actress Anushka Sharma signed up as the brand ambassador for Pantene. Other celebrities who endorse the company are Albert Pujols Kei Nishikori, Alex Morgan, Kyle Rudolph, and Carrie Underwood (Celebrity Endorsers, 2021). However, the company sometimes slash spending on celebrity endorsements as evidenced from the example of Head & Shoulders in the past.

Procter & Gamble also provides sponsorships for television shows, sports, and other events to promote its products. For instance, it recently signed a five-year sponsorship deal worth $80 million to $100 million with Major League Soccer, USA. As per the deal, P&G will sponsor some top soccer events including the MLS All-Star Game, the Mexican National Team’s U.S. Tour and the Leagues Cup (Young, 2021).

Other promotional techniques used by P&G are direct marketing and sales promotions. It often needs to communicate with authorized distributors, supermarkets, retailers etc. hence the use of direct communications. Likewise, providing organizational buyers with discounts for bulk buying is also a useful technique to increase sales, though it impacts on the company’s profit margins.

We hope the article ‘Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble (P&G)’ has been useful. You may also like reading SWOT analysis of Procter and Gamble.  Other relevant articles for you are:

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Last update: 17 December 2023

References:

Brunsman, B. (2020) P&G wins several ‘Product of the Year’ honors, available at: https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/02/11/p-g-wins-several-product-of-the-year-honors.html (accessed 16 August 2021)

Celebrity Endorsers (2021) Celebrities who endorse Procter & Gamble, available at: https://celebrityendorsers.com/endorsements/procter-gamble/ (accessed 29 July 2021)

Procter & Gamble (2021) Our brands, available at: https://www.pg.co.uk/brands/ (accessed 17 August 2021)

Young, J. (2021) Major League Soccer lands a top corporate sponsorship with Procter & Gamble, available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/major-league-soccer-lands-top-corporate-sponsorship-procter-gamble.html (accessed 18 August 2021)

Author: Fahim Shah

Fahim Shah has been working in the UK as a visiting lecturer in Business and Tourism for the last 10 years. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Marketing, he went on to gain an MBA from the University of Bradford, the UK. He is a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA) and a full member of the Association of Business Executives (ABE).