P&G’s Future Friendly: Making Conservation Second Nature

Situation Analysis

Most consumers want to lead an environmentally-friendly lifestyle but are often confused or skeptical about “green” products. This sustainable mainstream, which accounts for ~70% of consumers, won’t sacrifice price or performance for environmental benefits and look for products that don’t require compromise.*

With this in mind, P&G’s Future Friendly initiative was launched in the U.S. in 2010 to bring together the power of trusted brands like Tide, PUR and Cascade for a simple mission: to help mainstream consumers save water, save energy and reduce waste at home. Products marketed under the Future Friendly banner feature specific, easy to understand claims around water savings, energy savings or waste reduction. Unlike other green brands which focus on the chemical composition of their products, Future Friendly demonstrates how product performance and consumer use can enable tangible benefits and conserve natural resources. PainePR worked closely with the brand to ensure Future Friendly’s unique take on environmental performance was clearly communicated to consumers and stakeholders in a relevant manner that demonstrated P&G’s commitment to environmental responsibility.

Objectives

The following objectives were established for the program:

  1. Successfully launch the Future Friendly brand in the U.S. in a way that resonates with consumers, media, green opinion leaders and retailers.
  2. Ensure the credibility and authenticity of all Future Friendly marketing activities.
  3. Secure 1 billion+ media impressions, with 90% positive-neutral tone of media coverage.
  4. Drive social media engagement and “likes” of Future Friendly Facebook page.
  5. Get consumers to make a specific pledge to reduce their use of energy, water or waste at home.

Strategy & Execution

Through all elements of the program, PainePR sought to position the brand as an education platform, not an eco-label. In addition to crafting strategic partnerships with environmental organizations to bolster credibility and creating signature “moments” to drive communications, a wealth of education content was developed to show consumers the simple steps they can take to save energy, save water and reduce waste in their homes.

Internal Alignment – Worked with P&G corporate team to sync the Future Friendly brand platform with company’s established sustainability strategies. Due to Future Friendly representing a multi-brand initiative reaching across several business units, a communications toolkit was developed and distributed to all P&G PR leaders to ensure knowledge and message consistency.

Third Party Review – Facilitated third party verification of all environmental benefit-related product claims with NSF International, a non-profit, non-governmental product certification leader. A Sustainability External Advisory Panel, comprised of a cross-section of leaders in sustainable business practices, was also assembled to advise the brand on key program elements.

Official Launch Moment – Launched the brand in the U.S. by securing speaking opportunity for P&G North America Group President Melanie Healey at The Economist’s 2010 Corporate Citizenship Conference in New York. The speaking appearance coincided with the national distribution of the Future Friendly launch press release, a robust New York media tour with Tier One media and an editor briefing with retail trade media.

National Kick-Off Event – Recognized the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with 260,000 consumers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as sponsor of Earth Day Network’s signature U.S. celebration. In addition to music from today’s leading bands and speeches by entertainers and politicians, the event featured prominent Future Friendly branding, education exhibits, multimedia stations, roaming brand ambassadors and on-stage remarks by P&G VP of Global Sustainability Len Sauers. To engage prominent green influencers and potentially important brand advocates, Future Friendly was also the exclusive sponsor of the backstage VIP tent. The tent served as the rest stop for all on-stage presenters, housed roundtable discussions on environmental topics and acted as the staging ground for filming Future Friendly/Earth Day Network PSAs with celebrity attendees and influencers.

Online Campaign – Motivated target consumers to adopt sustainable behaviors through the “Future Friendly Challenge” on Facebook. The “Challenge” asks consumers to make specific pledges to reduce energy, water or waste at home, with every pledge resulting in one day of clean drinking water donated through the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program. Future Friendly was also the exclusive social media sponsor of Earth Day Network’s Billion Acts of Green, a global grassroots campaign to inspire consumers to take simple actions that help the planet.

Educating the Public – Formed partnership with National Geographic to develop online education content showcasing the myriad ways consumers can save energy, save water and reduce waste in their homes. Additionally, the PR team facilitated the development of the Find Your Footprint (FYF) in-school education program. This multimedia education program helps students identify ways to reduce their school’s use of water, energy and waste

Employee Communications – Engaged P&G employees during company Earth Week activities and sustainability fair. Future Friendly sponsored a presentation by National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen and had kiosks available for P&G employees to pledge to reduce their use of energy, water or waste

Ongoing Media & Influencer Engagement – Continued post-launch engagement efforts through long lead editor event, brand activations at the BlogHer conference and social media partnership with leading engagement platform, SheSpeaks. Additionally, Future Friendly and P&G hosted NGOs, media and business influencers at a side event celebrating sustainability partners and P&G commitments to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Results

  • Future Friendly received an overwhelmingly positive response from consumers, media, influencers and retailers alike. Media recognized Future Friendly as a continuation of P&G’s commitment to environmental responsibility and the company’s attempt to engage consumers on environmental issues.
  • The brand doubled its goal by garnering more than 2 billion media impressions in 2010, including coverage in key media outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Huffington Post, Fox Business, Greenbiz.com, Triple Pundit, Grist and Environmental Leader among others. The tone of coverage was 95%+ positive/neutral.
  • Partnerships with known entities like Earth Day Network, National Geographic and the Clinton Global Initiative provided immediate credibility and opportunities to engage opinion makers.
  • The establishment of the external advisory panel and NSF International claims review provided accountability and showcased P&G’s authentic commitment to educating the public on environmental issues.
  • Future Friendly secured 46,000 “likes” on Facebook, 2,700 Tweets and reached 500,000 consumers via SocialVibe.com. Additionally, more than 24,000 consumer pledges were made through the Future Friendly Challenge, with thousands more coming to the Earth Day Network “Billion Acts of Green” campaign through Future Friendly-sponsored social media tools.