P&G puts data and AI at the center to win the new media reality
Procter & Gamble is reworking its brand-building playbook around data and AI as the path to purchase splinters across retail media, CTV, social, e-commerce, and in-store touchpoints.
"Retailers are becoming media platforms and media platforms are becoming retailers... The consumer path to purchase is changing every day, is nonlinear and littered with millions of possible distractions," said P&G President and CEO Shailesh Jejurikar on the company's recent earnings call. "We expect an even more intense pace of change in the next three to five years."
Why this matters for marketers
P&G isn't treating AI as a side project. It's using an "enormous wealth of consumer data" - from product and shopper research to social posts and brand fan sites - and applying AI to distill signal from noise.
The goal: a unifying brand idea that guides claims, demonstrations, and visuals across every touchpoint - connected and broadcast TV, online video, social, retail media, e-commerce product pages, and the store shelf.
Inside P&G's playbook
- Mine broad data signals: traditional research, social chatter, and fan communities feed continuous insight discovery.
- Use AI to speed insight-to-creative: generative tools help teams surface consumer-relevant angles at each step of the journey.
- Anchor everything to a clear brand idea: keep claims and demos consistent across CTV, online video, social, retail media, e-commerce, and in-store.
- Lean into retail media: treat it as a brand and demand channel, not just bottom-funnel.
The numbers, briefly
For fiscal Q2 2026, net sales rose 1% year over year to $22.2 billion, with softness in the U.S. market. P&G maintained guidance for full-year sales growth of 1% to 5% (fiscal year ends in June).
What to do next (practical steps)
- Audit your signals: combine first-party data with social listening and niche community inputs for richer context.
- Sharpen the brand idea: write a one-sentence promise that informs claims, demos, and visual language across all media.
- Operationalize AI: use it for insight synthesis, message testing, and creative variations - with human review and clear governance.
- Upgrade retail media: align creative to product benefits, test audiences and placements, and track incrementality beyond last-click.
- Close the loop: ensure your e-commerce content and in-store messaging match what people saw in CTV and social.
- Upskill your team: build hands-on AI capability for day-to-day marketing workflows.
Helpful resources
- IAB guidance on retail media strategy
- CAGNY conference updates (where Jejurikar plans to share more on P&G's approach)
Level up your team's AI skills
- AI courses by job function - find marketing-focused tracks
- AI certification for marketing specialists
The takeaway is simple: more channels, more distractions, same goal. Use data to spot what matters, use AI to move faster, and let a single brand idea glue it all together across the full path to purchase.
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