Design at P&G

"Designed to Sell: Procter & Gamble
Claudia Kotchka holds Procter & Gamble's new secret to driving customer sales: infusing innovation into brands.
By Julia Chang

When Claudia Kotchka wants to prove the impact of good design, she likes to show, not tell. This means the Procter & Gamble executive has found herself on occasion roaming the corridors of the consumer products giant's Cincinnati offices with tchotchkes on hand to show off to her colleagues.

One of her favorites is a pair of measuring cups. The first is a basic plastic one she bought from Wal-Mart. She shows it to unsuspecting executives and asks them how they would change it. Most would look at it and say that it functioned exactly how it was supposed to, so could you even improve upon it? Then Kotchka would take out a second measuring cup, this time one from OXO, the household goods manufacturer known for its innovative design. This one has an angled surface that lets you see from the top how much liquid is going in--this way, the user no longer has to stop pouring to lift the cup and check the measurement. "It has such a better consumer experience. Then the lightbulbs would go off," says Kotchka, vice president of design innovation and strategy. "Once you see it, you say, 'Oh why didn't someone think of this before?' They are great examples [of good design] you can readily understand." .... '