Re: UKNM: P&G FAST

[Sajid Mohammed]

This subject is very dear to my heart as I am currently working on a

solution which would be ideal for the P&G's of this world.


---Steve Bowbrick <

stevewebmedia [dot] com

> wrote:

>

> Does P&G's intervention promise a vital boost to the medium as it did for

> TV in the fifties or is it just the dead hand of an old medium?


Firstly, the incursion of 'old media' into new media is not per se a

bad thing. Many US commentators are lauding PBS and it's use of new

media in conjunction with it's TV content, which surprised many who

naively thought that what is essentially a public service organisation

that has been around a long time could successfully grok the new

medium. They seem to be doing a better job than the BBC at any

rate...God I hope that situation improves drastically.


P&G's intervention poses a tricky dilemma for all of us involved in

the new media. P&G live and die by marketing - the effectiveness of

their marketing is so much more crucial to their enterprise than many

other companies of comparable size. Anyone can manufacture sickly

sweet orange-coloured water - it's canny brand strategy and marketing

that makes Sunny Delight a threat to the Coke/Pepsi hegemony.


So, you would think that it was their commercial interests to get the

best out of the medium. There's been some worrying commentary in trade

journals like Campaign about advertising effectiveness - or rather

lack thereof. The tracking figures from the World Cup for example were

absolutely appalling IMHO, when you consider how much money was poured

into efforts to promote products.


More worrying was the research that seems to indicate that a sizable

part of the lucrative ABC1 audience simply *ignore* advertising - they

channel change when the ads come on, they ignore print adverts etc.

Tricky bastards they may be, by they are probably early adopters and

opinion formers with disposable incomes to blow on premium priced

products - these are the people who choose Tropicana and Minute Maid

over f***ing Sunny Delight.


So, a new medium offers us all the opportunity to begin the world over

again - in theory. P&G have been progressively spending more on

'interactive' throughout the nineties, even if their definition of

interactive takes in 'advertorial'-style TV programmes like 'Amazing

Discoveries!' (I've got a garage full of DidiSeven stain remover that

proves their effectiveness.)


P&G bring a crucial element to the new media mix - large amounts of

filthy lucre. And therein lies the dilemma. Advertising people no

doubt are fiercely proud of their creative works. But by definition


IMHO, traditional commercial pressures militate against creativity,

rapid change, novelty and other cool aspects of the new media. What we

may end up with is an increasingly denatured medium, especially if new

delivery channels like set-top do not embrace the free for all nature

of the web.


P&G's use of the medium is likely to be neutered for the sake of not

offending, confusing or challenging the audience. The sole function of

all the creative they will produce will be to SELL PRODUCT - not to

get a nice shelf of D&AD awards. Watch all your hopes and dreams about

how the Internet could change the world go out of the window like

yesterday's Mondo 2000.


Will this stifle the evolution of a medium that could ultimately prove

highly effective if it is allowed to blossom?


On the upside, the incursion of large-spending groups like P&G,

Unilever et al may cause a second Internet gold rush. Maybe, just

maybe, a new breed of dinosaur-egg-eaters will come up who can service

the vast needs of these companies in ways that the Poppe's and

Agency's of this world can't.


Perhaps the nature of the medium will mean that P&G et al have to come

up with progressively more ingenious, varied and highly targeted

creative - which they may decide to farm out to a number of providers

on a per-brand basis rather than throw their lot in with a shop like

Poppe.


This infusion of capital could result in something quite wonderful -

Channel Four manages to juggle creativity with being commercial. 


And once P&G et al jump in, other advertisers will begin to rush in. I

was talking with a strategist at one of the best and brightest ad

shops yesterday and I got the distinct feeling that most of his

clients still have cold feet about spending money online.


Which is a real shame. Anyone for Sunny Delight and Pringles?



Sajid Mohammed

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