In a volatile and complex world it is still possible to build brands that “last a lifetime” if you invest in creativity, argued Procter & Gamble’s Marc Pritchard.
Speaking today (17 June) at the Cannes Lions Festival, the chief brand officer claimed rather than focusing on “brand lifecycles”, long-term growth is driven by several “timeless” principles. These principles, he stated, don’t need to be complicated to work in today’s “unprecedented” geopolitical environment.
The work leading this charge wasn’t developed to “win awards or to get applause”, the P&G marketing boss insisted.
“It was developed to do the hard work of building household and personal care brands that serve consumers every day. It’s a high degree of difficulty to make laundry detergent, dish soap, paper towels and toilet paper brands matter through creativity,” said Pritchard.
“We’re proud of this work because it’s proven to grow sales and build enduring brand equity, persuading the consumers we serve to trust and buy our brands. And that reward matters most to us.”
While acknowledging the “game-changing” potential of AI – tech P&G claims to use across every aspect of brand building – Pritchard was keen to focus on human-derived creativity.
“Technology has always created potential for new sources of creativity and AI is doing exactly that. But at the heart of building brands is humanity,” he stated.
His central message was that despite the global chaos, it is possible to build brands that are trusted, grow and stand the test of time, based on five key lessons for success.
1. Know your consumer better than anyone
The P&G marketing boss learnt this lesson early in his marketing career, based on the notion that discovering the “human truth inside a behaviour” unlocks ideas that build brands.
“The advice was: ‘Know everything about the consumer your brand serves – their needs, wants, problems, lifestyle and habits. When someone asks a question about the consumer, they should turn to you and you should know the answer,’” Pritchard explained.
He cited the example of Ariel Europe. The team in France was inspired to find out more about the lengths people go through to be certain their clothes will come out clean. Ariel’s ‘Certainty of Clean’ campaign tapped into these insights, a move that helped achieve double-digit sales growth throughout Europe.
2. Know your brand better than anyone
Next, the P&G marketing boss advised marketers to dig deep into the history, triumphs and mistakes of their brand to really understand what makes it tick. Pritchard cited the idea espoused by US ad man and author Joey Reiman that “the fruits are in the roots”.
“One activity you can do is to go back to learn all about the brand’s entire life. What was the first advertising campaign and how has it evolved? Who were the spokespeople that built trust and credibility? What stumbles did the brand overcome and what breakthroughs built the brand to greater heights?” he suggested.
Pritchard referenced the long-running ‘Don’t Squeeze the Charmin’ ad campaign for toilet paper brand Charmin, which built brand awareness for more than 20 years. However, over time growth stalled.
“The brand team tried many approaches – bringing children into ads, cartoon characters and even a return cameo from Mr. Whipple, which was just kind of odd. The brand looked for another recognisable character who could talk about the sensitive topic of toilet paper in a way that was memorable but not ‘icky,’” Pritchard recalled.
“Then, 25 years ago, they landed on an idea. Ever hear the colloquialism: ‘Does a bear ‘blank’ in the woods?’ You can fill in the blank. The creative team answered: ‘Yes, but what kind of toilet paper do they use?’”
Based on the brand’s positioning as the softest toilet paper, the Charmin Bears were born. The campaign helped to build a $5bn (£3.7bn) brand, which has been in growth for 25 years and is the US market leader.
3. Fall (and stay) in love with the craft
Moving to his third lesson, Pritchard “proudly and unapologetically” used the word advertising to describe the creative outcome of what marketers do. He referenced the word’s Latin root ‘advertere’, meaning to “turn toward”.
“That’s our job – creativity to compel people to ‘turn toward’ our brands by attracting attention, informing, persuading, making them laugh, cry, smile, feel and ultimately take action – like buy. And that requires art, science, ideas and craft that is nurtured and revered,” he stated.
“Notice that you didn’t hear content. Not a fan of that word for describing what we do.”
Returning to definitions, the P&G boss pointed out that content refers to “information made available in a website or other electronic medium”.
“The definition of digital content, which has hijacked the word advertising over the years. And we just can’t seem to get enough of it. It’s easy to produce and we try to ‘catch the algorithm’, which simply accelerates the hamster wheel of content activity, often devoid of craft,” said Pritchard.
“Consumers deserve our highest level of advertising craft, wherever and whenever brands are expressed.”
An example is the ‘Change Destiny’ campaign from premium skincare brand SK-II. The team has veered into activity that was entertaining and fun, but “no longer reflected the prestige” of the product.
Keen to take the brand back to its roots, the marketers launched exclusive new range LXP, inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi – a philosophy that sees beauty in imperfections.
“SK-II is rebuilding the brand with this highest level of craftsmanship wherever it is experienced – in stores, online, in events, in packaging, with influencers, with creators, and in long-form advertising behind the idea that ‘Time and beauty are not enemies. Time is an ally,’” he explained.
Learning from the example of SK-II, the P&G marketing boss urged his fellow marketers not to get lured onto the “content hamster wheel”.
4. Build memory with advertising
Citing the work of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s Professor Byron Sharp, Pritchard reiterated the point that mental availability is built through memory.
“That’s the role of advertising. Building memory requires attention for at least 10 to 30 seconds or more to encode important information about the brand. Literally in the back of the brain – the hippocampus – where memory is stored,” he explained.
“Memory is distributed throughout the outer layers of the brain – the neo-cortex – and further strengthened by advertising that reminds – in shorter formats – one to six seconds. Literally re-minding by reinforcing familiar words and visuals into your brain to strengthen memory.”
The pre-frontal cortex then retrieves memory and initiates action, like searching for a brand to buy online or in a physical store, which is triggered by familiar brand expressions at the point of purchase, Pritchard added.
“Consistent advertising helps build, remind and retrieve memory throughout your brain, so the brand is literally ‘top of mind’. It’s not rocket science, but it is brain science,” he explained.
“Advertising campaigns are a proven way to build memory. These are long-term brand campaigns, not short-term media campaigns.”
Describing brand campaigns as the “creative transformation of an insightful and memorable idea” that expresses the brand’s benefit, points of superiority and recognisable assets, Pritchard argued this is the point where craft and science unite.
The Head & Shoulders’ ‘I Don’t’ campaign, for example, promotes the idea people who use the shampoo don’t have dandruff because they prevent it. The fact the campaign has run for three straight years is because consistency – and repetition – is essential to build memory and build a brand, he argued.
Opposing the notion of advertising “wear-out”, Pritchard argued repetition is needed for ideas to “wear in” to build and reinforce memory.
“We get tired of advertising well before consumers do. Think about it, they’re seeing a brand for maybe 60 seconds each week across all the places it appears, among a sea of other stimulus. They don’t get tired of campaigns and, in fact, repetition and consistency is required to stand out and be remembered among the clutter,” he stated.
5. Build enduring creative relationships
Marketers are advised to “build true partnerships” with creative partners or, as Pritchard calls them, MVPs.
“They’re MVPs – Most Valuable Partners – and the relationships are pure gold. Put your trust in the hands, hearts and souls of creative people and magic will happen,” he stated.
Pritchard pointed to the example of Old Spice, which he described as a team that “consistently trusts each other” to develop fun stories that bring the distinctive brand benefits to life.
The adage from advertising guru David Ogilvy still runs true today, the P&G boss concluded: “‘Clients get the advertising they deserve’ and I’ve always taken that to heart. Build and nurture relationships and you will experience the absolute joy of creativity.”
