Why P&G's Global "Persuasion" Strategy is Flawed

Sure, they’re Procter and Gamble the global packaged goods manufacturer. Yes they are in over 180 countries with some of the most recognized brands globally. But does this make them invincible? Not quite. In fact, like most businesses big and small, they are facing pressure in key regions from their biggest competitors, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark.

In light of this, they’ve openly turned to internal growth as their strategy. By growing share in their current markets they think they can win the race. This part of their strategy may be right on – it’s how they are executing it that could totally miss the mark

In a recent Businessweek article Bob McDonald, the current CEO of P&G outlined his strategy. Alarmingly, he talks about “persuading” customers in various markets to use their products. I think this quote sums it up nicely:

“That means persuading men in India to shave with disposable razors, convincing African women of the benefits of Western feminine hygiene products, and selling more teeth whiteners to Americans.”

Without even going into the ethics of this strategy which could be its own blog post, I’d like to discuss why this strategy will fail in the long run.

One word: culture. The products in our lives are cultural manifestations. They are artifacts that play specific roles in our norms, traditions, rituals, customs, rites, etc., etc., etc. As such, they are imbedded into our lives for specific reasons.

Now, this doesn’t mean that new products cannot be introduced into our lives, or old products re-introduced in new ways. Persuasion however, is not the way to go about it.

This is not dissimilar to the age-old marketing rule that states that acquisition is always more expensive than retention. Persuasion is more expensive than cultural adaptation. In the end persuasion is like pushing a boulder up a hill. It’s hard, it’s strenuous and the likelihood of it’s success is limited.

Instead, by taking the emic approach (design anthropology, user experience…) and creating new products or adapting existing products to seamlessly fit within cultures, they will find quicker and more sustainable adoption. Culture cannot be forced, nor can artifacts be forced into cultures. But brands and products can find long-term and happy homes through altruistic understanding of how they fit into the bigger picture. And this I believe is much more in line with Procter & Gamble’s stated purpose:

“We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world’s consumers, now and for generations to come. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders and the communities in which we live and work to prosper.”

Local Marketing in a Global World

Global marketing is a tricky feat. For years we’ve been trying to figure out “glocalization” or the concept of global marketing on a local level. While there are hundreds of case studies where local translations have gone wrong and missed the point culturally, we’re now seeing the reverse issue where local campaigns are receiving global backlash.

Last week there was outrage against Burger King’s Texican Whopper, "the taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican." The commercial featured a tall cowboy with a short and round Mexican wrestler clad in an outfit resembling the Mexican flag. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwpNQWrD8PY&feature=player_embedded)

While this commercial might have been successful on the local level (I’m not sure locally what the impact was), what marketers did not expect was that the commercial would be heard about in Latin America. Almost immediately there was an uproar from Mexico and other Latin American countries. The Mexican ambassador to Spain, Jorge Zemeno, immediately publicly denounced the commercial.

What marketers and anthropologists alike are learning from case studies such as this, is that as consumers become more interconnected through social media and global brands, the reach of our work grows larger and larger. So how do we balance both sides of the global/local equation making sure that our campaigns are locally relevant but globally sensitive?

Crispen Porter in Europe created this commercial. I’d bet that had they consulted with their U.S. or Latin American counter parts, they probably would have been forewarned on the cultural sensitivities they might upset with this content. It’s a clear sign that Crispen Porter, a leader in ad creativity, is not a single global brand, but rather a collection of regional brands sharing the same name.

Sure, having anthropologists or other cross-cultural experts working with your teams is helpful, but co-operation is the name of the game in this global world. As global marketing brands, we must unify the delta between our regional affiliates. While this gets complicated in terms of P&Ls and they way each country’s office is run, brands that don’t form strong partnerships between their global offices are going to face blunders like this.

In the very least, when creating campaigns with references to other cultures, contact someone with some local expertise or run the concept by your colleagues in that country – hopefully they can tell you if you are going to hit a soft spot or not.

A New Cultural Paradigm

As we head into 2009, we are inundated with talk about the recession, the credit crunch, the housing crisis, the stimulus package, and on, and on, and on...There’s no doubt that the marketplace and many individuals find themselves in a frenzy.

If we step back however, and analyze the situation from a cultural and anthropological perspective it’s quite interesting to see what is going on. We are witnessing a number of micro-cultural shifts that together are forming a new cultural paradigm on a macro level.

We are experiencing a shift in our culture of consumption. Our social currency, rituals, and beliefs are changing right before our eyes. And while we can’t at this point name it, if I had to bet on it, I would say that the cultural and behavioral changes that are occurring in response to this economic crisis are going to permanently change the way that we as people consume for generations to come.

Gone are the days of mass conspicuous consumption and unquestioned trust in corporations. What people are experiencing today from the job market to the supermarket is going to have lasting cultural and psychological effects. We have already seen that consumers are being much more careful about their purchases. Furthermore they are fully skeptical of corporate executives. Brands and companies must more than ever prove their value through quality, transparency and generosity – because the culture of consumption has changed indefinitely.

As our clients continue to come to us for answers and advice on how they can make it through these times, remember that it’s not just about surviving today. Price cuts and discounts are a temporary tactic that will only undermine their brands once things get better. We have to remind ourselves and our clients that once the economy recovers from this mess, people are not going back to their old ways. Now is the time to solidify our spot as players in this new cultural paradigm.