Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble – P&G Marketing mix

Procter & Gamble is an American Public limited company that deals in consumer goods industry. Founded in the year 1837 by James Gamble and William Procter, this multinational company has its headquarters in Ohio, USA. The company to its credit has numerous business innovations that have helped it in enhancing its position in the world market. Procter & Gamble face a stiff competition both direct and indirect from some of its rival companies and some of the rival companies are as follows-

• Unilever
• Johnson & Johnson
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Products in the Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble deals in goods whose product range is closely related. The main objective of the company is to make the products accessible to every consumer in the world. For this, they have maintained a quality level of the products and kept the prices reasonable. The company produces a wide range of innovative products related to the following brands-

Cosmetics –

• Max Factor-cosmetics
• Wella – cosmetics
• Scope – mouthwash

Dishwashing–

• Joy – dishwashing liquid
• Dawn dishwashing liquid

Feminine Hygiene –

• Whisper – sanitary napkins
• Tampax – tampons
• Always – hygiene products

Food –

• Sunshine – margarine
• Star – margarine
• Pringles – potato crisps
• Mayon – cooking oil
• Folgers – coffee

Haircare –

• Rejoice – products relating to hair care
• Prell – conditioner and shampoo
• Pantene – products related to the care of hair
• Vidal Sassoon – products for hair care
• Natural Instincts – color for hair
• Head & Shoulder – hair shampoo

Healthcare products-

• Vicks – product for cold and cough like cough drops, inhaler and vaporub.
• Thermacare
• Crest – toothpaste
• Align – probiotics

Household products –

• Luvs – diapers of disposable quality
• Pampers – diapers of disposable quality
• Clean – cleaners for households

Laundry detergents –

• Dynamo
• Tide
• Gain
• Dash
• Ariel

Skin care products –

• Secret – deodorants and anti-perspirants
• Safeguard – soap
• Old Spice – products related to hair care, skin care and aftershave.
• Olay – products for skin care
• Lava – bar soap

Place in the Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble has a worldwide network for all its products with a distribution policy in place for at least one hundred and forty countries like India, UK, China and USA. The company also has various manufacturing plants for numerous products like a plant for manufacturing of hygiene products in Baddi and Goa.

Procter & Gamble has a proactive and strong network for the distribution and manufacturing of its products. It realizes the importance of prompt action and hence all its distributary strategies are well organized and handled with efficiency. Distribution process is followed in three major ways intensive distribution, specialty distribution and extensive distribution.

Procter & Gamble network channel consists of manufacturers, who are the producing agents, and from them to the wholesalers who are the distributors and from them to retailers who are in fact the suppliers for the consumers. For some brands, the marketing channel consists of independent organizations that are participants in the product production process for consumer consumption. It is the responsibility of the retailers to see that the goods are dispatched at a faster pace to the various outlets.

Therefore, the warehouses are at convenient places from where accessibility is easier. The main distributers of the goods to the consumers are in fact the provision stores, the chemist’s shops, the retail outlets, the mall, and numerous big markets. DHL courier is the company’s service provider to ensure logistical efficiency.

Price in the Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble

The pricing strategy for Procter & Gamble products depends mostly on the quality of the product and its brand value. As there are numerous brands under the company umbrella, it prefers different policies for different type of product. It depends on an adjustable policy where the products are priced according to their market value. For some products, the competition is very high and there are similar products in the market. For these goods, the brand has a professional marketing team that keeps an eye on the prices of the competitors.

Procter & Gamble keeps a competitive pricing policy for such products and hence maintains a pricing range that is quite near to the prices of the competitor’s products. In this policy, any changes that the competitors make affect the prices. Suppose the rivals decreases the prices of their product to increase their sales then Procter & Gamble also comes out with a discount or gift scheme to counter it. Thus, at the end of the day the prices remain in a range.

Sometimes the brand also follows the penetration pricing policy to launch newer products in the market and in order to create a new consumer base. When the prices are at a lower price from the similar products, without compromising the quality then the consumers are attracted to such products. This results in higher sales and helps in generating larger volumes for the company. For its high quality premium category of goods, the brands follow a premium pricing policy where the prices are at a higher level. However, these products are generally superior in quality and cater to the section of people who can afford them.

Promotions in the Marketing mix of Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble capitalizes heavily on the online media and insists on “attraction strategy”. Under this advertising policy, the company insists on creative ads and heavy advertising. It has deals with celebrities for its advertisements. Actors Kareena Kapoor and her actor husband Saif Ali Khan are in the Head & Shoulder ads, actor Kaitrina Kaif is in ads for Olay and actor Shilpa Shetty and Parineeti Chopra are in the Pantene ads shown in different television channels, radio, hoardings, newspapers and different magazines.

Procter & Gamble has been a sponsor for different television shows like Guiding Light, Our Private World, Texas, Another World and The Caitlins. It also sponsored the first soap opera on the radio in the year 1930. Under its online marketing strategy, the company has opened its official website where a consumer can easily download any detailed information about any product of its sub brands and make purchases.

The company also has tie-ups with numerous other shopping sites from where buying is possible. It has become a sponsor of various online communities like “Women.com” and “BeingGirl.com” and even has numerous destination sites that are highly stylized. The company has released small product pouches as promotional ventures to create awareness in the consumer market for its products. Free samples as promotion technique are distributed at numerous events to increase the visibility of the products.

Here is one of the most fantastic ads by P&G group.