Procter & Gamble Makes Plans To Move More Advertising Dollars To Digital Media

Procter & Gamble is spending "more than a third of its U.S. marketing budget on digital media," a move that comes as Americans "for the first time are expected to spend more time online this year than watching television," according to Ng & Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. P&G CEO A.G. Lafley said that the company's digital spend "on things like online ads and social media ranges from 25% to 35% of its marketing budget and is currently near the top of that range in the U.S., its biggest market." Ng & Vranica report the company plans to spend "more on advertising in its current fiscal year, and its growing emphasis on digital media reflects both the shift in where consumers are focused and a desire to increase the effectiveness of the money it spends." P&G has yet to disclose "how much it spent on marketing in its recently ended fiscal year, in which its total sales topped $84 billion." The company spent $9.3B on marketing in FY '12, including advertising on "television, radio, print, digital and in-store ads" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/2). P&G has a major presence in sports marketing, serving as a league sponsor for the NFL, MLB, NASCAR and the WNBA. The company is also a TOP sponsor of the IOC and sponsors the USOC, USA Gymnastics and U.S. Figure Skating. The following chart highlights the athletes on the endorsement roster of several P&G brands (THE DAILY).