International: P&G Lets Consumers Act as Media Planners

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- The nation's largest advertiser is inviting consumers to weigh in on its controversial media decisions.

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Apr 30, 2008 7:56 AM  | 4 min read
International: P&G Lets Consumers Act as Media Planners

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- The nation's largest advertiser is inviting consumers to weigh in on its controversial media decisions.

Last week, Procter & Gamble set up an option on its main consumer toll-free line in response to a drive from a coalition, dubbed Enough Is Enough, that was urging the company to stop sponsoring hip-hop programs on MTV and BET laced with profanity, liberal doses of the "N word," and scenes the group believes degrade and objectify women.

This week, P&G set up a second toll-free option asking callers to register support or criticism of the "story line" on "As the World Turns," from P&G Productions, which featured fairly passionate kisses between daytime TV's only gay couple.

Not just one group weighing in

While it's natural to expect complaints to outnumber support on such lines, that may not necessarily be the case. The American Family Association, which asked people to call P&G to protest the gay kissing scene, isn't the only one weighing in on Luke and Noah's love life.

Celebrity gossip site PerezHilton.com this morning posted a reference to the "Nuke" controversy, urging readers to call P&G's hotline in support of the couple. By this afternoon, Kip Williams, a blogger on the HuffingtonPost.com, also had weighed in, also asking readers to call P&G's hotline in support.

Perez Hilton, with an Alexa traffic rank of 430 indicating daily visits by 2.6 million people worldwide, and the Huffington Post, with an Alexa rank of 687 and around 2 million daily visitors, would appear to carry more weight in popular culture than Donald Wildmon, whose AFA.net site has an Alexa rank of 59,596, indicating daily visits from around 30,000.

Jim Nail, chief marketing officer of TNS's online-buzz-tracking firm Cymfony, believes the blogs' reach could generate enough support to counteract the AFA's fervor. He noted about five blog discussions overall about the call-in number regarding "As the World Turns," with some discussion boards, such as one on TelevisionWithoutPity.com, noting that P&G must be happy about all the attention for the soap.

Not a popularity contest

In neither case, however, is the toll-free hotline meant to be a popularity contest or a poll, said a P&G spokeswoman.

When Enough Is Enough last week began its drive against P&G's sponsorship of the hip-hop shows, the group posted the number for the company's main switchboard. In an effort to direct callers to its main toll-free line (800-331-3774) instead, P&G urged the group to put the toll-free consumer number on its website, and the group also issued a press release yesterday with that number.

P&G has set up similar automated options on its toll-free lines in the past to handle issues that generated high call volume, she said, adding that she didn't know how many calls were breaking for or against the company's media decisions at this point.

She said she wasn't aware of P&G having solicited blog support for the gay-kiss scene.

Certainly, P&G has departed from being the company that once got worked up about Mary Tyler Moore wearing capri pants on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in the 1960s or two women kissing on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" in the 1990s.

While the company may be winning over bloggers, it has gone overnight from hero to goat with the Parents' Television Council, one of the key members of the Enough Is Enough coalition. P&G (along with rival Unilever) is a member of the group's Hall of Fame for its "family friendly" advertising policies, and was named the group's best advertiser of 2007.

PTC approved programs

P&G won the latter honor by having the most ads on PTC-approved "greenlighted" programs. Of course, as the nation's biggest advertiser, P&G tends to rank as the largest spender on most random samples of TV media. But it didn't rank among the top 10 advertisers on shows the PTC found most offensive last year.

Then again, Reckitt Benckiser, which made the PTC's "10 worst" list, also had stronger organic sales growth, at least globally, than any of its industry peers on the "best" list, also including Johnson & Johnson.

So is it good to be bad? Well, that's not necessarily how P&G, which isn't supporting any theories about changes in its media standards, sees it.

"We continue to strive to be responsible advertisers," the spokeswoman said. "We want to sponsor programming that enables our brands to reach all of our consumers effectively. So we're going to place our advertising in venues that reach our target audience, and that target is going to vary by product."

P&G still reviews content of shows it sponsors against "a set of established guidelines," she said. But at this point, the company isn't changing its decisions, either regarding the hip-hop shows or "As the World Turns."

"But that's at this time," she said. "We're always looking at things like this."

Source: AdAge.com

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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