Category: Procter & Gamble

The purpose of the study is to determine whether P&G have the capacity to acquire and make SK-II products an international brand. The study seeks to find out the relevance of a global strategy for P&G and their capacity to popularize SK-II to become a global product. It will also examine the need for P&G to intensify its marketing activities in the Japanese market as they explore the needs of the intended market.

Some of the factors to consider before deciding to recommend to the SK-II presentation are described below. Since it is the first time P&G is proposing to enter a global market, it will be important to reflect on the different cultures of people outside Japan. P&G is in the middle of restructuring from O2005 recommendations, considering it would be disruptive.

From experience, the events of 1980s where cost of producing local products was very high, business leaders objected to production of new products since it would eat up local profits. The proposition to introduce SK-II into the global market is an opportunity to break through $9 billion global skin care market according to Paolo De Cesares. According to Ram, SK-II should to be brought into the Chinese market because it was the second biggest consumer of skin care products in the world.

Analysis to be carried out should consider the following objectives: the impact of culture and changes in organizations of O2005 in determining the global penetration of SK-II products. The analysis should be based on the business model of SK-II, hence, the need to have its knowledge and whether it complies with O2005 recommendations. The analysis should look at ways of determining the most potential countries that use skin care products. Lastly, the analysis should look at entry strategies to be applied in implementation.

SK-II has the potential to become an international brand because of the following reasons: its products are of high quality, it uses clear perfume free liquid which is distinct, there is good brand image in Japan, and the global market for skin care products is worth $9 billion and the superior product technology. The limitations that can derail SK-II products though insignificant include: little brand awareness in Japan and the difficulty in translating the product in Western countries.

After he arrived in Japan, Paolo DeCesare discovered that SK-II products had gained a substantial market in the Chinese cities of Taiwan and Hong Kong. Due to this success, leaders had proposed to venture into Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia. Paolo DeCesare perceived these markets to be small and wanted to pursue a bigger ambition.

The following markets would be recommended for the new skin care products: Mainland China because of the breakthrough in Taiwan and Korea, Western markets which has a big potential and making new strategies to position the brand in Japan.

The Chinese market is wide and there is a big presence of low priced and counterfeit products. SK-II through P&G should have a strategy of building a strong brand identity and target it to a specific market segment in China. P&G has to create an awareness campaign aimed at educating customers in the procedures of skin care. Since the import duty is high, about 40%, the company should squeeze its profit margins to manageable levels.

In the Western countries, P&G should differentiate distribution channels of its products. It should not use the same channels because consumers might not feel the difference. In the Japanese market, the company should give a justification of increasing the price by accuracy of skin diagnosis.

Implementation of O2005 would increase the yearly growth by 2% which would translate to $900 million in savings. However, there are some implications that will be faced. One of the implications is on culture which can be resolved by reducing employees bringing non value adding work. The other implication is on the change process which can be resolved by leaving traditional processes and adopting modern systems and processes.

Diversity and inclusion are arguably the foundations of any business organization. The success of any organization is dependent on the diverse background of its employees in terms of race, age, gender, religion and ethnicity. This paper will therefore discuss how Thompson Hine, a business law firm, and Procter and Gamble are embracing diversity in their business operations to achieve success in the United States.

Thompson Hine law firm is considered among the most successful law firms in the United States with respect to services rendered to its clients. The firm boasts of a pool of over 350 lawyers stationed in Washington, D.C., Dayton, New York, Atlanta, Columbus, and Cincinnati (Thomson Hine, 2011, p.12).

On the other hand, Procter and Gamble is a global company that produces leading household brands such as Aerial, Always, Duracell, among others. These brands generate sales in excess of a billion dollars every year (Procter &Gamble, 2009, p.8).

It is quite evident that both firms value diversity as the driving force for success. For example, Thompson Hine relies on a pool of diverse lawyers from different background and race to drive its operations. Women and minorities form part of executive committee members, committee chairs and office partners-in-charge (Thomson Hine, 2011, p.3).

The law firms policy on diversity is also manifested through the implementation of Diversity and Inclusion Initiative and its partnership with community organization that promote the same values.

Some of the diversity programs that Thompson Hine plan and fund include: Organizing diversity leadership seminars in collaboration with Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati; offering support to Stonewell Bar Association for Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) lawyers in Atlanta; providing financial and technical assistance to the walk, rock and run program in recognition of diversity in Ohio; and collaborating with the Cleveland Commission on Economic Inclusion on diversity policies Thomson Hine, 2011, p.6).

The firm also supports the retention and development of a diverse labor force for its business operations. Thompson Hine law firm has put in place several programs to achieve this goal: giving equal healthcare benefits to its workers, attorneys and their families; promoting actions that draw attention to the diverse culture manifested by the law firm; and creating a conducive and alternative work program.

Moreover, the firm has put in place Spotlight on Women initiative to provide professional growth for its women lawyers. Junior minority lawyers can also benefit from the firms Minority Associate Advisor Program where they work with senior lawyers to gain more experience (Thomson Hine, 2011, p.8).

Similar diversity programs are also implemented by Procter and Gamble. For example, the Human Resource at the firm has initiated diversity programs that aim to benefit all workers. These support initiatives include: assignment plans, promotion plans, and career discussions.

The firm also has a mentoring program that offers guidance and informal support to all workers. Procter and Gambles Harassment Policy aims to create an enabling working environment free from harassment. This policy enables the firms diverse labor force to work to their optimal potential (Procter & Gamble, 2009, p.56).

Although there are several good diversity programs that promote social cohesion and integration at work place, there are certain diversity- related activities that are sometimes neglected. Granted, employees with disabilities form an integral part of the success of any firm. However, most of diverse policies fail to address issues facing the physically challenged workers. Just as much as there are policies that protects LGBT employees from harassment, the effectiveness of any diversity program must also address the rights of the disable ones

References

Procter & Gamble. (2009). Designed to Matter. 2009 Sustainability Report. Retrieved from: www.pg.com/sustainability

Thompson Hine. (2011). Diversity and Inclusion. Multicultural Law Top 100. Retrieved from: www.ThompsonHine.com

Procter & Gamble from its website is a multinational firm that is involved in the production and selling of a wide range of consumer products. The company deals in pharmaceutical supplies, fabric care, and house care supplies, personal care, and pet supplies. The brand I selected for this paper is cleaning and house care supplies. The company has positioned its brand in the market in such a way that it is easily accessible to consumers. The company has been able to prove to have very reliable and high-quality products, which consumers easily identify with.

The products that the company provides are rated cheap compared to its competitors, and they are easily accessible to consumers from any convenience store in the country (DeRoulet, 27). Accessibility of the product in a wide area makes it preferable by the consumers to other products. This is a key aspect that any producer should focus on to maximize their sales. The company has used segmentation and mainly targets women who are mainly viewed as the homemakers for this product. The company uses marketing techniques that mainly target women and thus increasing the companys market share.

The company has used the brand effectively to build a relationship with its consumers. This is because the consumers already identify the company and its Procter. the producers gamble brands with quality and reliable products that the customers or consumers consider as a good bargain when they are purchasing them (Graeme, 126). The company in all its products and the brand has been able to create the right psychological mood for any products by the company. This is because the company has been at the forefront of manufacturing innovative products for the market. The products have always met the end users expectations, and thus the company has been able to build a strong brand for itself. Therefore, the companys brand has positioned its brand umbrella in a very advantageous position that will highly support the adoption of any new products into the market.

At home, I use a number of the companys products, which include:

• Ariel
• Oral-B
• Pampers

Therefore, to increase the marketing and segment me as a consumer the most important thing to a marketer is being able to maximize the reach of the advertisement. By maximizing the reach of the advertisement, the advertiser can appeal to a greater audience. By only concentrating on the frequency of the advertisement then the advertiser will not attain the targeted audience for the advertisement. Maximizing reach for an advertisement campaign will ensure that the company can reach a greater audience at a cheaper cost (Adaval, 9). On the other hand, maximizing the reach of an advertising campaign ensures that the advertiser reaches his or her target audience.

The advertiser by maximizing reach will have created a strong brand for itself and will impose a strong identification of its products such that consumers and the public. The company has been able to create an image, a set of consumer expectations also an apple logo that is easily identifiable by consumers. The company has been able to separate itself from all its competition and has set itself apart in an effort to attract consumers. The consumers easily pick their products over products from other companies that are competing for an equal market share.

Works Cited

Adaval, Richard. How Good Gets Better and Bad Gets Worse: Understanding the Impact of Affect on Evaluations of Known Brands. The Journal of Consumer Research. 2003, 30(3).

DeRoulet, David. Designing  and Sustaining the Gains from  a Service Strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, 14(1), 1993, pp.21  30.

Graeme, Melvin. Branding and people management: whats in a name? New York, NY: CIPD.

Background Information

Effective human resource management is essential for any company to succeed. This entails efficient management of the workforce in order to promote the performance of the company. The human resource at Proctor and Gamble is charged with the responsibility of ensuring excellent service delivery by the companys employees and this positively impacts on the companys remarkable global performance and this can partly be attributed to efficient management of the business (Anonymous 2010).

The companys human resource sector aims at maintaining a skilled workforce as well as attracting the best talent to join the companys workforce in order to ensure it enjoys high and efficient output from its human capital, which is essential for the good performance of the company.

Further, the organization puts more emphasis on evaluation and measurement of employees engagement and commitment to the roles assigned to them and has in addition established initiatives to promote involvement of the employees in the companys strategic activities as well as sustenance of benefits.

To ensure that it achieves high standards of human resource management, the company has established and developed a human resource department that comprises of change agents, team builders advisors among other human resource specialists who constantly engage in activities aimed at motivating employees and promoting their welfare as well as ensuring the provision of a skilled pool of labor to the company through transparent recruitment of new qualified employees.

Human Resource Requirement for Service

Being part of Proctor and Gamble human resource team entails the responsibility of developing systems and tools that are directed towards attracting a skilled pool of labor, reward and motivation of the existing employees as well as challenging the employees in order to promote efficiency, innovation, and invention (Anonymous 2010).

The human resource management is expected to promote and protect the companys values, purpose, and principles through inspiring, enabling, and engaging the companys employees as well as acting as change agents in order to drive towards positive transformation of the company and provide a solid foundation for the companys culture, external environment as well as companys goals (Anonymous 2010).

The Human resource manager is not only expected to be academically qualified in the field but also has to possess qualities of good leadership coupled with social responsibility which is necessary when dealing with people from diverse backgrounds and social settings who make up the workforce.

Consultation with Stakeholders

Proctor and Gamble ensures involvement of the human resource sector as an ultimate business partner in order to promote increase in the companys growth. This is because the human resource sector ensures that there is simplification of work processes in the company and promotes the creation of a culture that focuses on innovation through pro active labor relations (Anonymous 2010).

In addition, the human resource sector in the company seeks to understand and address the needs and wishes of potential employees as well as the current employees in order to strengthen the companys position as an attractive employer (Anonymous 2010). At Proctor and Gamble, developing the employees into future leaders is one of the major long term strategies of the company.

Options required for delivery of service

Being on the forefront towards provision of intensely competitive consumer goods in the market, P&G puts consumer satisfaction as the major companys priority and aims at understanding consumer needs better than their competitors (Lafley 2001).

To achieve this, the companys management must connect these needs to an innovative engine that results in production of improved products that meet the consumer needs (Lafley 2001). Consequently, the human resource manager must have the ability to mobilize the employees towards the achievement of this goal.

Service Specifications

Being a human resource manager in this company requires you to work on assignments and tasks covering the major areas of human resource management, based on Dave Ulrich human resource champion model (Anonymous 2010). In addition, the human resource executives are expected to map and analyze the companys salary planning in order to assess its effectiveness in line with the companys goals, values, and objectives (Anonymous 2010).

Agreed roles and responsibilities

The human resource managers organize strategic plans such as those aiming at ensuring team effectiveness improvements; to achieve this, the human resource department facilitates and supports team events by providing constructive suggestions and ensuring implementation of agreed action plan in order to help the teams to become more efficient and effective (Anonymous 2010).

Through focus groups and individual interviews, the human resource management can gather adequate data to generate recommendations for Proctor and Gamble on areas requiring improvement in the companys workforce while putting into consideration the long term vision of the company (Anonymous 2010). In addition, the human resource management is charged with the responsibility of recruiting and evaluating the companys employees.

Training Support for Human Resource Management

In 2001, the research and development management at Proctor and Gamble called on its human resource to establish and develop a formal training program for its human capital and although these training programs had been in existence in the 80s and 90s, the programs had been gradually diminished in the 90s as a result of the companys resource issues as well as competing priorities which dictated redirection of investment into other vital areas (Owen and Klein 2007).

However, due to the increased need for advanced knowledge and skilled labor at every level of management in the contemporary economy, the leadership at Proctor and Gamble emphasized that the human resource development through the establishment of a corporate university which would have ensured a direct link between corporate learning efforts and the companys goals (Owen and Klein 2007).

A further evidence of the companys commitment to learning can be highlighted by its collaboration with Accenture which assumed the responsibility for development and maintenance of advanced management systems which have promoted high performance in Proctor and Gamble through the development of internal capabilities in strategic critical core components such as human resource management (Accenture 2009).

Accenture played a major role in development of skilled and knowledgeable workforce in Proctor and Gamble by ensuring that P&G met its learning objectives through the provision of leading and advanced technologies, enhanced business skills and deep knowledge of the operational management systems in order to promote efficiency in its operations through increasing output of the employees (Accenture 2009).

Proctor and Gamble has consequently advanced a robust maintenance support system which ensures reliability of the management system as well as allowing the company to reach its rising global demand for web based training and through the accessibility of the system to over ninety thousands Proctor and Gamble employees, the application has further served to reduce overall operational cost of the company (Accenture, 2009).

In addition, a study conducted by Accenture revealed a strong correlation between high performance and the priority that companies place on human capital which further justifies development of an efficient human resource management in Proctor and Gamble.

Timelines

In order to develop a skilled pool of labor among the existing workforce, one of the major strategies of Proctor and Gamble was to establish a corporate university which entailed formal training for the companys employees in diverse environment and departments of the organization (Owen and Klein 2007). The human resource faced numerous challenges in the implementation of this move but eventually achieved remarkable success from its implementation.

The human resource management utilized the corporate strategy model through which they sought to breakdown the entire process into basic questions and then provide answers to these questions in order to achieve the intended goal (Owen and Klein 2007). The leadership further sought to define the desired workforce that the company aimed at achieving through the agreement of desired level of competencies among various groups of target learners (Owen and Klein 2007).

This was further followed by actual analysis of the state of the existing workforce performance in the company. The corporate strategy sought to define the goals and inspirations of the company as well as facilitating the establishment of the scope of influence in the training program and pioneered the initial description of the companys goal to succeed (Owen and Klein 2007).

Establishment of the research and development universities have served to enhance knowledge and skills among managers and other officials who have consequently transmitted their knowledge to their juniors leading to a culture that upholds knowledge and skills in the organization.

Quality assurance measures

Proctor and Gamble embrace the philosophy of quality assurance by ensuring that they deliver products of superior quality to the consumers as well as provision of business environment that is condusive for effective performance of quality systems in the company (Anonymous 2010).

In order to achieve its quality assurance measures, the corporation ensures provision of superior quality goods to consumers as well ensuring corporate responsibility towards their employees and the community at large (Anonymous 2010). This is evident in the corporation efforts to safeguard its employees against harm y providing a safe working environment. The company is headed for greater success in future due to its implementation of quality assurance measures.

Ethical Service Delivery standards and their consistency with organizational code of conduct

The companys code of ethics outlines the mode of governance in the company and governs the way the affairs of the company are governed (Anonymous, 2010). In addition, the code of ethics outlines the duties of various managers and officials in the company consequently forming basic fundamental rule for the companys activities (Anonymous, 2010).

Proctor and Gamble has formulated guidelines which ensure quality service provision as well as ethical conduct of its employees. Officers in the company are allowed to hold to or more offices but they are prohibited from executing, acknowledging and verifying any instrument in more than one capacity if the instrument is required by the companys regulation to be executed, acknowledged and verified by two or more officers (Anonymous 2010).

This serves to minimize incidences of subjective decision making, discrimination, and corruption among other negative aspects that may arise in leadership positions as well as the recruitment process (Anonymous 2010). These officials are further elected objectively by the board of directors for a predetermined period of time and can further be removed from office by the board upon incidences of misconduct (Anonymous 2010).

The board commonly holds annual elections to in order to appoint officials who under normal circumstances hold the office until the end of a specified period of time after which a qualified successor is elected (Anonymous 2010).

In addition, any vacancies created in the official positions as a result of death, resignation or other inevitable factors, the board is charged with the responsibility of electing a successor to hold the office for the remaining period of time pending the official election period (Anonymous 2010). This further promotes transparency and consistency in the recruitment process.

All officers are expected to effectively perform their duties and take full responsibility of all the duties assigned to them by their seniors. The code of ethics regulates the treatment of human resource in this major corporation by ensuring the implementation of one of its major policies which involves the recognition of interests of the employees in the same token that the company addresses its own interests (Anonymous 2010).

For instance, the board of directors is authorized in its discretion to maintain a profit sharing plan, adequate benefit and pension plan as well as granting employees a chance to be heard in matters regarding conduct of business but this goes as far as the board of directors limits (Anonymous 2010).

To further promote employee participation towards good performance of the company, the board of directors assists the employees to form part of the companys ownership by becoming shareholders which further promotes their welfare (Anonymous 2010).

Monitoring the Process of Recruitment

In most organizations, the process of recruitment is often blurred with malpractices, corruption and often ignores the companys outlined procedures for recruitment. It is therefore vital for the company to effectively monitor the process of recruitment to ensure fair and objective appointment of qualified personnel.

The company may appoint an independent body to oversee the recruitment process after which the independent body submits an extensive report of the procedure followed during recruitment. In addition, the company may conduct an independent survey to assess the productivity of the recruited employee in order to ascertain that he is qualified for the job.

Unethical behavior reporting

Employment discrimination is a common unethical behavior prevalent in recruitment process and is usually based on race, gender, nationality, and age among other subjective factors which have overall negative long term consequences on the performance of a company (Lucas 2006).

The government of United States has put in measures to protect against employment discrimination by enacting laws that govern such practices. For instance, the congress enacted the age discrimination in employment act of 1967 which aimed at protecting older people from being discriminated against in job recruitment as a result of their age as well as ensuring that the employees are provided with benefits regardless of their ages (Lucas 2006).

Discrimination against older is one of the most common and often ignored form of discrimination in job recruitments. The business culture in most parts of the world perceive the old as less productive relative to the young consequently preferring the young population as worthwhile investment since they have a lower mortality rate and are more healthy (Lucas 206).

These preconceived and often false notions may result to unethical practices in employment recruitments giving rise to illegal discriminations against workers in Proctor and Gamble (Lucas 206). Therefore it is important for Proctor and Gamble to ensure that its human resource does not discriminate employees based on subjective practices and should ensure that the process is consistent and transparent.

Dealing With Measurements and Variations

Forced ranking is one of the controversial methods commonly used by major companies to evaluate the performance of the companies whereby employees are ranked against each other based on a particular scheme or design (Lucas 2006).

Some companies rank their employees according to the normal distribution curve which they use to identify low and high performers while others place their employees on the quartiles depending on their performance with the low performers occupying the first quarter and the highest performers occupying the last quarter (Lucas 2006).

The high performing candidates are eligible to pay increments, bonuses and job promotions while low performing employees lack such privileges. Forced ranking identifies and rewards good performers and forces out the poor performers consequently ensuring that the company improves the loyal workforce and remains competitive in the industry (Lucas 2006).

This method of ranking is preferred due to its discriminatory effect towards the non productive workforce and its emphasis on the talented and energetic (Lucas 2006). Companies that have adopted this method of evaluation reject the premise that it is illegal and unethical and emphasizes that it has a valid business purpose (Lucas 2006).

However, these evaluation models also display elements of discrimination whereby the older employees are placed at the lower grades in order for the employers to maintain a cheaper and less expensive workforce without breaking the provision of the law governing discrimination against aged workers (Lucas 2006). Consequently, the forced ranking system may facilitate discrimination by acting as a disguise for intentional and illegal age discrimination (Lucas 206).

Data from survey of clients and feedback from clients

Proctor and Gamble markets over 250 brands across the globe and have a consumer base of nearly five billion consumers in over 130 countries (Lafley 2001).

The company has achieved remarkable success in consumer satisfaction in its service provision which can e proven y the companys numerous honorary awards such as being featured in the Fortune magazines worlds most admired companies list from 1985 to 2001 and the inclusion in 2001 list of top 50 Net savvy U.S organizations (Lafley 2001).

Further, the company has achieved increased profitability over the years which serve to prove popularity of their products across the consumer base. In the fiscal year of 2001, the employees delivered total revenue of $ 39.2 billion (Lafley 2001).

Recommended changes for Future Service Delivery

Proctor and Gamble should ensure that they retain the older workers since they have a wealth of experience necessary for effective performance of the company (Lucas 2006). Proctor and Gamble should consequently device mechanisms to provide jobs that attract and accommodate older workers into the business environment.

This is only possible through the creation of a culture that promotes and honors experience by the human resource emphasizing on qualities such as experience knowledge and expertise rather than energy, fast pace and fresh thinking (Lucas 2006).

The human resource of Proctor and Gamble should focus more on role playing exercises as well as the individual ability to handle jobs relevant situations when interviewing applicants rather than focusing on psychometric and verbal reasoning skills in order to provide an equal opportunity for older employees to compete in the job market (Lucas 2006).

The company should also provide flexible retirement rates for its employees; most firms have in the past offered early retirements incentives to reduce costs which have consequently resulted in shifting of costs from employee health care accounts into retiree health care accounts (Lucas 2006).

Proctor and Gamble should device mechanisms to accommodate and leverage the older segment of the population by allowing the employee to take a specified period of time retirement after which he is reinstated as an independent contractor and this will enable the company to benefit from this pool of experience for execution of special projects (Lucas 2006).

Reference List

Accenture, 2009. High performance delivered, consulting, technology, outsourcing- helping Proctor and Gamble strengthen a culture of high performance through its learning process. Chicago, Accenture publishing.

Anonymous, 2010. P&G careers in Western Europe; human resource at Proctor and Gamble-code of regulations. Cincinnati, Proctor and Gamble.

Lafley, A G 2001, Cisco success stories: Proctor and Gamble Cisco systems. Available at: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/index.html.

Lucas, P. 2006. Age Discrimination-Unethical, Illegal and a Missed Business Opportunity for US Business. Web.

Owen, L., & Klein, E. 2007. First Steps: Instituting Proctor and Gambles R&D Corporate University. Ohio, Proctor and Gamble.

Should they launch now or wait?

For proctor & Gamble, there are various challenges that face its launching plan. The company should launch its product now. Firstly, the time it has spent conducting market survey is enough to convince the marketers about the projected returns from the liquid product.

Despite the competition from Henkel and the projected internal competition from Aerial, the introduction of the liquid detergent will set a new track for this company (Harvard Business School 1989). Waiting for some time will lead to the release of Henkels new product and this may affect the response from the customers.

Timeliness in the release of new products is very important. Although it gives the competitors something to learn about the product, it still creates an opportunity to get popular and gain consumer loyalty. By being vibrant in the launching campaign, the company will be in a better position to introduce a new wave of culture, in the use of liquid detergents.

This will lead to great market command in liquid detergents since Henkel might be on the verge of releasing a liquid detergent that might make it hard for Vizir product to succeed in the market. There should be no more wasting of time in the release of the product as it may allow for other competitor brands to be launched and hence affect the popularity of Vizir upon its release.

Should they launch the brand as euro brand?

There is usually a connection of consumers with local brands; they are usually influenced to purchase local products as a form of identity creation. In the case of Vizir, however, it should be introduced as a foreign brand and not as a European brand. The main reason for this is the washing culture in Europe and the differences that arise when compared to American culture. Introducing the brand as a European one would require to be changed wholly so as to make it compliant with European standards.

The brand should remain as a foreign product in order to make it easier to expand the sales to other countries. Developing a European brand would require changes in the marketing strategies since the customers preferences have to be re-evaluated and re-strategized.

Consumer preferences have to be altered and before the brand can penetrate the local brand under local registration, it would take time and more money (Harvard Business School 1989). For this reason, the brand should remain as a foreign brand but with characteristics that favor the European markets. This might reduce the limiting factor associated with marketing and expanding the brand to other regions.

What should their structure be?

The organizational structure should not be different from the already existing one. This will make it easier to manage the new product. Being a company that is affiliated to the main brands, Procter & Gamble should elect a manager in every country to foresee the developments and acceptance of the new brand in the new market.

There should be two managers rather than three in order to reduce the expenses incurred at the executive level. The laundry and cleaning department as well as the personal care products departments should be headed by a single manager; this reduces the expenses and increases the possible returns on investment.

The sales team and product development managers should be supplied with more subordinate employees to help in popularizing the product upon its launch. With proper follow up from the executives, it would be easier to control the employees in sales and marketing departments in order to make the brand popular and establish its mark in the European market.

Proper definition of roles and responsibilities is one of the major concepts that will influence great returns upon investment. With a slight reduction in executive management and an increasing number of junior employees, the company has the manpower it needs to influence popularity of the product.

References

Harvard Business School 1989, Procter & Gamble Europe: Vizir launch, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Introduction

Procter & Gamble [P&G] is a public limited company that was established in 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. The firm operates in the consumer goods industry and has managed to venture into the global market. The firm operates five main segments, which include Family Care and Baby Care, Health Care, Grooming, Beauty, Home Care and Fabric Care.

The firm has over 121,000 employees (P&G 2013). In the course of its operation, P&G has managed to develop a strong market position both in the local and the international market. The firms success can be explained by the effective management and marketing practices that have been integrated. Moreover, the firm has adopted optimal business models, which ensure that its products are aligned with the prevailing customer needs and wants. Consequently, its products have gained substantial market acceptability (P&G 2013).

Vision and mission statement

P&G intends to position itself as the global leader with regard to consumer products and services. Moreover, the firm is committed towards providing customers with high quality products and services.

Values and principles

The firm has adopted a number of values and principle. Some of its core values and principles include trust, leadership and integrity.

Objectives

P&G is focused towards achieving the following objectives

1. To develop a strong customer base and ensure that its brands achieve market leadership.
2. To transform its existing businesses into market leaders.
3. To regain market leadership and growth momentum in Western Europe region.

In addition to meeting the customers needs, P&G is focused towards delivering high value to shareholders by maximising their wealth. Over the 175 years it has been in existence, P&G has managed to survive challenging economic situations such as economic downturns and other changes emanating from the external and internal business environments.

The firm cannot rule out the likelihood of such occurrences in the future considering the fact that it does not operate in isolation. Consequently, the firm may experience challenges in its quest to achieve the aforementioned objectives.

Aim

This report is aimed at conducting a comprehensive situational analysis of P&G. This is achieved by evaluating the challenges that the firm faces and the strategies that the management team should integrate in order to enhance the firms competitiveness and future success. The report mainly focuses on the strategies that the firm can adopt in order to develop a high competitive advantage.

Situational analysis

Businesses operate in an environment that is characterised by a high rate of dynamism. One of the elements that characterise the modern business environment is hyper-competition. Lancaster (2005) is of the opinion that it imperative for firms management teams to continuously monitor the external business environment in order to adjust their firms competitive strategies.

Ferrell & Hartline (2013) are of the opinion that a thorough situation analysis empowers the marketing manager because it encourages both analysis and synthesis of information (p.56). Firms do have control of the external business environment. Therefore, failure to understand the external business environment may adversely affect the organisations competitiveness.

To understand the external business environment, it is imperative for P&Gs management team to take into account the cultural, economic, social, political, legal and demographic variables. This can be achieved by integrating the PESTLE and the SWOT models as illustrated below (Hiebing & Cooper 2004).

PESTLE Analysis

SWOT and TOWs matrix

Core competencies

According Boone (Kurtz & Boone 2013), core competencies are critical in an organisations marketing practises because they enable an organisation to optimally position itself. P &Gs success is based on a number of core competencies, which include.

Source: (P&G 2013)

Porters five forces

According Stonehouse and Snowdon (2007), the five forces model enables a firms management team to determine the attractiveness of a particular market and hence the potential of attaining its desired level of profitability. The degree of industry attractiveness varies from one industry to another.

The Porters model is comprised of five main dimensions, which include the threat of new entrant, buyer and seller bargaining power, degree of rivalry and threat of substitute. Below is an analysis of the Porters five forces with specific reference to P&G Group.

Degree of rivalry-High

The firm operates in an environment that is characterised by a high degree of rivalry (P&G 2013). Yannapoulos (2011) is of the opinion that competition forces companies to constantly engage in offensive and defensive marketing strategies (p.1).

The rivalry emanates from the regional, local and global firms that have established operations in the industry. P&G competes against organisations that deal with private labels and branded products. The firms main competitors include Colgate-Palmolive, Revlon, Kimberly-Clark Johnson & Johnson and Unilever.

The large number of competitors gives consumers a wide range of options to select from (Drummond & Ensor 2009). Consumers select products on the basis of their price, quality, and the strength of the brand amongst other factors. P&G Group is experiencing an increment in competition emanating from non-branded products, which are sold at a lower price. Thus, low-income consumers can afford diverse health and wellness products (Rehtmeyer 2010).

Threat of new entrants-moderate

According to Rehtmeyer (2010), the consumer goods industry is characterised by a low threat of entry. New entrants do not have the capability to rival big and well established entities such as P&G, which are adequately capitalised.

Another factor that acts as a barrier to entry relates to the high cost of research and development that the firms are required to undertake (Rehtmeyer 2010). New entrants must ensure that their products are effectively differentiated. The industry is in its mature stage thus making it less attractive to new entrants (Doole & Lowe 2012).

Threat of substitute-Low to moderate

The consumer goods industry is characterised by a low threat of substitute products. According to Rehtmeyer (2010), most firms in the industry deal with necessities, which do not have perfect substitutes.

Supplier bargaining power- low

P&G derives its competitiveness from partnerships and joint venture. Consequently, the firm is able to invest in research and development (Rehtmeyer 2010). Moreover, the firm has the capacity to control its suppliers because of its large size. Consequently, the firm sets standards, which suppliers are required to adhere to in the course of supplying the raw materials (Serena 2013).

Buyer bargaining power-moderate

P&G mainly depend on Wal-Mart and other business affiliates in its quest to generate revenue. It is estimated that 15% of the firms sales originate from Wal-Mart. Organisational consumers such as Wal-Mart have a relatively low buyer bargaining power compared individual consumers who have the option of selecting competing products. Therefore, the industrys has a moderate buyer bargaining power.

Source: (Rehtmeyer 2010)

Market commoditisation and innovation

According to Ferrell and Hartline (2013), the consumer goods industry is increasingly becoming commoditised. Most of the products offered by competing firms are similar.

For example, the products have similar features and they have minimal price differences. Ferrell and Hartline (2013) postulates that commoditisation is a consequence of mature industries where slowing innovation, extensive product assortment, excess supply and frugal consumers force margins to the floor (p.2).

According to the companys Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lafley, it is imperative for the firm to review its product differentiation strategy. This will ensure that the firms products remain unique and relevant to the consumers (Jopson 2013).

Commoditisation of an industry presents a major challenge to industry players. This arises from the fact that the competing firms have to ensure that they adopt effective differentiation strategies in order to be competitive.

The consumer goods industry in the US is experiencing a high rate of commoditisation as a result of its lucrative nature, which is increasing the intensity of competition. More firms are venturing into the industry in an effort to exploit the industrys profitability. Consequently, it has become difficult for firms such as P&G to successfully differential itself (Pulendran, Speed & Widing 2002).

In order to survive in such an industry, it is imperative for industry players such as P&G to formulate strategies that will attract and retain customers. This calls for organisations to be innovative. One of the ways through which the firms can achieve this is by investing in value-added strategies.

The firms management team should conduct a comprehensive consumer market research in order to determine what the consumers needs and wants. Secondly, the firms research and development department should be adequately innovative in order to develop products that are customised.

Such a strategy will improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which the firm addresses the customers value. Such an analysis will enable P&G respond to the consumers unarticulated needs hence improving their level of loyalty.

Customising its products will also enhance the firms capacity to survive in a market that is mature. Alternatively, P&G can also consider integrating the concept of targeted extension, which entails adding value to the firms core products and marketing them to specific market segments in order to meet the desired market needs (Wierenga 2008).

Developing competitive advantage

In order to remain competitive, it is imperative for P &G Group to consider improving its competitive advantage. According to Davidson and Keegan (2004) competitive advantage is achieved whenever your company does something better than competitors (p. 167). Thus, it is fundamental for P&G to develop it competitive advantage in order to survive in the long term. P&G can develop its competitiveness by adopting the strategies proposed by the Ansoff Matrix. The advantages of these strategies are discussed herein.

Market development

P&G should consider investing in market development strategies. According to McDonald, Brian & Ward (2007), market development strategies entail marketing existing products to new markets. This entails identifying a new customer group to whom a firm markets its product to. P&G mainly markets its products to female consumers. However, it is imperative for the firms management team to consider marketing its products to men. Moreover, the firm can achieve market development by identifying potential markets that it can enter.

To achieve this, P&G should focus on entering the emerging and developing markets. Consequently, the firm should abolish its centralised operational strategy (Jopson 2013). Some of the markets that the firm should consider include Brazil, China, Russia and India. Prior to entering new markets, P&G should conduct a comprehensive market research in order to determine the prevailing market potential.

According to Jopson (2013), consumers in the developing economies are increasing consumption of household and personal consumer products despite the poor economic performance. P&G should also ensure that it develops a comprehensive understanding of the target markets culture, and consumption behaviour. This will improve the likelihood of its products gaining sufficient market penetration.

Product diversification

Currently, P&G specialises in five main market segments, which include Family Care and Baby Care, Health Care, Grooming, Beauty, Home Care and Fabric Care. It is essential for the firms management team to consider diversifying its product portfolio. This will improve the likelihood of the firm attracting a new customer group.

In its product diversification strategy, P&G should focus on Fast-Moving-Consumer Goods [FMCG]. This will minimise the need of the firm to develop new capabilities and resources.

Currently, the firm specialises in producing high-end products. To increase its customer base, it is imperative for the firms management team to consider targeting low-income consumers. This will enable the firm increase its sales revenue. Furthermore, product diversification will caution the firm against macro-environmental changes hence enhancing its financial sustainability.

Product development

Firms in the consumer goods industry are experiencing a challenge arising from change in consumer behaviour. The consumers product tastes and preferences are changing at an alarming rate.

According to Wright (2006), firms that specialise in production of consumer goods are experiencing an increment in pressure to ensure that their products are innovative and are aligned to their needs and wants. Wright (2006) further opines that failure to address the consumers needs and wants may lead to loss of sales and to a complete demise of an organisation (p.14).

To survive in such an environment, it is imperative for the firms management team to increase its investment in research and development. The research and development will enable P&G to undertake continuous and new product development. In its product development efforts, the firm should consider enhancing the content of its products.

Furthermore, P&G should improve its product packaging. According to Wright (2006), product packaging plays a critical role in enhancing the attractiveness of a product, which is a quintessential element in an organisations effort to build its brand. Investment in new and continuous product innovation will contribute towards improvement in the firms ability to attract and retain customers.

According to Jopson (2013), it is important for the firm to ensure that the new products are successfully launched in the market. Previously, P&G has experienced botched product launches, for example the Pamper Dry Max. Furthermore, the firm experienced a challenge in its quest to launch the Tide Pods laundry (Jopson 2013).

Market penetration

McDonald, Brian & Ward (2007) posit that market penetration entails marketing an existing product or service to an existing market. One of the strategies that the firm can adopt in its quest to achieve sufficient market penetration entails targeting the competitors customers. Adopting market penetration strategies will contribute towards improvement in the firms market share.

Despite these benefits, there are a number of challenges associated with market penetration. First, targeting the competitors customers will increase the degree of rivalry between P&G and its competitors, which might culminate in price wars hence leading to a decline in the industrys profitability.

Conclusion and recommendations

The report shows P&G operates in an environment that is very dynamic. Despite the challenges faced, P&G has managed to survive the transformations emanating from the external business environment. One of the challenges faced by the firm relates to increment in the intensity of competition.

Some of its main competitors include Kimberly-Clark, Colgate Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson. Most of the industry players have adopted aggressive operational and competitive strategies such as continuous product improvement and new product development in an effort to meet the consumers needs.

Consequently, the industry has become commoditised. Moreover, the industrys transformation also emanates from the change in consumer behaviour. To survive in such an industry, it is essential for P&Gs management team adopt effective growth strategies. Some of the strategies that the firm should consider are outlined below.

1. The firm should consider expanding its market by venturing into the developing and emerging markets. Some of the markets that the firm should focus include Russia, Brazil, India and China. Market expansion will enable the firm maximise its sales revenue. Moreover, the firm will be able to achieve economies of scale.
2. P&G should also consider integrating the concept of product diversification. However, the firm should focus on fast-moving consumer goods in order to successfully exploit its capabilities and core competences. This strategy will enable P&G to attract new customer groups.
3. It is also important for the firm to consider developing products and services that are aligned with the consumers needs and wants. The firm can achieve this by conducting a comprehensive consumer market research. As a result, the firm will be able to deliver high value to consumers. Moreover, P&G will be able to differentiate its products.

Reference List

Bohlen, B., Carlotti, S. & Mihas, L. 2010, How the recession has changed US consumer behaviour. Web.

CISCO: Intelligent innovation in the consumer packaged goods industry; faster, cheaper, local 2012. Web.

Cooper, L. 2000, Strategic marketing planning for radically new products, Journal of Marketing, vol. 64 no.1, pp. 1-16.

Davidson, H. & Keegan, W. 2004, Offensive marketing; an action guide to gaining competitive advantage, Routledge, New York.

Doole, I. & Lowe, R. 2012, CIM coursebook 08/09; strategic marketing decision, Routledge, New York.

Drummond, G. & Ensor, J. 2009, Introduction to marketing concepts, Routledge, New York.

Ferrell, O. & Hartline, M. 2013, Marketing strategy; text and cases, Cengage, Mason, Ohio.

Hiebing, R. & Cooper, S. 2004, The one day marketing plan; organising and completing a plan that works, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Hattingh, D., Russo, B., Basorun, A. & Wamelen, A. 2012. Web.

Jopson, B. 2013, Procter and Gamble; time to freshen up. Web.

Kurtz, D. & Boone, L. 2013, Boone and Kurtz contemporary marketing, Cengage, Mason, Ohio.

Lancaster, G 2005, Management of marketing, Routledge, New York.

McDonald, M., Smith, B. & Ward, K. 2007, Marketing due diligence; reconnecting strategy to share price, Butterworth, Boston.

P&G: Core strengths 2013. Web.

P&G: Pampers and UNICEF; working together for healthy babies 2013. Web.

P&G: Supplier engagement 2013. Web.

Pulendran, S., Speed, R. & Widing, R. 2002, Marketing planning, market orientation and business performance, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 37 no. 3, pp. 476-497.

Rehtmeyer, J. 2010, The Procter and Gamble company, M.J Neeley School of Business, New York.

Serena, N. 2013, P&G, big companies pinch suppliers on payments. Web.

Stonehouse, G. & Snowdon, B. 2007, Competitive advantage revisited, Journal of Management Inquiry, vol. 16, pp. 256-275.

Wierenga, B. 2008, Handbook of marketing models, RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

Wright, R. 2006, Consumer behaviour, Cengage Learning, New York.

Yannopoulos, P. 2011, Defensive and offensive strategies for market success, International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol. 2, no. 13, pp. 1-12.

The modern society is in a constant progress. The growth of new tendencies involves all the aspects of the people’s life, especially those ones which are connected with the technological development. Today, people have the great opportunities to interact with each other and get the necessary information with the help of a lot of mobile devices.

That is why, the world of mobile devices and smartphones of the new generation is attractive for marketers as the field for expanding the information about the brands, organizations, and products with using the special advertisements. Mobile advertising is important for promoting different products with the focus on attracting the target audience.

From this point, advergaming as the possibility to use the information about the brands and products in games is more interesting and rather progressive type of advertising than mobile advertising which became extremely popular during the recent decade.

To meet the requirements of the developed market and draw the potential consumers, many companies use mobile advertising as well as advergaming, and Procter & Gamble is such a company which promotes the products of its many brands using all the modern approaches to advertising.

Mobile advertising began to develop rapidly when marketers worked out the strategy to promote their products with the help of messages. The weak point of this strategy is associated with the aspects of the privacy policy and permission concerns.

The active usage of the possibilities of the Internet connection in mobile devices allowed the concentration on presenting advertisements in the form of mobile Web banners and posters, videos, and jingles. Procter & Gamble uses mobile advertising for promoting all its brands with accentuating the advantages of interactive advertisements, videos, and only then mobile Web banners and posters.

Using mobile advertising, Procter & Gamble concentrates not only on the brand awareness but also on increasing the impact of the advertisements on the target audience. In this case, the accents are made on the emotional impact realized with the help of interactive advertisements and videos.

For instance, Procter & Gamble promotes Gillette Fusion using the iPhone application to let the potential consumers virtually shave the faces (Butcher). Video advertisements available for mobiles are used to present the brand with emphases on the information important for customers.

Following the recent tendencies in advergaming, Procter & Gamble focused on the target women’s audience for promoting CoverGirl cosmetics brand. The marketers developed the special game Girls’ Night Out Solitaire based on the traditional Solitaire game popular with women (“CoverGirl® and LimeLife Partner”).

The main advantages of the game are in the fact its price directly depends on the customers’ buying the brand product and entering the UPC code for receiving the discount, the game is characterized by the placement of the brand within it, the game orients to the personalization features of the players, provides a number of activities with the ‘virtual girlfriends’ within the game.

From this point, advergaming is effective for stimulating the interest of the target audience to the definite products and brands.

Procter & Gamble develops strategies and uses new approaches for promoting its products. The accents are made on Web banners, posters, videos, and interactive advertisements instead of messaging which can involve certain permission concerns.

Mobile advertising and advergaming can be discussed as effective means because they help to evoke the interest of the target audience in a product and stimulate its further purchasing.

Works Cited

Butcher, Dan. Procter & Gamble Proves Mobile Advertising Is a Given. 21 Jan. 2011. Web. <https://www.mobilemarketer.com/ex/mobilemarketer/cms/news/advertising/8847.html>.

CoverGirl® and LimeLife Partner to Offer Girls’ Night Out™ Solitaire Mobile Game Fun. n.d. Web.

Introduction

Advertising requires the marketer to target a section of a community or the entire community by providing convincing information to create some “sense of need.” The “need” can only be satisfied by a product or service being marketed. The message in this context is the most important aspect of advertising. It is offered in different forms- signs, linguistics or sounds. In cultural marketing, semiotics, or the use of applied linguistics, has been applied in advertising various products.

The sign is the most fundamental concept of semiotic advertising. According to semiotic theorists, human beings are animals with a high capacity to make and interpret signs. Thus, sign making and sign interpretation are an important aspect of advertising, which is worth discussion when analyzing cultural and semiotic advertising. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cultural and semiotic aspects of a current TV advertisement in the UK. For discussion, I choose the TV advert “Thank you Mom” used by Procter and Gamble (P&G).

Identification of the P&G TV ad “Thank You, Mom.”

The P&G commercial advert “Thank you Mom” was first developed for the 2012 Olympic Games held in London. In the context, the ad illustrates how athletes’ mothers struggle to bring up their children. It is a sign of love and dedication to the children.

Each mother wakes up repeatedly early in the morning, makes breakfast and brings her children to the training camp before returning home to wash their clothing and prepare their food. This routine is repeated for years until the children make their way to the Olympic Games. However, as the children grow up, their mothers grow older.

Nevertheless, the mothers’ daily routines agitate their hearts. At the end of the advertisement, a clear text “Thank you Mom” is displayed, which is a clear indication of the gratitude the athletes have for their caring mothers. The message shows the value added by P&G to the lives of the growing athletes. For example, the mothers use the company’s housekeeping products in bringing up their kids until they make it to the Olympics.

Use of USP, Semiotics and appeals to the unconscious/conscious

By definition, Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a concept used in marketing and advertisement under the theory “advertising campaigns that made unique propositions to the target customers always successful in convincing them to switch brands” (Solis 2011). It defines a company’s “personal product” in the marketplace, which is described by the degree of uniqueness of the product and is achieved by differentiation.

In the case of Procter and Gamble’s household products, the TV advert “Thank you Mom” is used to target mothers who are in their childbearing and childrearing ages. It attempts to convince the mothers that using P&G household products is one of the most significant indications that a mother has love and dedication to her child. It appears to make young families believe that using P&G products will not only help them satisfy their current needs but also achieve their children’s life dreams.

Obvious, every mother is determined to bring up a successful child in the best way possible. It is the dream of every mother to see her child become an important person in society. By saying “Thank you, Mom,” the athletes appreciate their mothers’ efforts in bringing them up until they become important people. Therefore, the advert makes a unique proposition to the mothers by convincing them that P&G household products provide them with the best way to achieve their lifetime dreams.

According to Trenholm (2006), semiotics provides a focused perspective on the identification and recognition of signs on critical literal abilities. According to Wilmshurst (1985), semiotic approach to communication with visual aspects seeks to stress the idea that images are a collection or a system of signs that the viewers have connected or linked together in some systematic manner.

When analyzing the logical process by which humans create inferences and make sense out of the observed things, one can understand how the interpretation of signs works. In semiotics, a sign can be a word, a visual image or even a sound. The sign is an object that represents another object or subject.

According to Lechte (2004), Saussure’s theory divided sign into two main components- a signifier and the signified. In this concept, a signifier is the sound, word or the image, whereas the signified is the meaning or concept that is represented by the signifier.

On the other hand, Pierce’s theory divides a sign into three main components- the iconic, indexical and symbolic. In this concept, the iconic sign is the same as the object. On its part, a symbol is the conventional sign used in speaking or writing while the index is the sign that is physically linked to the object.

In the case of P&G ad “Thank You Mom,” the company attempts to use signs as a way of communicating the message to the target customers. As the athletes grow up, the audience is introduced to the idea that mothers are using P&G household products to care for their families. The ad uses signs, sounds, and words to express the intended meaning to the targeted customers.

For instance, images of the mothers taking their children to some training camps every day and returning to wash the children’s clothes with P&G products attempt to make the viewers connect these events in their minds. The viewers link the images to conclude that the mothers were dedicated to seeing their children achieve their lifetime goals.

Since the images portrayed in the advert represent multiple mothers, the viewer can link the events to come up with a conclusion that multiple families are set to achieve if they use the products. The idea is the concept (signified) that the images and words represent in the ad. The words “Thank you Mom” that appears towards the end of the advert are also signifies- the viewer can read and speak out the words.

The advert also appeals to the conscious and unconscious mind. According to Solis (2011), human minds perceive all information that is transmitted through the five senses instantaneously. The function of the conscious mind is to filter out the information that it is unable to deal with due to psychological or limitation in the volume of the sensory experience (MacDonald 2005). It also constructs a meaningful and acceptable image from the information it has retained.

However, the remaining inputs are not thrown away but are stored in the unconscious mind, at least for some time. They normally affect conscious behavior in some way. Therefore, advertisers have used these aspects of the human mind to motivate and influence behavior patterns, especially when buying items.

In the case of P&G, the “Thank You Mom” advert is used to appeal to the two types of the human mind. The advert appeals to the conscious mind using two senses- hearing and sight. Once the public has viewed the ad, they are likely to retain the information that P&G household products are available within their reach and are effective in maintaining their homes. However, a lot of information in the ad is filtered by the conscious mind and stored in the unconscious mind.

Once a mother or a parent goes shopping, she is likely to come across the P&G products at the market or store. The information stored in her unconscious mind will influence the decision she makes. For instance, she thinks “by buying P&G baby diapers (or soap), I will be a loving mother” or “by not buying the P&G product, I will not be helping my kid become like the athlete on the TV.” The mother will have remembered the scene she watches daily on her TV set, which will compel her to try the products.

How the advert targets audiences and how it contributes to discourses

To target a general or specific audience, the marketer must appeal to some of the most crucial aspects of life affecting them. It is necessary for the marketer to trigger a sense of dialogue either within the mind of a person or between persons, which will most likely convince the target to try the product and experience the taste being advertised.

Also, the marketer must create a sense of need or “feed off false self-esteem” among the targets to convince them that the only way to satisfy the need is to try the product. The marketer ought to choose a simple but influential topic on which to base the advert message. However, the message must elicit discourses among the viewers, especially the targeted group.

In the case of P&G’s advert “Thank You Mom,” it is worth noting that the main target is the mothers or housekeepers who are assigned the tasks of caring for the children. As aforementioned, it is the dream of every caring mother or parent to see the child become an important person in society.

Athletes are sportspeople who attract a lot of public attention. They are held with high dignity in the UK. Also, they are role models for most people. In this context, it is obvious that the advert took advantage of the event (2012 London Olympics) to attract the attention of the viewers. By using the example of caring mothers in the ad, P&G has attempted to reach out to the consciousness of the mothers who happen to dream of the best things for their children.

Also, the advert creates discourses within the minds of the viewers. For instance, a person who sees the ad experiences some mental argument within his or her mind “hey, how caring is the mother?” Alternatively, “does the product help children become such famous?” Whether developed within the minds of individuals or between two or more people, the debate is likely to engage the public in a silent debate. The debate can be solved when an individual tries the product.

However, it is worth noting that a mother’s dream of her child becoming as famous as the athletes in the TV ad is not achieved today or shortly. This means that the mothers will use the products every day until the child grows up. The mothers are aware of this nature but are still compelled to try the products. Thus, the ad creates discourses that play a significant role in promoting the product.

The potential audience responses to the advert

According to Solis (2011), consumers tend to respond differently to the experience they have with a product or product advertisement. However, response patterns are normally observed when a large group of people is targeted in a marketing campaign. It has been shown that consumer response patterns display some significant similarities and differences based on several factors, including the topic of advertisement, consumer characteristics and the nature of the product (Solis 2011).

In the case of P&G advert “Thank You, Mom,” an analysis of the possible audience responses can be developed from a wide view of the advert itself and the target groups. First, the advert itself is based on a series of events that take place in peoples’ daily lives. Secondly, it displays an emotional and moving topic that most people tend to admire- the dedication and love the mothers show to their children and the feeling of appreciation the athletes have after a long period under the care of their mothers.

Thirdly, the advert and its topic are interesting to watch- people would like to know how the children came to achieve the status and what they feel about their mothers. On the other hand, the advert specifically targets the young mothers and other persons bearing the responsibilities of bringing up children in the society.

Therefore, the possible responses are based on the above facts. First, the target audience will admire the mothers, their roles and caring for their children. They will then try to figure out how the mothers on the ad came to realize their dreams. The viewers will also admire the appreciation the children have for their mothers.

Obvious, the ending of the ad, which is displayed by the words “Thank You, Mum,” the athletes competing in the Olympic Games and the P&G symbols, will create a feeling in the minds of the viewers that P&G products helped the mothers realize their dreams. Thus, the response will be an appreciation of the products alongside the appreciation of the motherly care the children have in simple words “thank you, mom.”

How the advert works within a wider marketing mix-, other means used to reinforce the adverts’ message

According to Needham (2006), marketing mix comprises of the four Ps- product, price, place and promotion. In theory, the product is the item or commodity that is set to satisfy the needs of a consumer. The product has a life cycle characterized by three phases- growth, maturity, and decline. To make use of this nature, marketers attempt to focus on the growth and maturity phases of the product before it declines in sales and appreciation.

The P&G advert discussed here is an example of a product that was developed with this nature in the minds of the marketers. For instance, it was released some few months before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games. This period was signified by a countrywide euphoria as the public waited for the great event. TV stations were overwhelmed with news about the event, which attracted many viewers.

Therefore, when the advert was released, marketers expected it to trigger an exponential rate of growth in the product awareness, appreciation and sales. The mature state of the ad’s effectiveness was expected to last throughout the event. It was also expected to trigger the highest volume of sales. Finally, the decline in sales was expected to begin a few weeks after the end of the event. However, the ad has remained in UK screens, which shows its ability to use a historical event to remain relevant.

Price refers to the amount of money the consumer pays for a product. According to Williamson (1978), price determines the profit levels and the survival of an organization. Price setting and adjustments are crucial factors in determining the rate and volume of sales. Therefore, the marketer must make sound decisions in setting prices that take into consideration the customer perceived value and complementary products.

In the case of P&G, the advert “Thank You Mom” was supposed to increase sales during and after the Olympics. However, the company did not adjust its product prices or indicate any effort to alter its prices on the advertisement. The aim was to increase profitability by increasing the volume of sales rather than product prices.

According to Needham (2006), promotion refers to all methods and channels of communication that the marketer uses to provide information on the product to the target market segments. According to Vestergaard and Schroder (2005), promotion is comprised of several elements, including the advertisement, sales promotion, public relations, and others. It is evident that Procter and Gamble used the entire efforts in the advert to promote the product.

The ad created the elements of advertising, public relations, and sales promotion. For example, the ad was placed on national and international televisions during the event. The aim was to reach out for as large audience as possible. More important, the advert was based on an event that was popular in the UK and the world.

The company uses the advert to display its support to mothers’ love and dedication to their children. Therefore, the advert attempts to indicate that P&G products create responsible families and a responsible society that minds the future of its people. This is an element of public relations, a factor that seeks to connect the products (or the company) and the public (audience).

How the advert reflects a post-modern style and society

Post-modernism societies and styles are displayed by the freedom of using color, style, timeline, shape, themes, philosophy, language and other elements of art and design. In adverting, postmodernism shows the freedom to use a combination of these aspects to create meaning. In the case of P&G advertising discussed in this case, postmodernism style is evident. For instance, the advert does not limit itself to time- it is timeless.

The events portrayed in the advertisement show the lifetime of children from their childhood to adulthood, but within a matter of a few minutes. The mothers are shown supporting their children from their early childhood to adulthood by taking care of their training and clothes. Throughout the advert, mothers use P&G products. Also, the mothers are old when the children make it to the Olympics. Thus, there is no time limit.

Representation of groups in the advert

First, it is worth noting that P&G’s advert “Thank you Mom” targets mothers because it uses the word “mom.” Secondly, the parents shown in the advert are all females, and the viewers are made to think that all of them are the biological parents or relatives to the children.

Therefore, this defines the scope of the advert. However, it is worth noting that focus on the Olympic Games is a wide idea that suggests the company’s intention to reach out for a worldwide audience. By associating the product with the event, P&G attempts to show that the product reaches out for people from all over the world, regardless of race, ethnicity or economic status of their backgrounds.

Emotion targeting

As described above, marketers attempt to appeal to the emotions of the audience using several tactics. For instance, they create or elicit emotions among the viewers by touching some of the most pertinent topics or issues affecting individuals, families or group of people. The marketers sympathize with individuals and seek to create a “sense of need” among the target groups. It convinces them that the need can be satisfied by trying the product.

In P&G’s advert “Thank you Mom,” the company has elicited some emotions within the viewers. For instance, it touches the critical issue of mother-to-child relations. It shows the love and dedication that mothers have towards their children, the long period they struggle to bring up the children and the effect of their labor.

Similarly, it shows how the mothers contribute to the development of society and events such as the 2012 Olympic Games. At the end of the TV advert, the appreciating Olympians cannot hide their joy and appreciation to their mothers’ love by saying “Thank you, mom.” The events elicit emotions among the viewers, which creates some feeling or need to buy the products.

References

Lechte, J 2000, Fifty key contemporary thinkers: From structuralism to postmodernism, Routledge, London.

MacDonald, M 2005, Representing Women, Hodder, London.

Needham, D 2006, Business for Higher Awards, Heinemann, Oxford.

Solis, B 2011, Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web, John Wiley & Sons, London.

Trenholm, S 2006, Human communication theory, Prentice-Hall, Hoboken, NJ.

Vestergaard, T & Schroder, K 2005, The Language of Advertising, Blackwell, Oxford.

Williamson, J 1978, Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, Marion Boyars, London.

Wilmshurst, J 1985, The Fundamentals of Advertising, Heinemann, London.

Prompt Card

According to Bateman, Carr and Gunn (2017), “When children narrate experiences and story-tell, they engage in cognitive, affective and social experiences and explorations that extend beyond simple conversation – opportunities to understand the social world – and one’s place within it arises” (p. 1). This process can help parents to stimulate children’s oral narrative expression. This paper will provide some ideas for engaging children in reading and discussing Pig, the Winner by Aaron Blabey.

Conversation Prompts

How would you describe Pig the Pug?

• What does he look like?
• What adjectives can best describe his personality?

Look at the picture of Pig’s bowl: what does the inscription say about this character?

Why does Pig always want to win?

• What may someone feel when he wins?
• What emotions and thoughts may someone have when he or she loses in a game or a competition?

What may happen when a person always wants to win?

• Could the desire to win make Pig more prone to cheating?
• Looking at the pictures in the book, can you tell how others react to Pig’s behaviour?

How would you describe the relationship between Pig and Trevor?

• Can it be called a friendship?
• Is Pig a good friend? Is Trevor a good friend? Why or why not?

Is there a reason why Pig the Pug changed his mind and started to play just to have fun sometimes?

Why do you play games with others?

• Do you always play to win, or do you play to have fun and communicate?

Are there any new words in the story that you have never seen before?

• Tantrum? Ceased? Glee? Gnashing? Kibble?

What is your favourite picture in the book?

• Why do you prefer it, and what do you most like about it?

Further Activities to Broaden the Storytelling Experience

• Read the book using roles: choose a person who will narrate the story and two students to read it in Pig’s and Trevor’s voices.
• Read the book using dog puppets: act out the parts of both Pig the Pug and Trevor.
• What was your favourite scene in the story? Draw your own illustration for it.
• Play a rhythmic reading game: read your favourite quatrain from the book while trying to get into a rhythm (clapping or tapping on a desk). The only condition is that if you miss a beat and mispronounce a word, you lose a point. Can you win this game?
• Find all the unfamiliar words in the story while reading it, and then try to find their definitions in a dictionary. Think up a few sentences with these new words to help you memorise and understand them better.
• Make your own version of Pig the Winner. Draw pictures to illustrate all the scenes you remember from the story and bind or staple them together to make a book.

Learning Activities

Speaking/Listening Activity

• Outcome. “Share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters in texts” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.a, para. 1).
• Focus content. “Using art forms and beginning forms of writing to express personal responses to literature and film experiences” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.a, para. 1)
• Instructions. In this activity, children will think up a story inspired by Pig the Winner. Layout flashcards face down on the table with prompt words and phrases from the book. Let the child/ children pick cards one by one to tell the part of the story that follows. Children may create their own characters or speak about Pig and Trevor, and they may refer to personal experiences, as well.
• Sample prompt phrases. “… was a cheat”, “nothing would stop him”, “have fun”, “I win!”, “… ruin his day”, “turn blue” and so on.

Reading/Viewing activity

• Outcome. “Recognise and generate rhyming words, alliteration patterns, syllables and sounds (phonemes) in spoken words” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.b, para. 1).
• Focus Content. “Recognising and producing rhyming words when listening to rhyming stories or rhymes” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.b, para. 1).
• Instructions. Place a few cards with words/illustrations on the table. Read each of the cards aloud and try to find as many rhyming words in the book as possible. Write down each rhyming word you find on a sticker, and place it on the appropriate card.
• Sample words. Cheat, play, bowl, champ, less, win.

Handwriting Activity

• Outcome. “Produce some lower case and upper case letters using learned letter formations” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.c, para. 1).
• Focus content. “Learning to construct lower case letters and to combine these into words”, “learning to construct some upper case letters” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.c, para. 1).
• Instructions. Refer to the cards featuring the characters and objects from Pig the Winner. Choose appropriate letter pegs to fill in the missing letters in the illustration descriptions. Thoroughly explore the way the words are constructed. Also, pay attention to the case in which a letter is used. Then practice writing everything yourself in a notebook. You may use the book to check and edit the formation of the letters and words.
• Sample words/phrases. Pig the Pug, squeezed out the bowl, biscuits and dribble and so on.

Writing/Creating Activity

• Outcome. “Create short texts to explore, record and report ideas and events using familiar words and beginning writing knowledge” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.d, para. 1).
• Focus content. “Using image-making and beginning writing to represent characters and events in written, film and web-based texts” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.d, para. 1).
• Instructions. Look at the first illustration in the book (i.e. where Pig the Pug stands on the podium), and write a collaborative story based on it. Consider everything you have learned about the characters when reading. Then imagine a series of events that led to Pig’s victory and how it all started. Compose an introductory sentence, read it aloud and let your collaborator (a teacher, a caregiver or another student) write the sentence that follows. Continue until the story ends at the moment depicted in the chosen illustration.

Punctuation Activity

• Outcome. “Recognise how capital letters are used for names, and that capital letters and full stops signal the beginning and end of sentences” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.e, para. 1).
• Focus content. “Commenting on punctuation encountered in the everyday texts” (Australian Curriculum, n.d.e, para. 1).
• Instructions. The cards used in this activity feature sentences from Pig the Winner written with a wrong word and punctuation order. Read the mixed-up sentence first, and then say the corrected version out loud. Note: pay attention to punctuation marks, as well as capital letters, as they may prompt the right way to revise the sentence. When you finish, comment on the punctuation used in the sentence and how it helped you to complete your part of the activity.
• Sample sentences. “whoppers! Three sausages − all of them He chomped up;” “begin? where to Oh”, “have ceased. to have fun, and his tantrums He plays”, and so on.

References

Australian Curriculum. (n.d.a). ACELT1783. Web.

Australian Curriculum. (n.d.b). ACELA1439. Web.

Australian Curriculum. (n.d.c). ACELY1653. Web.

Australian Curriculum. (n.d.d). ACELY1651. Web.

Australian Curriculum. (n.d.e). ACELA1432. Web.

Bateman, A., Carr, M., & Gunn, A. (2017). Children’s use of objects in their storytelling. Web.

The purpose of the study is to determine whether P&G have the capacity to acquire and make SK-II products an international brand. The study seeks to find out the relevance of a global strategy for P&G and their capacity to popularize SK-II to become a global product. It will also examine the need for P&G to intensify its marketing activities in the Japanese market as they explore the needs of the intended market.

Some of the factors to consider before deciding to recommend to the SK-II presentation are described below. Since it is the first time P&G is proposing to enter a global market, it will be important to reflect on the different cultures of people outside Japan. P&G is in the middle of restructuring from O2005 recommendations, considering it would be disruptive.

From experience, the events of 1980s where cost of producing local products was very high, business leaders objected to production of new products since it would eat up local profits. The proposition to introduce SK-II into the global market is an opportunity to break through $9 billion global skin care market according to Paolo De Cesare’s. According to Ram, SK-II should to be brought into the Chinese market because it was the second biggest consumer of skin care products in the world.

Analysis to be carried out should consider the following objectives: the impact of culture and changes in organizations of O2005 in determining the global penetration of SK-II products. The analysis should be based on the business model of SK-II, hence, the need to have its knowledge and whether it complies with O2005 recommendations. The analysis should look at ways of determining the most potential countries that use skin care products. Lastly, the analysis should look at entry strategies to be applied in implementation.

SK-II has the potential to become an international brand because of the following reasons: its products are of high quality, it uses clear perfume free liquid which is distinct, there is good brand image in Japan, and the global market for skin care products is worth $9 billion and the superior product technology. The limitations that can derail SK-II products though insignificant include: little brand awareness in Japan and the difficulty in translating the product in Western countries.

After he arrived in Japan, Paolo DeCesare discovered that SK-II products had gained a substantial market in the Chinese cities of Taiwan and Hong Kong. Due to this success, leaders had proposed to venture into Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia. Paolo DeCesare perceived these markets to be small and wanted to pursue a bigger ambition.

The following markets would be recommended for the new skin care products: Mainland China because of the breakthrough in Taiwan and Korea, Western markets which has a big potential and making new strategies to position the brand in Japan.

The Chinese market is wide and there is a big presence of low priced and counterfeit products. SK-II through P&G should have a strategy of building a strong brand identity and target it to a specific market segment in China. P&G has to create an awareness campaign aimed at educating customers in the procedures of skin care. Since the import duty is high, about 40%, the company should squeeze its profit margins to manageable levels.

In the Western countries, P&G should differentiate distribution channels of its products. It should not use the same channels because consumers might not feel the difference. In the Japanese market, the company should give a justification of increasing the price by accuracy of skin diagnosis.

Implementation of O2005 would increase the yearly growth by 2% which would translate to $900 million in savings. However, there are some implications that will be faced. One of the implications is on culture which can be resolved by reducing employees bringing non value adding work. The other implication is on the change process which can be resolved by leaving traditional processes and adopting modern systems and processes.