When the Going Gets Tough, P&G Gets Philanthropic

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i801548f98188f77a4b15553d1d559b90
Procter & Gamble, which has made the “value” argument to consumers in this down economy, is adding another one: Buy our products and some of the money will go to charity.The company’s expanded embrace of cause marketing comes as P&G and charities alike feel the heat from the recession. P&G’s second quarter total sales fell 3.2 percent to $20.4 billion.
The topic was top-of-mind for many P&Gers during a recent company discussion on value. Held in Cincinnati, the panel included bringing in outside influencers—namely, a mommy blogger, a financial expert and a celebrity stylist—to brainstorm different ways of defining value in the current economic times. Several participants brought up the need to leverage cause marketing, but only on brands for which it made sense. (All three programs contained in this month’s brandSaver exist independent of the coupon booklet. An initiative linking Pampers to the prevention of neonatal tetanus, for instance, was founded in 2006.)