P&G to put marketing expertise online

Procter & Gamble is to make the benefit of its 160 years of marketing experience available to other companies, through a venture that puts this expertise on to the internet.

Procter & Gamble is to make the benefit of its 160 years of marketing experience available to other companies, through a venture that puts this expertise on to the internet.

The US consumer products giant that is behind brands such as Pampers and Pringles, has joined forces with Worldwide Magnifi, a provider of web-based marketing software, to set up a stand-alone business. "The category we are creating is going to be huge. We intend to lead and dominate that category," said Hunter Hastings, chairman and chief executive of the new company, provisionally called Project EMM. The companies said that the market for EMM (enterprise marketing management) would grow to $2bn-$5bn (£1.3bn-£3.3bn) over the next few years.

P&G said that it had considered setting up a marketing consultancy but decided that an internet-based approach would have a greater impact. Worldwide Magnifi is to provide the technological infrastructure, including its web hosting centres and broadband internet access.

Mr Hunter said the move was a response to three trends. Firstly, brands are increasingly marketed globally, rather than on a country-by-country basis. Secondly, marketing teams are dispersed as never before, geographically and within companies. Lastly, the speed of a product launch is becoming more crucial. P&G has made an unspecified financial investment in EMM and will be a "significant" minority shareholder. Coca-Cola, Philips, the electronics group, and P&G have already signed up as EMM clients.