OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2015. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) will kick off its first year as presenting sponsor of the 2015 Cincinnati Music Festival (CMF) by encouraging the Midwest to Share the Rhythm through reinvigorating their relationship with community and culture.

Now in it’s 53rd year, CMF has grown into the nation's second-largest, annual rhythm and blues (R&B) music festival, attracting more than 50,000 people from across the country annually with leading R&B, jazz, soul and hip-hop artists. With their CMF retail partner, The Kroger Co., P&G’s partnership confirms its significance to the city of Cincinnati and presents an opportunity to establish it as the premier festival in the Midwest.

“Procter & Gamble is proud to partner with The Kroger Co. to celebrate our community and encourage the Midwest to Share the Rhythm at the 2015 Cincinnati Music Festival,” said William P. Gipson, Senior Vice President, P&G Global Diversity. “Sharing your rhythm with others is important to maintain a connection with community. We look forward to providing brand experiences that foster empowerment, inspiration and celebrates families, communities and businesses during the festival weekend.”

During the two-day festival, P&G’s My Black is Beautiful platform, brands – Charmin, Bounty, Tide, Crest, COVERGIRL, Pantene and Olay – and retail partner, The Kroger Co., will show attendees how to share their rhythm through engaging experiences at the Paul Brown Stadium, which include Patio Spa COVERGIRL & Olay mini make-up touch-ups; opportunities to pose and show how you Share the Rhythm in the Crest Photo booth; live music performances provided by Tide that highlight local talent; an Elementz dance performance provided by Bounty, showing you how to bring it; and a Charmin bathroom take-over so you can enjoy the go.

In recognizing the importance of celebrating our community, P&G is uniting with local partners Santangelo Group, 3CDC and Radio One to foster natural connections that will drive more awareness, excitement and local participation. P&G will also continue to encourage patrons to Share the Rhythm during the Women’s Empowerment Expo, of which they also serve as the presenting sponsor. The Women’s Empowerment Expo provides another opportunity to excite and empower community participation during the official daytime kick-off to CMF. Taking place the same weekend as the festival, on July 25th, at the Duke Energy Center, P&G will leverage the Women’s Empowerment Expo to connect attendees with their favorite beauty, home care and personal care products through sampling and empowering expert panels and main stage moments.

“The Kroger Co. is proud to be the retail partner of Procter & Gamble for the 2015 Cincinnati Music Festival,” said Sukanya Madlinger, President, Kroger Cincinnati/Dayton Division. “Like Procter & Gamble, we are committed to bringing hope and inspiration to the communities we serve, beginning with our employees who reflect the diversity of our customers and communities. We are excited to promote economic, social and cultural development that will extend beyond the festival weekend.”

The Cincinnati Music Festival Presented by P&G is co-promoted by The Santangelo Group and Ohio Valley Entertainment. Since its inception in 1962 at the Carthage Fair Grounds, the festival has resided at Crosley Field, Riverfront Stadium and Cinergy Field, and now, at the Paul Brown Stadium.

The Cincinnati Music Festival Presented by P&G will take place July 24 – 25, 2015 and will feature performers Maxwell, Jennifer Hudson, The O’Jays, Joe Luke James, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly, Jill Scott, Kem, Avery Sunshine and Mali Music.

To purchase tickets, visit http://www.ticketmaster.com. For more information about the Cincinnati Music Festival Presented by P&G, please visit http://www.cincymusicfestival.com.

Start the Cincinnati Music Festival celebration by telling us how you share your rhythm with P&G products available at Kroger on social media, using hashtags #cincymusicfest and #sharetherhythm.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella® and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Kroger

Kroger, one of the world's largest retailers, employs nearly 400,000 associates who serve customers in 2,626 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Harris Teeter, Jay C, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's. The company also operates 780 convenience stores, 327 fine jewelry stores, 1,342 supermarket fuel centers and 37 food processing plants in the U.S. Recognized by Forbes as the most generous company in America, Kroger supports hunger relief, breast cancer awareness, the military and their families, and more than 30,000 schools and community organizations. Kroger contributes food and funds equal to 200 million meals a year through more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber's Million Dollar Club.

About The Santangelo Group

The Santangelo Group, led by Owner Joe Santangelo, has promoted or co-promoted the Cincinnati Music Festival at Paul Brown Stadium since 2005. Prior to that, they promoted the Festival as the Macy's Music Festival, the Coors Light Music Festival, the Kool Jazz Festival and the Ohio Valley Music Festival stretching back to 1962. In addition to the Cincinnati Music Festival, The Santangelo Group promotes the Hampton Jazz Festival in Hampton, VA.

About Ohio Valley Entertainment (OVE)

OVE, an arm of the Cincinnati Bengals, is an entertainment company created to co-promote the Cincinnati Music Festival in 2006. In addition to its involvement in the Cincinnati Music Festival, OVE has promoted other events at Paul Brown Stadium, including the 2012 Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw "Brothers of the Sun" tour.