Marketing Mix of Procter and Gamble

2. Marketing Mix of Procter and Gamble and its current marketing impact

According to J McCarthy (1996), Marketing Mix refers to the variables that a company or an organization can use to influence the brand's sale or market share. For attracting/retaining customers and for prolonged sales every company has to concentrate on four basic variables, which comprise the Marketing Mix of a company. These variables are: Product, Promotion, Price and Place. Let's take a look at the current marketing mix of P&G for their brand of home care products.

2.1 Product

James Gamble one of the co-founders of P&G stated that " if you cannot make pure products and full weight then go to something else that is honest, even if it is breaking stone". Till today P&G have not strayed from this philosophy which also reflects in their statement of purpose: "We will provide branded products and services of superior quality that will improve the life of world's consumers, now and for generations to come". Safety is paramount in P&G's products along with the best quality and true value for money. Almost through the entire history of P&G with so many products for different domains like personal care, beauty care, hygiene, home care, baby care products the focus has always been on to provide reliable brands for betterment of the consumers.

As per the P&G Annual Report (2012), 34% of the total earnings and 38% of net earnings was from Beauty segment.

Figure 2.1 1: P&G Earnings for 2012 (P&G Annual Report, 2012)

Pantene is a billion dollar shampoo brand owned by P&G (introduced in 1947) by Hoffman-LaRoche and was purchased by P&G in 1985. After the acquisition P&G re-launched Pantene nationally in U.S and the business grew via increased distribution. Since then Pantene has been a recognized global brand for P&G. Pantene continues to create a line of products that revitalizes hair and makes them strong and shinier. Pantene offers several different types of shampoos for different consumer needs. Their quality and ability to satisfy consumer needs and benefit mixes makes them one of the leading brands for P&G and in the global market. The objective behind this product was to help the consumers get the look while keeping the hair healthy and damage free. Each consumer has different hair needs and different types of hairs and Pantene was able to suffice them.

2.1.1 Current market share of P&G's Hair care products

In every market buyers differ on what they want, location, buying attitude and practices. This consumer behavior forces the companies to formulate market segments where they can divide