Procter & Gamble Co. on Thursday announced plans to reach a new generation of shoppers with a package worth an estimated $300 million to bring product advertising to 12 Viacom television networks.

        Viacom will blanket commercial spots for P&G brands across 12 Viacom properties during the next year, including Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CBS Television Network, MTV, TV Land, BET and VH1.

        The pact could lower P&G's marketing costs because the Cincinnati-based consumer-products giant is getting Viacom's consumer research, prime-time placement of ads and, perhaps, product placement on kitchen counters in TV sitcoms.

        If nothing else, it guarantees that competitors are not likely to get a lot of free marketing exposure on Viacom youth programs.

        “Let's put it this way,” said William H. Steele, household-products analyst for Banc of America Securities, an investment banking firm based in San Francisco. “I don't think you're going to see a lot of Kimberly-Clark and Unilever products prominently displayed on counter tops on shows that are sponsored by P&G.”

        Because many P&G brands target youthful consumers, Viacom properties such as MTV and Nickelodeon are natural networks for the company, said Tom Millikin, P&G spokesman.

        “P&G is spending its advertising dollars in a smarter way,” he said. “We are buying advertising time and getting far more.”

        He said the deal opens the door to Viacom sharing critical information such as consumer viewing habits with P&G.

        “For instance, a lot of our brands have teen-agers or children as an important target audience,” Mr. Millikin said. “Viacom, through Nickelodeon, knows a lot about that audience, and this could open access to that research.

        “We have a strong desire to increase our presence in ethnic markets like African-Americans. Viacom owns the Black Entertainment Network. This deal increases our presence on that network.”
       

Marketing opportunities

        Dana McClintock, vice president of communications for Viacom Plus, the cross-media sales and marketing unit of Viacom based in New York, said that while product placements are not part of this accord, the relationship could eventually evolve into that marketing arena.

        “This is an ongoing partnership,” he said. “This is about sponsorships and straight commercial time.”

        The pact is a clear signal that P&G can expect enhanced marketing opportunities, said Dan Kiley, president of Retirement Capital Advisors, a Blue Ash-based firm that manages $445 million in retirement accounts of former P&G employees and their families.

        “From a cost perspective, they are going to get more bang for the buck,” he said.

        P&G markets about 300 brands to an estimated 5 billion consumers in 140 countries. Brands include Pantene Pro-V, Tide, Ariel, Crest, Pringles, Olay, Pampers and Vicks.

        Besides the television networks, Viacom properties include Showtime, Blockbuster, Simon & Schuster, Infinity Broadcasting and Paramount Pictures. Those assets are not part of the P&G deal.
       

Priceless profiles

        The demographic profiles that Viacom can provide could be priceless to P&G, particularly as younger consumers age and become parents themselves.

        “It's a master stroke on the company's part,” said Burt Flickinger, a former P&Ger now with the consulting firm Reach Marketing in Westport, Conn. “They really had to go a lot younger in terms of consumers.

        “When Pringles was bagged up for the boneyard, one thing that turned around Pringles from death's doorstep to a billion-dollar brand was going younger. That was a Viacom strategy — going for the 12- to 24-year-olds who watch MTV. It was very successful.”

        Companies recognize that getting consumers to try products is always the first step. The sooner that happens, the better for the company because if the experience is a good one, brand loyalty will last for decades — not just a few months or years.

        Consequently, finding those consumers early in their lives means advertising and marketing on television programs that appeal to them.

        “The first company to get the new generation of consumer will have a head start,” he said. “P&G already has a division studying teen-ager buying habits: what they like or what is cool.

        “This Viacom deal is another indication of how A.G. Lafley (P&G's chief executive) is willing to look outside the box to accomplish his goals.”

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