Branding the Master Brander (A): Positioning Procter & Gamble's Employer Brand

Abstract

This case provides students with an opportunity to analyze and define a desired positioning for Procter & Gamble's (P&G's) US employer brand. In addition to enabling students to actively engage in assessing and creating a brand positioning, this case gives students a rare opportunity to analyze the type of brand image data that brand managers use. Considered highly confidential, few cases enable students to see and interpret such data. Finally, this case provides insight into a type of branding—employer branding—for which there is little public information as it has only recently come into vogue.

Excerpt

UVA-M-1004

Oct. 12, 2020

Branding the Master Brander (A):

Positioning Procter & Gamble's Employer Brand

On a beautiful spring morning in 2018, Jules Brès settled into his seat in the conference room at Procter & Gamble's (P&G's) Paris office. He could not help but admire the view of the River Seine outside the window. Gathered around the room were talent acquisition professionals from P&G's largest markets who had convened in Paris to develop P&G's two-year global talent acquisition strategy. At the top of the agenda was a very important topic for those in the room: the “P&G Global Employer Brand Positioning Assessment.” As the recently assigned global brand manager for P&G's employer brand, Brès was now responsible for managing one of P&G's most valuable brands: the company's own reputation with prospective and current employees. Despite being only a week into his new role, Brès knew from his discussions with Laura Mattimore, senior vice president of global talent, that he would be expected to answer the question on everyone's mind: How should the company be positioning P&G's employer brand to continue to attract, develop, and retain the world's brightest talent?

At the end of the session, Brès was approached by P&G's head of talent acquisition in the United States. “Jules, our team in the US would like to talk to you about how we could continue to strengthen our brand image among top business school candidates. I'd like to invite you to a meeting in Cincinnati in two weeks to share your thoughts.”

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Keywords: branding, Procter & Gamble, P&G