PR has long touted its role in boosting sales. But a major research project by P&G has given the claim unprecedented clout.
In 2004, when Hans Bender, manager of external relations for global household care at Procter & Gamble, came to work in its corporate offices in Cincinnati, he had a suggestion for global external relations officer Charlotte Otto. The time had come, he said, to quantify the effectiveness of P&G's brand PR efforts. Otto's response: "This has been a ...