Friday, October 10, 2008

P&G’s Stengel: Make purpose your star


Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Lisa Biank Fasig Staff Reporter




One of the best ways to beat perspiration is with aspiration.
This, in a way, was the message by Jim Stengel, the global marketing officer of Procter & Gamble Co., to a crowd of hundreds of people this morning at the University of Cincinnati’s inaugural marketing summit, called Purpose Driven Branding. In a one-hour presentation that highlighted the on-the-ground efforts by P&G, Stengel highlighted its global efforts to prevent disease, lighten the load for poor mothers and – in the case of perspiration – help boys become men.
“The function of marketing lacks a north star,” Stengel told the crowd, as he prepared to guide it through P&G’s own mission. That north star, he said, is purpose and ideals.
But it’s not so simple as pledging to go green in the office or supplying vaccinations to children in third-world countries. Such goals have to be part of the moral fabric of a company. Every mission has to be backed up with action. It must first be geared toward helping others, and in turn elevate the brand. Only then is the effort authentic, and therefore worthwhile.
To accomplish this, a company has to line up a few other stars. The leader must be explicit about the purpose, and it has to resonate with workers; it must energize them. If the company’s own people aren’t passionate about the program, why would consumers be?
Stengel illustrated how P&G accomplishes its purpose through several of its global programs, each initiated by the teams that oversee the brand involved. Safeguard, for instance, launched a program in Pakistan to educate families about hygiene, a program that eliminated illness while growing brand awareness. Pampers teamed with UNICEF in a global program wherein one tetanus vaccination is donated with every package of Pampers sold. So far, 40 million vaccinations have been funded as a result.
And Old Spice, a decades-old brand that was losing market share, turned the ship around by making manhood its north star. Or, more specifically, helping men “navigate the seas of manhood,” Stengel said.
The tongue-in-cheek commercials that resulted helped build the brand and attracted the attention of actor Will Ferrell, who contacted P&G and asked if he could get involved. More commercials followed.
The point is that the most successful brands drive emotion and trust among consumers, Stengel said.
“You have to be selfless about the consumer,” Stengel said. “It’s about him or her. It’s not about you.”
Stengel closed by encouraging the students and marketers in the crowd to become a part of the movement.
“We can be much, much better than we are today.”
Stengel’s presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion by Jim Sluzewski, vice president of communications for Macy’s Inc; Kathy Selker, CEO of Northlich; Walter Solomon, chief growth officer of Ashland Inc; and Chris Allen, the Arthur Beerman professor of marketing at UC.
The event was held at the Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center.