Procter and Gamble Targets Sports Fans with Competition series “The Other Games”

Procter & Gamble, a prominent Olympics sponsor, is launching an unscripted competition series called “The Other Games” on NBC’s Peacock streaming service ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The series aims to engage viewers in a similar must-see fashion as the Olympic Games.

P&G has enjoyed global marketing rights associated with the Olympics since 2010. However, the company is moving away from emotional ads spotlighting athlete support in favour of this new format. “The Other Games” will feature teams of comedians and influencers competing in challenges involving P&G products like Swiffer and Cascade. P&G is experimenting with a new format in an attempt to grasp the attention of younger audiences and explore new avenues to advertise its products.

Who is P&G?

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by British American businessman William Procter and Irish American businessman James Gamble, it provides branded consumer packaged goods to consumers across the world.

P&G has operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide and sells its products in over 180 countries. The company owns over 360 brands ranging from personal health to household care items. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Tide, Ariel, Pampers, Tampax, Always, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Old Spice, Dawn, Fairy, SK-II, Gillette, Braun, Fusion, and Oral-B.

With over 100,000 employees globally, P&G continues to build on its heritage of over 180 years. The company’s focus on product innovation, marketing, and corporate citizenship has enabled it to grow into one of the most successful consumer goods corporations in the world. P&G’s success can be attributed to its consistent efforts to understand consumers’ needs and deliver quality products that improve everyday lives.

Show to stream on Peacock

Procter and Gamble wants to attract sports fans by creating a show that will be as fun and exciting as the games themselves. While the firm has the

global rights to use the Olympics and the Games’ signature rings in its advertising since 2010, it is moving away from the ads and shifting focus to a new six-episode competition series instead. The show will stream on NBC’s Peacock streaming hub and will be called “The Other Games” with teams of comedians and influencers competing to win P&G products including Swiffer and Cascade. The show will debut on Peacock just before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The move to streaming platforms

Janet Fletcher, Senior Director of Sports Marketing at Procter & Gamble, stated that the company is experimenting to keep up with consumers who are moving to streaming video for entertainment and sports. She said: “We have to evolve our advertising to be relevant.” During an interview, Fletcher added “If you don’t adjust, you’re going to be an outdated model pretty quickly.” Procter & Gamble will continue running commercials during the Olympics that highlight specific brands, including Venus and Olay.

P&G will test its ability to engage Olympics fans through binge-watching as more advertisers address the significant migration of all types of televised sports to streaming platforms. While live sports broadcasts continue to attract large audiences sought by advertisers, it remains unclear if traditional commercials are the best promotional vehicle for younger audiences. In fact, even advertiser-supported streaming services run significantly fewer ads than linear channels.

During the Covid pandemic, NFL received additional viewership through Amazon through their ‘Thursday Night Football,’ and a new streaming only ‘Black Friday’ NFL game. Recently Netflix won a big deal for streaming of the NFL games on Christmas Day and Roku has closely acquired a little package of the Sunday games from Major League Baseball. As for Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, they are set to debut a streaming-based bundle called Venu that will grant users access to all the three companies’ portfolios of sporting events.

“The Other Games” and Kevin Hart

Procter is turning to Hartbeat, the production company owned by comedian and businessman Kevin Hart to come up with “The Other Games.” Hart will perform during the series that will be hosted by comedian Roy Wood Jr, who is a former correspondent on “The Daily Show.”

Nobody wants the show to be packed full of product placements. It is critical “to have the product to be the character rather than embody the plot”, as stated by Hartbeat’s EVP Adam Pulchalsky, who supervises brand-oriented production activities. Even other marketers, such as Pepsi and KFC, have attempted creating content; a game show on Fox and a mini-movie on Lifetime—part of marketers’ efforts to offer viewers something that they believe supplements their viewing experience instead of immersing it.

Influencers and P&G products to feature in the show

P&G’s products that will be featured in the show include fifteen different products from P&G. The challenges in the half hour show “Other Games” are based on other Olympic related events. Since competitors can no longer “curl” around the product, they can “swirl” around P&G’s Swiffer tool. Steeplechase may be alluded to with a “Tide Stain Games.” And a ‘‘dish-cus’’ which will involve washing dishes with Cascade will replace the discus competitions. Some contestants are social media personalities. Melissa Tovar is a lifestyle and skincare content creator, and Octavia Outlaw is a fashion influencer.

Indeed, “The Other Games” is far from being the first time the American multinational consumer goods firm has ventured into content creation. The company was renowned for marketing ‘soap operas’ including ‘Guiding Light’ and ‘As the World Turns’ for many years, and ‘The Gates,’ a new CBS soap opera. P&G has over the years also attempted to produce clips that are equally eye grabbing as the programs that they interrupt. In 2006, when a new network called the CW started, P&G created content wraps-the short segments that aired before the commercial break that contained hair care tips and glimpses of Procter & Gamble’s beauty line.

Even a custom show like ‘The Other Games’ that a streamer like Netflix or Hulu might run could be looked at in terms of completion rates or minutes watched. P&G is interested to see how much attention the new show will receive and whether the program creates an avenue to sell more products, and not just the ones advertised in the show.

But if “The Other Games” is appealing, P&G could use the format in the future, particularly in the 2028 Olympics that is going to be held in Los Angeles.

Trade P&G with IronFX

To get into Procter and Gamble shares with Contracts for Difference, you can familiarise yourself with the stock market by accessing online resources and signing up with a reliable broker. IronFX has years of experience in trading CFDs and provides exceptional educational resources. If you would like to learn more about trading opportunities and CFDs, please head over to IronFX’s website where you can explore articles and the broker’s wide variety of services.

Exención de responsabilidad:
Esta información no debe considerarse asesoramiento o recomendación sobre inversiones, sino una comunicación de marketing. IronFX no se hace responsable de datos o información de terceros en esta comunicación, ya sea por referencia o enlace.