P&G's Marc Pritchard Says the Company Will Significantly Increase Its Investments in Black-Owned Media

ORLANDO—P&G will significantly increase its investment in Black-owned media to grow the market and provide more opportunities for its brands and the industry as a whole to reach Black audiences. "To do our part, P&G intends to be the No. 1 spender in Black-owned media and take steps to significantly expand the ecosystem," Marc Pritchard, P&G chief brand officer, said at the ANA Masters of Marketing conference. "In two years we've doubled our funding, and we intend to double and then double again." Pritchard used his annual presentation to drive home the fact that marketers should consider multicultural marketing as mainstream marketing and delivered seven habits marketers should develop to reach diverse audiences. Pritchard pointed to the U.S. Census and other research that showed Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native Indigenous and multiracial segments of the population accounted for 100% of America's population growth and represent $5 trillion in spending power. "Half of our sales growth in the U.S. is now consistently coming from Black, Hispanic and Asian [consumers]," Pritchard said. Blavity, Revolt and Black Enterprise on Why More Dollars Need to go to Black-Owned Media Seven habits for market growth Pritchard walked conference attendees through how the company thinks about growth with multicultural audiences, and for the presentation focused on Black audiences. Change Mindset: "We need to break with a habitual mindset that there is a general market. We live in a totally diverse country with many cultures. We are not homogeneous. There is no average consumer," Pritchard said.Inclusive Research: Pritchard called for marketers to rethink how they use representative bases in marketing, as they historically skew toward white demographics. He pointed to an example for hair care, explaining how "lather, rinse and repeat" is not representative of all hair care routines, as Black women often have more extensive routines.Diverse Media Reach: P&G is working to diversify its media spend to increase its reach with Black audiences, hoping to achieve a reach of 80% to 90% in the coming years.Representation in Ads: "It just makes sense that if you're seeing someone like yourself in an ad [then] you're more likely to relate to it," Pritchard said.Relevance in Ads: Pritchard added that increasing representation isn't enough if groups aren't being portrayed in authentic ways. This insight led P&G to create new Old Spice work that portrayed Black couples differently after it found Black audiences considered spots with Isaiah Mustafa and Terry Crews to be "sophomoric." The new Old Spice work, Pritchard said, shows representation with relevance.Resonance in Media Programming: Just 2% of media spend is invested in Black-owned and operated media outlets, despite a recent study by the ANA's Alliance for Multicultural Marketing that showed a 17% sales life and a 48% increase in trust when resonant ads are shown across all ethnicities. Pritchard called for advertisers to develop better relationships with Black-owned media with the "intention of growing and creating value together."Accelerate Investment in Black-Owned Media: Pritchard is pushing marketers to form a consortium with P&G and other groups like the National Association of Black Broadcasters to invest in Black-owned outlets and solve the inventory problem. He called for brands to help develop programming and audiences for media partners that will allow brands more opportunities to get in front of Black audiences.