P&G archives follow tastes

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

Procter & Gamble’s recently retired archivist made a career of preserving a company history that chronicled the nation’s consumer tastes.

“So many companies do not put the resources against preserving their history, and as a result, lose part of their soul,” Ed Rider told The Cincinnati Enquirer in an interview published Sunday.

“In P&G’s case, many times our consumers have been using our products longer than our brand managers have been alive. Our products have been part of their family for generations. So we, P&G, need to respect and honor that relationship.”

During his 32-year tenure, Rider and his staff sought out forgotten products that were used in the 18th and 19th centuries and paved the way for P&G’s influence.

The archives are used by brand managers worldwide as they build on the equity of company history and name brands including Tide, Pampers, Crest and Gillette.

According to Rider, the company archives provide a link between the product, the consumer and the company’s history.

“One way we encourage that is by preserving the history of that relationship — the advertising, the product samples, the promotions,” he said.

“So, for example, when a consumer calls and asks for the words to the original Mr. Clean jingle that they recall hearing on TV as a child, we should be able to give them that information.”

Without that link, Rider said customer loyalty could be damaged.

“If our answer is, ‘We don’t save Mr. Clean history,’ that would tell the consumer that we really don’t value all the years this consumer has been using our product,” Rider said.

Rider said the oddest item in the collection is movie-star hair clippings acquired when P&G purchased the Max Factor Co.

Its wig-making unit had to match wig hair to real hair and kept hair clippings in envelopes. “We preserved that collection, and now have hair clippings of stars including John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Elizabeth Taylor,” Rider said.

In June, Rider retired, handing over the job of P&G’s memory keeper to Shane Meeker, a former company designer and corporate storyteller.