Procter & Gamble CEO Lafley's 35 Percent Digital Spend Quote Proves Correct

When Procter & Gamble Co. chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley said during a recent earnings call that his company spends up to 35 percent of its marketing budget on digital marketing, not a few analysts and observers expressed disbelief. After all, the consumer packaged goods industry puts more emphasis on TV and magazine advertising, lagging the wider market in terms of spending on digital. Also, Kantar Media data revealed the company spent 6.8 percent of its $2.9 billion media budget on online display advertising in 2012. A closer look at industry data, however, would reveal that Lafley’s figures were accurate.