__________________________________________________ Introduction:

Proctor and Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation. Proctor and Gamble India Pvt. Ltd is a subsidiary of this parent company running widely and successfully in India. The Product lines that are preset in P&G India are Beauty Care, Hygiene and Health Care and Household. Some notable power brands are Ariel Detergent, Tide, Bounty Toilet Paper, Whisper Ultra, Duracell, Rejoice, Pantene, Head & Shoulder, Olay. Now what are the integrated marketing communication tools that P&G India is using to continuously promote its products and/or brands? This is an overview of the IMC tools that are being used by P&G India.

___________________________________________________ Advertising:
For a company like Proctor and Gamble advertising is the best known and widely used form of promotion. As P&G India markets products as packaged goods usually advertising remains the most important promotional tool. Advertising always remains the most cost-effective, easy going way to reach large audiences. For building company or brand equity advertising is commonly use IMC promotional tool that creates favorable and unique images and association for P&G s product branding in this competitive business environment. The Advertising program that Proctor & Gamble India implements for its power brands are extensive, covering many different mediums. Television, magazines, newspapers, and radio are common use in conjunction to gain the highest reach and greatest frequency of potential consumers. P&G are broadcasting commercials on various network stations, such as Star, Sony Entertainment, ESPN India etc. This time period was discovered to be the best highest television viewing time from target audience. The cable stations are used to broadcast commercials. Programs that were determined as the best possible means to reach its target audience include soap operas, news programs, game shows, cartoon programs, sporting events, and fitness programs. Magazines also play a key role in reaching all of distinguished target audience. Different magazine ads are placed in a wide variety of magazines that include Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Reader?s Digest, GQ, Outdoor Life, etc. With this wide variation of magazines, P&G hopes to reach a more broad audience P&G runs a full page ad in the national newspaper also as it is more cost effective. Lastly, P&G will use radio ads as means of advertising these products like Gillette, Pantene, Rejoice, Olay, Ariel. The radio ads run during the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and also 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., both time periods that were evaluated as the greatest reach for potential consumers. Proctor and Gamble India always have the biggest celebrity appearances for advertising its products specially the audio-visual ads. For example, world s prominent supermodel Gisele Bundchen has the appearance in commercials for Pantene hair products like Shampoo, some of which had been telecasted in India and Bangladesh also. P&G India has contract with the biggest bollywood celebrities to

advertise their power products. To illustrate, Shilpa Shetty for Pantene, Katrina Kaif for Olay White Clean, Kareena Kapoor for Head & Shoulder are recent prominent appearances. This company has another interesting advertising strategy as a tool. Sometimes in movies products are shown as a promotional tool. I can remember an example of Tide which had been shown in a big budget bollywood movie named as KRRISH back in 2006 in the hands of Rekha.

_______________________________________________Direct Marketing:
One of the growing usages of IMC tools by P&G India is direct marketing. This company has started to sell its products to its customers with various activities under direct marketing including database management, direct selling, telemarketing and direct response ads through direct mail, the internet and other broadcast and print media. In terms of direct marketing, P&G India has started to use brick and click system through internet for the customers besides traditional intermediary steps. Direct marketing are playing now a vital role in getting the products into the view of the general public. P&G plans to use new and different approaches to direct marketing with these products. The product will be placed in many public restrooms around the nation in an effort to use direct marketing. This will be a new way of reaching the target audience, but P&G feel it is always a great mean of getting consumers to try its products. A small sign above each dispenser that will have the brand name and image will accompany the product. The consumers form an opinion about the products, and either purchase the product or not according to their initial satisfaction. Among the locations for this direct marketing tactic are large shopping malls in all major cities across the United States, and sports facilities such as stadiums and arenas that house national and regional professional sports teams. Another direct marketing tactic to be used will be the placement of small booths at the entrances of all supercenters.

___________________________________ Interactive/Internet Marketing:

Proctor and Gamble is now successfully coping with the fast, dynamic and revolutionary trend of technology with interactive/internet marketing. The growth of communication is now through interactive media. Interactive media allow for a back-and-forth flow of information whereby users can participate in and modify the form and content of the information they receive in real time. Unlike traditional forms of marketing communications, the new media allows users to perform a variety of functions such as receive and alter information and images, make inquiries, respond to questions and of course, make purchases. Proctor and Gamble India has begun advertising to cell phones

_______________________________________________ Sales Promotion:

Sales promotion is always a very big, fundamental and effective integrated marketing communication tool for Proctor and Gamble India. It is continuously providing extra value or incentives to the sales force, the distributors, or the ultimate consumer and stimulating immediate sales. In terms of consumer oriented sales promotion, P&G are using the techniques including couponing, sampling, premiums, contests, event management and various point of purchase materials which encourage consumers to make an immediate purchase and thus stimulate short term sales. P&G s trade oriented sales promotion is targeted toward marketing intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors and retailers off course. The common promotional tools for this are promotional and merchandising allowances, price deals, sales contests, and trade shows. In India couponing is a widely used promotional technique. Free Pantene coupons, free Pantene Pro V coupons are notable illustrations. Couponing is in the shape of Custom Solution which has the

meaning like beautiful results, guaranteed. It is transforming the hair someone has into the hair and wants with specially formulated Pantene. If one doesn t love it, leave it, for 2X money back. At present Pantene Pro V has 3 rupee sales off in India. Gillette free coupons are also good illustrations for India. These coupons include following criteria: Money Off with a Gillette Coupon: There are certain Gillette Venus coupons that can give one a certain percentage or take some money off of the overall price. A Gillette coupon that is able to do this is often the most popular. One can see the savings right away and won t have to worry about purchasing more just to see the savings in the long run. Just be sure to pay attention to how much money off one can expect to get as some coupons can give a person more off than others. Buy One Get One: There are also Gillette Mach 3 coupons that are able to supply a person with a buy one get one type of deal. This works well if one goes through razors quickly or if a lot of people in his home tend to use them. People have to make fewer trips to the store just for razors and they can save money with each additional purchase that they make. Maximize the Savings: Look for coupons that people can use on top of sales and deals. This is a great way to be able to get the most amounts of savings for dollar. Sometimes, a Gillette coupon can t be used on top of another deal or sale. As a hygiene and health care product of P&G India, Whisper Ultra is a big example for sales promotion. Several techniques of sales promotion by Whisper Ultra are -

Refunds: Refund is the repayment of total money paid for purchase, while the rebate represents repayment of only part of the money. In terms of money back offer, after launching Whisper Ultra Thin, there is a confidence about the product quality and confidence about offering the promised product, to increase its trail and usage had starred money back offer. Contests: Contests can draw attention to a brand like no other sales promotions technique. A contest has consumers compete for prizes based on skill or ability. E.g.: Poem, one liner, story writing contest by whisper brand to promote its product. Samples: Sampling is a sales promotion technique designed to provide a consumer with an opportunity to use a brand on a trial basis with little or no risk. For example, Free Sample distribution of whisper samples has been held in the schools and colleges and education material like brouchers and pamphlets. Event management sponsorship is also a great sales promotion technique in India for Proctor and Gamble. For an example, P&G India remains a consecutive sponsor in Indian Premier League IPL. A lot of advertisements of this company have been telecasted during the seasons of IPL.

________________________________________Publicity/Public Relations:
Publicity: Publicity is gradually becoming a significant attempt regarding Proctor and Gamble s
products, services and ideas. It usually comes in the form of a news story, editorial or announcement about product and services. With this nonpersonal communication Proctor and Gamble India attempts to get the media to cover or run a favorable story on its products, services, cause or event to affect awareness, Knowledge, opinions, and/or behavior of the consumers to get a absolute feedback. The techniques that P&G India are applying for include news releases, press conferences and featured articles.

Public Relations: In terms of public relations, P&G India continuously plan and distribute information
in an attempt to control and manage its image and mature of the publicity it receives. P&G s public relations evaluate public attitudes, identify the policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest and execute a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance. Besides publicity, Proctor and Gamble India uses some other tools in the form of public relations like special publications, fund-raising, sponsorship of special events, public affair activities etc.

e-PR: e-PR includes all forms of communication, namely Web PR, Net PR, On-Line PR, where the
participants communicate electronically, internal (intranet) or external (Internet). P&G makes news about their clients available on the net using the new information and communication technologies, which have opened up totally new communication channels for the field of PR. The ePR is one of the most emerging

and effective tools of direct communication, not only in business but also in wider society. P&G uses ePR is as a tool to reach and communicate with the Indian mass people. There has been some notable public relations campaign that took place all over the world as well as India. My Beauty Adviser by P&G Beauty and Grooming is one of them. On June 15, 2011 P&G Beauty & Grooming announced My Beauty Adviser, a new, free application for the iPhone and Android mobile platforms. P&G Beauty & Grooming brands Clairol, COVERGIRL, Olay and Pantene have joined forces to create a comprehensive, multi-faceted beauty application that provides consumers with an exclusive virtual beauty experience. Developed by Densebrain, Inc., My Beauty Adviser boasts an advanced, intuitive and user-friendly interface to improve consumers' shopping experience and simplify purchasing decisions. Upon launching the application, users can choose to explore products, complete a consultation or browse a free magazine. "Our customers continue to tell us they need guidance to decide which beauty products to use and how to use them to get the look that they want," says Kevin Hochman, Marketing Director for Olay, Secret and Venus. "That's why we created My Beauty Adviser -- to help women find the best answers in a quick and fun way while on-the-go. We wanted to provide our customer with a free, interactive platform to help her make confident decisions about her beauty purchases and believe My Beauty Adviser accomplishes that goal." y Explore Products: A browsing feature allows users to easily discover and learn about products, read and write reviews, and ultimately establish their ideal regimen among the cosmetic, skin and hair care categories. Users can explore by product line, name or category, by tapping through each page. Voice and barcode scanning uses advanced technology for instant access to products and content within the application. Voice Scan will direct to magazine articles and help start the product search. Users can also utilize the Barcode Scanner while shopping in retail aisles to instantly access product reviews and related articles.

Get Personalized Advice: My Beauty Adviser acts as a personal, handheld consultant that tailors a beauty recommendation to meet an individual's needs. Users can complete consultations by answering questions about their skin and hair type, concerns and desired results. Once the consultation is complete, results reveal customized recommendations for products. The more consultations one takes, the more personalized the resulting regimen can be. Browse a Magazine: My Beauty Adviser Magazine is an educational tool that offers access to exclusive content from top beauty reporters and bloggers. Updated monthly, My Beauty Adviser Magazine can help expand users' knowledge of skin care, hair care and cosmetics via original articles, video tutorials and trend reports on new products as well as the trustworthy classics. Featured products are searchable within the application for more information, and readers can

organically share their favorite articles and products via Facebook in just one tap. Users can be notified when a new issue is available, while an easy-to-navigate archive houses past editions. Manage Product Selections: While exploring products, browsing a magazine or upon completing a consultation, My Beauty Adviser's Beauty Bag helps users select products for their own personal, virtual beauty bank. Products can be stored for quick access later from consultation results, searches and articles by simply dragging the product image into the Beauty Bag.

Another strategic public relation by P&G in India is character blogging like Mr. Clean. He has plenty of products to talk about; they even have a look alike traveling the country to stir up brand buzz. It could be part character blog and part product blog. Another big PR campaign was started in July 2006 all over the world as well as India with P&G's new corporate social responsibility campaign, "Pantene Beautiful Lengths." The campaign encouraged people "to grow, cut, and donate their hair to make wigs for women who have lost hair due to cancer treatment." It was launched on July 13, 2006. In August 2007, Advertising Age reported on P&G's new multi-brand campaign, "My Black Is Beautiful." It was less prominent in India though. The objective of the campaign had a search to "make all black girls and women" feel beautiful, while forging a closer relationship between P&G brands and their black consumers. According to P&G research, "71% of black women feel they're portrayed worse than other women in media and advertising. Despite that, they spend on average three times more than the general market on beauty products." P&G has also a campaign in western countries and in this continent. India is one of them. The campaign is named as Puberty Education which is a P&G school program. It is specially designed for 5th grade girls and boys; the Always Changing Puberty Education Program helps educators teach the important topics of puberty and development. When launching New Pantene Hair Fall Control Pantene Pro V, Five City Launch Road Show was a notable public relation campaign back in 2004. It was held with locally customized events. Five City Launch Road Show organized five-city media events in largest markets in Mumbai with leading model/ actress Katrina Kaif; Delhi with Country Marketing Manager; Kolkata with City s Locally-Popular Film stars; Chennai with AIBHA President & Dr. Colin D Silva and Hyderabad Invitees included Beauty Editors, TV Channels & Consumer Dailies. In-store launch with TV anchor.

Finally the well known mass public relation campaign in India by P&G is Project Shiksha . At first it was started back in 2003. In keeping with the global philosophy of continuous development of the

community, P&G in association with Sony Entertainment Television launched an education initiative Shiksha Secure Your Child s Future across the country. In order to ensure P&G reached the non-Hindi

speaking audience, a tie-up with three other channels in the south was undertaken. In the north, west, east, Karnataka regions Sony TV telecast the promotion and announced winners on its No. 1 soap Maa TV promoted Shiksha with Todi Kodallu, in Tamil Nadu Jaya

opera Kkusum, in Andhra Pradesh

TV promoted Shiksha with Sahana and in Kerala

Asianet promoted Shiksha with Snehadooram. By 12th

purchasing packs of Vicks, Whisper, Ariel, Tide, Head & Shoulders and Pantene between 21st April

June 2003, this unique education promotion allowed a mother to win Rs. 2 lakhs towards Graduate Education Fee of one child (24 such Prizes), or Rs. 5,000 towards Next Year s Tuition fee for one child (96 such Prizes), and a number of Consolation Prizes, all courtesy P&G. All Shiksha prizes could be gifted and were transferable, in case the winner is not a parent or, if his/her child was above 21 years of age. Shiksha received a positive response from all parts of the country. This promotion was greatly appreciated as purchase of any P&G product allowed one to win education for his/her child. In 2010 P&G invited bollywood celebrities Kiran Bedi, Soha Ali Khan, Gul Panag, Neha Dhupia and some others for the event campaigning of Project Shiksha .

________________________________________________Personal Selling:
With personal selling or person-to-person communication P&G is attempting to assist and/or persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company s product or service or to act on an idea. Through personal selling, sellers can directly contract with the customers or can have telecommunications between them in the form of telephone sales. By this P&G s marketers are communicating flexibly. The sellers hear the potential buyer s reactions and modify the message accordingly. Through personal selling, Proctor and Gamble is tailoring messages to the customer s specific needs or situation. For the products like Ariel, Tide, Pantene Shampoo, Gillette, Bounty Toilet Paper Proctor and Gamble India are using personal selling. This company still keeps personal selling in limitation. Massive works are not done to promote products through personal selling. Memos are sent to all regional managers of the retail stores in which the products will be sold. The memo informs the regional managers about the new product. These regional managers then are instructed to discuss this product with all the store managers for the stores found in their area. Overall, the memo can serve the purpose of getting product awareness into the minds of all retailers.

___________________________________________________ Mass Media:

Proctor & Gamble India incorporates various other support media in the process of getting the products brand image out to the public. These support media include billboards, inflatables, shopping carts, and transit advertising, to name a few. The billboards use the same ads that are featured in magazines, and

are located in all major markets. Large inflatables accompany many of the booths placed in the front of retail stores. In all retail stores that carry the product, there are small advertisements placed on the shopping carts, another means of reaching the potential consumers. Lastly, P&G places large posters advertising the product in subways, along buses, and on bus stops in most major markets found across India. Of course there have been some notable reasons to use various above integrated marketing communication tools in India. Why people of India widely accept P&G s products; the reasons are the hearts and also power concepts for Proctor and Gamble India. Customer Focus: P&G always tries to reflect customers. This company messages are appealing,

relevant and accurately timed are based on the understanding and anticipation of what the customer expects and wants, when he/she wants it, and how he/she wants it to be delivered to him/her. Customer Empowerment: P&G empowers customers to define the relevance. They do not define and do not force the content as per convenience. They allow a person to decide how deeply he/she wants to be involved in the communications. This concept extends beyond the permission from customer. They are asking the customers to take the lead. Impressive marketing: P&G India is consistent at all the contact points and has continuity such that all the roads of different media lead down the same path to the brand. The beauty of its communications lies in that the consumer gets the option only to decide how far to go and not what different objective to go. Brand Resonance: P&G s communication always create relationship that stand for something that the customers think is worthy of a relationship with them. Emotional bonding: P&G s brand develops a relationship with customers based on the insights about the customer. He/she is not only loyal to your brand but treats the brand as a friend, a trustee, a close relative, or as an inseparable part of life. In this case he/she becomes an advocate for the brands and propagates message. In other sense a person becomes a contact point for the other consumers. Thus the communications become vital to be managed so well that even this newly created contact point speaks the same voice.

____________________________________________________Conclusion:
Finally it can be said that P&G India is almost a success story for using various IMC tools all over India during these years. Big budget ad campaigns, notable public relations campaigns and obviously sales promotion techniques with more customers focused, customer orientation have remained very much effective to reach the target audience. In India P&G has performing a dominating role with the usage of integrated marketing communication tools