P & G shifts towards 'largely free' digital as marketing jobs face axe
Marketing jobs will be among 1600 non-manufacturing jobs to be cut as US giant Procter & Gamble faces growing investor pressure to cut costs, according to weekend reports.
P&G: one of world's BIG advertisers
The company, one of the world's biggest advertisers, is banking on digital marketing to help contain media spending long-term, executives said in a conference call .
CEO Bob McDonald said he expects P&G's advertising costs to "moderate" as it moves more spending into digital media.
AdAge magazine put it bluntly: "The sheer number of options and availability of largely free distribution drives down expenses."
McDonald elaborated ,"In the digital space, with things like Facebook and Google and others, when the advertising is properly designed and the big idea is there, return on investment can be much more efficient." .
He referred to the 1.8 billion in free impressions generated by the Old Spice campaigns , adding "there are many other examples I can cite from all over the world."
Despite all this, P&G is actually stepping up spending this quarter and next behind its global Olympics sponsorship efforts.
Earlier this month P&G said it would outsource in-store merchandising work covering about 2,700 employees, most of them part-time.
P&G's s overall employment has grown despite earlier restructurings, to 129,000 now.