In today's era of extremely developed digital media and technology, P&G's dual-channel digital sports marketing conveys its unique philosophy and social responsibility to consumers while "telling stories".
Founded in 1837, Procter & Gamble is one of the world's largest consumer goods companies. As a world-renowned consumer goods industry giant, P&G's business footprint has already touched other industries, including the sports market, which is currently developing rapidly. In 2010, P&G officially joined the IOC TOP sponsor camp, and since then has carried out a series of continuous Olympic marketing activities, and rich product lines and marketing experience have also made P&G and the IOC reach the most extensive partnership.
In 2012, P&G officially launched the "Cheers for Mothers" theme activity at the London Olympic Games. During the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Procter & Gamble launched the Winter Olympics Cheering Group, inviting athletes' families to witness their children's championship moments. Today, the IOC's partnership with Procter & Gamble has been further upgraded and will continue into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Actively contributing to the Olympic Games provides P&G with more opportunities to get close to and understand consumers around the world. In addition, the Olympic spirit is very similar to P&G's corporate purpose and core philosophy, and it has always carried forward the spirit of unity, fraternity, continuous improvement, self-transcendence and positive victory. From the needs of enterprises to the high degree of compatibility in enterprise spirit, P&G and the Olympic "fate" are very close.
1. Help athletes to "handsome" debut and highlight core values
As a global partner of many Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games, P&G's marketing at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games is even more detailed, whether from products or services, from the field or off the field, P&G is helping athletes in all aspects. Having experienced the adversity of the new crown epidemic, P&G has deeply realized that every time you play in life, you must show your beautiful self. At this time, P&G launched the theme activity of "as long as you play, you must be beautiful", interpreting the Olympic spirit through the perspective of the enterprise, so as to fully contribute to the success of the Winter Olympic Games.
P&G has always been committed to becoming an upward force for good, bringing positive influence to the community, P&G believes that in every arena, as long as you try your best to pay attention to, participate, and strive for, gain experience, insight and experience, then there will be no loser, which is also a manifestation of P&G's core spirit of "as long as you play, you have to be beautiful". Xu Min, Vice Chairman of P&G Greater China, President of Sales and Brand Operations, said: "The Olympic spirit is also very consistent with the core value of "upward goodness" that Procter & Gamble has always adhered to, and we hope to bring the Olympic spirit into the lives of every ordinary person, so that everyone can find more positive energy in many uncertainties. ”
2. Its products form a super lineup to fully guarantee the life of the Winter Olympic Village
Procter & Gamble assembled its brands to form a strong product lineup, and in the early stage of the opening, it brought a wash welcome pack for each participating athlete to provide comprehensive professional protection for the wash and care. Under the background of the closed-loop management of the Winter Olympic Village, Procter & Gamble is concerned about the life security of athletes, and while providing rich product support, it also sets up intimate service stations such as hair salons and laundry rooms for athletes to provide all-round protection for athletes. The perfect service of the Winter Olympic Village and the various meticulous, considerate and thoughtful services provided by P&G have also been praised by athletes at home and abroad.
3. All-round innovation, diversified empowerment of Chinese consumers
Deep consumer insights are the foundation of all innovations and strategies that P&G embarks on. In this era of information fragmentation, the biggest feature of young people as the main force of consumption is diversification. Starting from the consumer demand of young people, P&G no longer just digs into the stories of athletes as in the past, but shows the colors of young people in the new era in a multi-faceted and multi-angle manner. It is based on the deep insight into the Chinese market and consumers that P&G launched the "as long as you play, you must be beautiful" campaign, hoping to encourage everyone to strive to show the most beautiful self in the workplace, the examination room, and any field of life. At the same time, P&G launched a short film "Pretty Behind", telling the story of Olympic champion Wu Dajing preparing for the Winter Olympics day and night, and also cast the spotlight on the behind-the-scenes staff such as meteorological observers and snow track construction engineers outside the arena. P&G hopes to once again play the role of companion, witness and energy motivator to awaken consumers' expectations and enthusiasm for a better life. With the help of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, athletes, stars, etc., P&G fully guided and linked all sectors of society to jointly express their enthusiasm and expectations for the Winter Olympic Games.
4. Digital marketing has become a new trend, and consumers have injected new momentum
In recent years, with the rapid growth of e-commerce business, P&G has carried out a full range of digital transformation of products, services, retail channels and supply chains. Keeping pace with the times and constantly exploring digital transformation is the key to P&G's continued attraction and impress of consumers. In order to break through the offline and online scene restrictions, P&G signed athlete Wu Dajing as the event leader on the occasion of the first anniversary of the countdown to the Beijing Winter Olympics, mobilized the all-star lineup, and invited the anchor to create momentum for the first anniversary of the countdown to the Winter Olympics through live streaming and other social network communication forms, and brought more than 2 billion exposure. Offline, P&G began to prepare for the "Burning Winter" marketing promotion campaign in January, when consumers enter the consumption scene, they will be able to immerse themselves in the charm of ice and snow, at the same time, P&G also through the gift of ski tickets to consumers, to stimulate more enthusiasm and help realize the vision of "300 million people on the ice and snow". Procter & Gamble's marketing in the Winter Olympic Games adopts an online and offline dual-channel operation model, using its mature activity system and special brand concept to create a unique and highly consistent with the Olympic theme of the market, which also achieves a breakthrough for the Japanese consumer brand in the sports market.
5. New ideas of digital marketing, P&G played a "feeling card"
In the sponsor-studded Winter Olympics, finding the right entry point for marketing is often the key to success or failure. Whenever talking about the sponsors of the Winter Olympics, everyone will think of sports brands for the first time, and as a daily chemical brand, Procter & Gamble has chosen to take an unusual family line: the brand starts from the perspective of consumers, accurately positioning the main consumer groups led by mothers of all ages, at the same time, P&G will focus on "there is a great mother behind every athlete", as a bridge with the sports industry, which promotes and creates a strong and meaningful marketing idea. The idea plays a role in a wide range of content and experiences, tying sports and gratitude closely together. From the "Proud Sponsor of Moms" at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, to the "P&G Global Mother's Home" at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, or the "Love Over Bias" of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the distinctive marketing concept also made Procter & Gamble's first Olympic sponsorship a blockbuster, and the Japanese consumer giant's "emotional card" also set the tone for the future direction of its brand's sports marketing.
6. Dual-line development of users, highlighting the sense of social responsibility
In addition to the rich offline services, P&G's publicity in digital media and online cannot be ignored. In previous years' Winter Olympics, Procter & Gamble has actively carried out various online publicity activities while developing offline activities. One of the most eye-catching is the Procter & Gamble advertising campaign at the Winter Olympics over the years.
Procter & Gamble's publicity in the past few Olympic Games has always been heartfelt, good at choosing unique angles and entry points to carry out marketing, reflecting the brand's sense of social responsibility. In addition to the mother-themed publicity, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, P&G chose the theme of "Love Over Bias", emphasizing the relationship between sports and social diversity. Phil Duncan, Global Design Officer at Procter & Gamble, said, "P&G is committed to creating a better life for everyone and creating a world without prejudice, with equal representation, equal voice and equal opportunity. I believe that this is also a manifestation of P&G's sense of social responsibility. P&G focuses on millennials as the main customer, mothers as the first level of support customers, double-line development of user groups, and unlimited amplification of the relevance between sports and its industry, creating a series of unique and socially meaningful Winter Olympic marketing cases.
7. Pursue excellence, publicize the theme and innovate
At this year's Beijing Winter Olympics, P&G continues to pursue excellence and innovation in digital marketing. In terms of promotional advertising and digital media marketing, P&G has also adopted a slightly comedic marketing strategy, and in celebration of Tmall Super Brand Day, P&G has launched a short film about island students dreaming of participating in the Winter Olympics.
It is worth noting that P&G is committed to infinitely amplifying the affection and affection between people, including several short films depicting the great mother behind athletes. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Procter & Gamble set its sights on her father, who was the American ski champion Chloe Kim and her father.
P&G has long advocated for the role of families in athletes' journeys to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and in the Beijing Winter Olympics promotional film "Always There," P&G continues to explore how families can support and empower athletes to meet the most important moments of their lives. The short film tells the true story of Olympic snowboard gold medalist Chloe Kim and the silent dedication and support behind her father, Jong Jin. In their stories, we witness the lasting impact of our parents' presence on our lives: their love becomes a source of strength instilled in us. The theme of this short film also coincides with the theme of previous P&G short films, emphasizing the importance of family affection and highlighting the confidence and encouragement that parents bring to successful athletes, so that they can accept failure and never give up in challenges.
8. Conclusion
From the first sponsorship of the Olympic Games in 2010 to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, we have witnessed P&G's continuous attempts and breakthroughs in sports marketing. P&G's success lies not only in the innovation and foundation of the brand, but more importantly in the process of exploring in the early stage of sports marketing, which also includes discovering and rationalizing the entry points that make the difference. In today's highly competitive sports market, the hot and popular event IP has also become a feast for major brands to compete for. Procter & Gamble's successful Winter Olympic marketing case also proves that its early brand concept of "family affection" as the main line is correct, for brands that are still in the blue ocean stage and in the early stage, learning P&G's marketing philosophy and grasping the unique entry point will be a good start on the road of future sports marketing.
At the same time, Yu Tang believes that the transformation of P&G's marketing strategy lies in achieving digital transformation. Because P&G's brands have a relatively strong foundation and strength, their offline marketing will be very stable, and P&G also has enough energy and time to explore opportunities in the digital media era and develop a series of online activities. By combining offline activities with online platforms, and using the advantages of the platform's dual channels to grab user attention and media attention, on this basis, P&G has accurately grasped the bond between sports and society, and has also reflected a strong sense of social responsibility while expanding its business territory. This Olympic marketing interaction that combines innovative technology with novel gameplay not only allows consumers to learn more about the cold knowledge of the Winter Olympics that is not paid attention to in the ice and snow scene, but also enhances the emotional connection between consumers and ice and snow athletes. This most popular Winter Olympics cheering event not only won the attention of consumers before the opening of the Winter Olympics, but also helped to improve brand efficiency and traffic. Yu Tang believes that P&G's unique insights into the sports market and the current situation of society have strong reference significance for brands that are in the exploratory stage.