Wednesday, May 05, 1999
P&G cited for Internet ad campaign
Leadership, spending noted
BY RANDY TUCKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Procter & Gamble Co. has been named Interactive Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age magazine, which cited the company for its leadership role in promoting Internet advertising.
Leadership, online spending, innovation and successful ad campaigns were the key criteria used by a panel of editors to select the magazine's overall winner.
“This is a true recognition of our industry leadership, and we are very pleased with the progress of the industry and the progress of our thinking,” said Gretchen Briscoe, a P&G spokeswoman.
Advertising Age recognized IBM Corp. as the top online marketer in the technology industry, and General Motors Corp. received top honors among online auto advertisers.
Visa USA led credit-card companies in balloting, and Yahoo! was Advertising Age's top pick in the Web-portal category.
P&G stood out among all other online advertisers because of “its tremendous influence in leading the industry — along with its own real commitment to the medium in ad spending, and creation of innovative, successful campaigns,” said Patricia Riedman, an Advertising Age deputy editor and member of the selection committee.
Ms. Briscoe said P&G's put-your-money-where-your- mouth-is commitment to Internet advertising is reflected in its online ad budget.
She declined to release figures, but Ms. Briscoe said P&G's online ad budget for fiscal 1999 is more than double the company's online ad spending last year — more than $4.4 million, according to Advertising Age.
“We will continue to spend to the potential of the medium,” she said.
Ms. Briscoe said P&G's spending on Internet advertising is determined on a brand-by-brand basis, meaning online advertising is used only if it is determined to be the best way to reach the brand's target market.
Still, Ms. Briscoe said P&G will significantly boost the number of brands it advertises on the Internet.
P&G markets about 33 brands over the Internet, including Scope, Bounty, Pert Plus, Noxzema, Tide and Always. In 1998, it advertised 14 brands online.
P&G is also beginning to use the Internet to launch products. The Noxzema Skin Fitness brand was the first of the company's brands to be introduced online before it hit store shelves.
P&G cited for Internet ad campaign
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