Several big consumer-products manufacturers -- including Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Kimberly-Clark and Clorox -- are ready to spend heavily to convince consumers to try their "new and
improved," premium-priced products ranging from diapers to toothpastes to razors, Ellen Byron and Suzanne Vranica report.
P&G plans a 20% increase in "consumer impressions" during the
fiscal year ending June 30. Colgate CEO Ian Cook told analysts at a conference in February that advertising would grow both on an absolute basis and as a ratio to sales. Kimberly-Clark CMO said in
March that there would be "a significant uptick in our marketing investment."
It may be a tough sell. "You saw consumers trade down" to cheaper products due to the recession, and they
were "quite satisfied," says Bill Pecoriello, CEO of Consumer Edge Research LLC.
"For many years, any hint of price was a no-no. It was all about generating emotional connections,"
says Eli Portnoy, chief brand strategist at Portnoy Group. "Now you're going to have to work harder to convince me that I'm getting much more value by trading up."
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