Product details

Procter & Gamble reorganized its operations and created Global Business Units with Market Development Organizations (MDO) to augment the brand strategy work. This reorganization supported changes in culture that included reasonable risk taking. The marketing director of Procter & Gamble Canada was evaluating the potential success of launching a new product, Febreze, by using volume analysis resources available to her. The results indicated that Febreze would be a relatively small business opportunity, but the model could not take into account the various new MDO marketing tools that were not yet available. To justify the cost of launching the product, revenues would have to be significantly more than the volume model predicted. While trying to adjust to the new culture, she had to evaluate the risks associated with launching the product not knowing if the new tools would generate the additional volumes needed, and the risk of losing the competitive edge if she postponed the launch. A 30-minute video, product is also available. The second case in this series, Procter & Gamble Canada (B): The Canadian MDO discusses the strategy behind the changes and the implications to the Canadian group.