Procter & Gamble’s Febreze air fresheners just joined the billion-dollar brand club. It’s the 24th P&G brand to reach $1 billion in annual sales, an elite club that includes Pampers, Tide and Pantene — the mainstays of 70% of the company’s sales yielding $79 billion last year.

Febreze’s success may come as something of a surprise (especially if you go by the somewhat geeky campaign above) in a cash-challenged consumer environment where purchases of more expensive detergent, shampoo and even toilet paper are generally down — unless you're paying attention to moms who blog and exchange tips on social media.Continue reading...

Procter & Gamble, arguably the world's most adept branding organization, is simply not content with the status quo.

As we've reported, P&G has lofty ambitions to grow its business internationally, beyond its traditionally strong roots in the U.S.and Europe. In fact, P&G is eying developing countries such as Brazil and China for future sales revenue.

Add brand acquisitions to P&G's wish list. "I'd love to buy more global brands," P&G CEO Bob McDonald tells Bloomberg. "The climate for acquisitions is good, the climate for mergers is good," McDonald said.Continue reading...