P&G Debuts New In-House Media Model #SubjectToChange

January 23, 2019: P&G debuts new in-house media model; Gillette ad resonates with majority of U.S. adults; Edelman releases 2019 Trust Barometer; Hulu and Netflix release Fyre Festival documentaries; and Netflix announces new Instagram integration

Here’s what’s worth knowing this week:

Table of Contents

P&G’s New Media Model

The Story

Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest advertiser, has debuted a new media model, streamlining more of its media planning and buying in-house to give brands greater control over and flexibility in how they manage their growth.

Give me the deets.

As part of this shift, P&G carried out an internal bid process (instead of a traditional pitch), in which incumbent media agencies Hearts & Science and Carat competed with P&G’s in-house teams on seven categories across the brand’s North American business. The process resulted in P&G’s in-house team winning two bids and controlling media buying for P&G’s oral care business.

What’s P&G saying?

A company spokesperson said, “We can confirm we are in partnership with our agencies as we explore a new media model for fiscal year 19-20 that ensures our brands are in best control of their levers for growth while maintaining the significant scale advantage Procter & Gamble currently sees.”

This isn’t the first time P&G has been happy to hand over business to internal teams (#TBT to a year ago when Marc Pritchard called for an end to the “archaic mad men model”), although the company does still “see an important role for agencies.”

STC POV

Internal teams are now bidding against agencies, which is mind-bending. By requiring in-house teams to pitch (and win) alongside agencies, advertisers like P&G are ensuring that they are getting the best ideas available. This new breed of cross-functional collaboration is not only impacting creative teams but company functions like operations and billing, providing legacy enterprise brands greater flexibility to compete with their nimbler, digitally-native competitors. The growing preference for cross-functional in-house teams is also allowing for the development of strategic centers of excellence in maturing strategies like influencer marketing, which is enabling greater influencer integration across functions that better position brands to act on the decisions that drive growth.

The Best an Ad Can Get

The Story

A new ad from Gillette tackling gender issues has made quite the splash on social media, with some viewers applauding the ad for confronting elements of “toxic masculinity,” and others criticizing the ad for slighting manhood. However, new research suggests that the ad resonates with the majority of U.S. viewers (61 percent).

Gillette doesn’t just talk the talk, it walks the walk.

The ad’s launch coincides with Gillette’s new website, “The Best Men Can Be,” which details the brand’s responsibility to promote “positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man.” Gillette also pledges to donate $1 million every year for the next three years to organizations encouraging men to be their best selves.

STC POV

When there’s a problem in society or cultural challenge, brands can get a lot of risk-free press if they go the extra mile to solve the problem. Just last week, Kraft ran a letter about the partial government shutdown on the back page of Sunday’s issue of The Washington Post. Within the letter, Kraft announced plans to open a pop-up store to distribute free food to federal workers in Washington D.C.

As a marketer, it’s important to identify which contemporary issues in society are relevant to your brand and consumers, so that when the opportunity presents itself, you can become involved in the conversation where appropriate – like Kraft Heinz and Gillette both have.

2019 Edelman Trust Barometer: Trust At Work

The Story

The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer has arrived. TLDR; “my employer” has emerged as the most trusted institution (75 percent) and “company technical experts” have become the most trusted people (65 percent). Of the 33,000 people surveyed in 27 countries, more than three quarters (76 percent) say they want CEOs to take the lead on change instead of waiting for the government (see story above: @KraftHeinz job well done).

STC POV

With the role of employees-as-ambassadors shifting as their influence becomes more prevalent and valuable, employers have new opportunities to support them.

In summing up the survey, Edelman president and CEO Richard Edelman said the findings signaled a new contract between employer and employee he called “trust at work” and outlined a number of pointers for CEOs wanting to leverage this. Doing so will restore trust and rebalance the employee-employer relationship, shifting from top-down power to one that emphasizes employee empowerment and engagement predicated on intrinsic moral and company values.

Instagram vs. Reality: Fyre Festival Edition

The Story

In the latest battle for consumer attention, streaming giants Netflix and Hulu released competing documentaries on the infamous Fyre Festival, just days apart. Both films highlight the ability to sell consumers on an image and a lifestyle, using influencers’ power and content as key vehicles to drive sales regardless of consequences or

Go on.

Both documentaries rely on first-person interviews from people involved with the execution of Fyre Festival, which promised a VIP-like experience, with top tier musical performers, private jets, and Instagram models – and failed to deliver on all of those promises causing attendees to flee the Bahamas in droves. As one festival-goer put it, “Fyre was [advertised] basically like Instagram coming to life.” And let’s be honest, we all know Instagram isn’t reality.

Talk to me about influencers’ roles in this.

Just like Fyre founder Billy McFarland was able to sell consumers on an image, he was also able to scam influencers into creating content for that image by failing to provide influencers with any real transparency into the festival’s production. McFarland and his marketing team used mega- and macro-influencers as brand ambassadors – or in this case, props – to create an illusion of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and generate buzz around this event. To put things in perspective, Fyre Festival marketing teams had 400 mega- and macro-influencers posting a picture of an orange tile on Instagram leading up to a promo video and including the hashtag #FyreFestival, which generated more than 300 million impressions in 24 hours.

STC POV

The Fyre Festival highlights the significant power of influencers, specifically in their abilities to create content that consumers trust and take action on (in this case, driving ticket sales) when provided an elevated experience.

TL:DR, as an influencer, it’s really important to do your homework and due diligence to understand what you’re promoting – especially if you’re bringing a new product or experience to market. As a marketer, if you’re bringing a new product or brand to market, you need to give influencers enough time to understand it properly. For instance, if you want influencers to promote a new skincare product that “changes your skin in eight weeks,” you need to give influencers eight weeks to try the product and see the results for themselves.

When You Can’t Wait to Share the Fyre Festival Documentary

The Story

Netflix has announced a new feature through its app that allows viewers to share Netflix titles directly to their Instagram Stories.

Go on.

The feature will add the title’s custom art to a user’s Instagram story and can also be customized with other options, like a poll. If the Story viewer has the Netflix app installed, they’ll also see a “watch on Netflix” link in the Story that takes them to the show’s or movie’s page in the Netflix app. Talk about seamless integration.

STC POV

Netflix is the latest high profile partner to directly integrate with Stories – Spotify, GoPro, and Shazam also have sharing features of their own. The move allows Netflix to continue influencing culture by inserting its brand into online conversations.

We’re calling it now, 2019 will be the year where the story format will surpass feed-based posts. Stories are growing 15 times faster than feed-based sharing, with more than 1.12 billion users across Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Facebook consuming or creating Stories, contributing to a 987 percent lift since early 2016.