Procter & Gamble’s global brand building officer Marc Pritchard caused a buzz at a recent conference, claiming that the term ‘digital marketing’ is dead, asserting that companies should forget about which medium is being used and focus on brand building instead. Watch the video of Pritchard’s closing keynote speech below: During the closing keynote address […]
Procter & Gamble’s global brand building officer Marc Pritchard caused a buzz at a recent conference, claiming that the term ‘digital marketing’ is dead, asserting that companies should forget about which medium is being used and focus on brand building instead.
Watch the video of Pritchard’s closing keynote speech below:
During the closing keynote address at this month’s Digital Marketing Exposition & Conference (Dmexco) in Cologne, Germany, Pritchard said. “The era of digital marketing is over. It’s almost dead. Now, it’s just brand building.”
During the speech, Prichard said that advertising brands to consumers through mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and computer tablets has evolved to the point where the term has become outdated.
Prichard asked that the audience “try and resist thinking about digital in terms of the tools, the platforms, the QR Codes and all of the technology coming next. We [Procter & Gamble] try and see it for what it is, which is a tool for engaging people with fresh, creative campaigns…the era of digital marketing is over. It’s almost dead. It’s now just brand building. It’s what we do.”
Pritchard said P&G is focused on launching some ad campaigns in the digital sphere rather than following up traditional marketing with a digital component almost as an afterthought.
“This is a mindset that we are trying to infuse in our company, and it’s creating a tremendous shift,” Pritchard said. “It’s freeing up our minds on building creative ideas that come to life through the mediums that we engage with every single day – search, social, mobile, PR, and yes, even TV.”
He cited as an example an ad campaign for a Braun shaver, one of P&G’s brands, that initially ran only online.
“It wasn’t the digital component,” Pritchard said. “It was the campaign. … Start in the digital world, and build your way back to the rest of the marketing mix. It’s an approach that is building our brand equities, our sales and our profits.”
Watch this DMexco backstage interview with Marc Pritchard below;
