A Look Back at TMRE 2009: How Consumer & Market Insights Steers Company Strategy & Innovation

Presenter: Joan Lewis, Global Consumer & Market Knowledge Officer, The Proctor & Gamble Company

Lewis starts off her presentation by mentioning that P&G has done a lot of work on trying to get natural ingredients products on shelves. P&G has spent a lot of time to figure out what products would be beneficial for consumers and what really matters to them in different countries. Because of this P&G has created products such as the natural ingredients in dog and cat food which has saved many animals with enzyme problems just to name one.

P&G doesn't always get it right all the time because some products fail. P&G is able to innovate through their Global Growth Strategy:

'Touching and Improving More Consumers' Live in More Parts of the World'More Completely'

Consumer and market knowledge helps drive company strategy, innovation, and competitive advantage. This has sparked P&G to hold over 15,000 research studies per year and spends over $350 million each year on consumer research. P&G also spends a lot of time connecting with consumers across 80 countries and has about 5 million consumers with whom they do resaerch.

Joan Lewis gives us an example of a case study with Pampers and UNICEF. Moms and dads want to help infants around the world but feel like they are helpless. Realizing this, Pampers launched the '1 pack = 1 vaccine' campaign where tetanus vaccines are giving to underprivileged children around the world. The purpose of the campaign is to eradicate the disease by 2015.

The 2nd case study is about Olay Pro-X. A pretty large contingent of women are interested in skincare, they are interested to spend money and time on research, and are interested in products that actually work. P&G was faced with the challenge of make it shine in order to convey their benefits of working better than $350 priced prescription medications. The packaging of Pro-X and the work done before the product hit shelves added to its credibility at $40-$50 an item. Even though there was skepticism of the product, it has been the largest launch in Olay history. Olay was able to provide consumers with a product that is valuable to them.

The 3rd case study is about Secret Clinical Strength. There was a small group of women who struggled with heavy sweating and a team listened to their problems. These women had a need that P&G could help improve on and deliver a valuable product to them. P&G had the challenge of creating a great quality product and delivering messaging to reach this target. The product has won many product awards and has received many accolades which have made it a huge success in store shelves.

Joan Lewis closes with a quote from P&G CEO, "Our Purpose inspires us. Our Values Unite us. And all our innovation capabilities and culutre focus us on making small but meaningful differences every day..for the consumers who have ALWAYS been P&G's boss and our inspiration."