AI may be everywhere, but not all companies use it in the same way. Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Mark Pritchard appeared on Yahoo Finance Live at the Cannes Lions International Festival to discuss how P&G is using AI in its marketing.
video transcript
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Brian Sotzi: My name is Brian Sotzi. Participating in the Cannes Lions Festival Creativity with Brad Smith. Joining us today is P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard. Mark, it’s a pleasure to spend time with you here. And we’re really getting into the business behind Cannes Lions. There are a lot of big activities here and a lot of important meetings. From P&G’s perspective, who are you meeting with, why are you here, and what do you hope to achieve?
Mark Pritchard: The reason we are here is because we consider ourselves the hardest working company at the festival. Because we’re here to learn, get inspired, and find ways to continue to grow your brand through creativity. I just gave a keynote on creativity to grow the market. This is our highest goal because the biggest growth is market growth in our category of cleaning health and hygiene products that people use every day.
And that’s what creativity is supposed to do. It needs to be comprehensive, insightful and impactful because it is what improves the market and improves the lives of consumers. Attract more people to your market, delight them with better performing products, and reward them for buying more products and growing your market.
Brian Sotzi: I think many investors on our platform recognize that this is a different P&G. It’s worth noting that over the past, say, three years, there has been a real explosion of innovation, these products with cool names and different capabilities. What’s the secret to getting consumers to buy these new products, and how are they powering storytelling innovation behind the scenes?
Mark Pritchard: The trick is to focus on the consumer and what their needs are. What are their jobs to do, the problems to solve, the habits they need to form? Identify how to create.
And communicate in an insightful way what the product is, how it works, what it does, why it’s great, how it pleases, and where possible, 100% Reach people close to can.
Brian Sotzi: Mark, I’ve used a lot of powerwashes and microbans. I can’t stop using this.
Mark Pritchard: Dawn Power Wash is a great product.
Brian Sotzi: It’s a spray bottle. Bottle is amazing. that’s all –
Mark Pritchard: It’s based on consumer insight that people wash one dish at a time. So let’s make it easy for them. Spray, wipe, rinse and you’re done.
Brian Sotzi: I’m sorry Brad. Brad, come here. Because I could stay all day talking about these products.
Brad Smith: I mean, these are really great products and we’ve seen them really evolve over the years. The environment and culture of selling to consumers are also evolving. One of the themes we’ve been discussing here this week, and one we’ve heard from some of your chief brand officers, is cultural relevance. What is the situation at P&G as it approaches the market?
Mark Pritchard: Our way of thinking, Brad, is that our work is based on the needs of all consumers and individual consumers to ensure that we serve them in a comprehensive way and in the most appropriate way possible. is to do in Sustainable. For example, what we do is meet the needs of Black consumers, White consumers, Hispanic consumers, Asian consumers, Native consumers, LGBTQ consumers, and various markets in and around the United States. I’m trying to identify what I can best respond to. world.
So it’s important to understand the unique insights, and understanding those unique insights will allow us to offer products that meet their unique needs. Especially with our products, that’s the most important thing. Because our products are everyday home and personal care. People want to know how the product works and why it’s better for them. That’s what inclusive creativity is, and what’s so culturally relevant.
Brad Smith: I believe your role is very important because it is the data you capture and the message you convey that drives financial statements. This drives the earnings briefings and earnings announcements that many of Yahoo Finance’s investors end up reading. What new consumer needs are emerging? And what should investors know about P&G’s product offerings for 2024? Is not it?
Mark Pritchard: Our strategy is very clear, driven by superior performing products, packaging, communications, retail execution and productivity, always focused on constructively disruptive value. The constructive destruction aspect influences our creativity because there are so many new mediums we can communicate to people. From a media perspective, what investors need to know, and they’ve heard a few times, we want to reach, mass reach, it’s close to 100% accuracy. .
Excessive frequency is undesirable. We want to be as close to 100% as possible, and some brands are doing just that. Tide arrival rate is approaching 90% or more. Pampers is approaching 95% completion. But it’s just diaper households, so the target audience is very limited, and we do that through data. We achieve this through programmatic spending, allowing us to reach people with precision.
We’re also looking at ways to use AI to optimize creative execution. Pampers has 140 creatives optimized through this program called AI Studios, which allows them to test their large database of ads and responses and see how they can be improved.
It’s how we increase the accuracy of what we do, increase the effectiveness of what we do, and how we reach as many people as possible, naturally giving us the avenue for growth and market growth. .
Brad Smith: Simply put, how far are we from AI telling me if I’m using the wrong shampoo, the wrong lotion, or the wrong detergent?
Brian Sotzi: Well, we’re staying at the same hotel, Bland. You use great shampoo.i just want to let [INAUDIBLE] know.
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Mark Pritchard: First of all, I think there is a lot of discussion about AI here and there are already many applications for AI. All I mentioned earlier is thinking about how you can be more creative and be more productive. What I can do is that at some point I will be able to tell you something like that. Because it understands. And then there are ways to do dynamic content creation that you can reach after that. You act on your needs. There are many practical applications.
Our vision is to make media better, more accurate, reach the right people, make advertising more effective, have more impact, and move more people. What is the practical application to make it possible? growth?
Brian Sotzi: Ok, leave it alone. I know you are a busy person. Tell our CEO, Jon Moeller, that we’ll be talking about revenue in the next few weeks. So I look forward to speaking with him. Mark Pritchard, nice to meet you. I’ll send it back to you, Brian Sotzi.
