Colgate Palmolive : The Precision Toothbrush case study analysis

1. Colgate-Palmolive :
The Precision toothbrush

2. Company profile
 Colgate-Palmolive (CP) was the global leader in household and oral
care products.
 CP emphasised on new product launches
 CP looked to extend its market share worldwide
 CP held 43 % of the world’s toothpaste market and 16 % of the world
toothbrush market

3. Stakeholders
 Reuben Mark , CP’s CEO
 Susan Steinberg , Precision product
manager
 Nigel Burton , division general
manager

4. Situation
 In August 1992,Colgate-Palmolive(CP)was poised
to launch a new toothbrush in the United States,
tentatively named COLGATE PRECISION.
 Susan Steinberg, Precision Product Manager had
to recommend Positioning, Branding and
communication Strategies for “The Precision”.

5. The US toothbrush market
Colgate, 26%
Oral B, 23%
J&J, 22%
Lever, 6%
P&G, 2%
Aqua fresh, 5%
Others, 16%
MARKET SHARE

6. Product segmentation

7. Consumer Analysis
Therapeutic
brushers
•Aim to avoid oral care
problems
•85 % brush at least twice
a day
•Oral B angle, Colgate
Plus
Cosmetic
brushers
•Aim to prevent bad
breath/ to get white
teeth
•85 % brush twice a day
•Colgate classic, Oral B
regular
Uninvolved
consumers
•Use only when
confronted by oral
hygiene problems
•20 % brush once a day
or less
•Colgate classic, Oral B
regular

8. Competitors’ Analysis
 Oral B : 27 SKUs , relied on professional endorsements ,
tagline : “ Dentist’s toothbrush”, introduced Indicator
toothbrush
 Johnson and Johnson : invested on innovations to design
its product in a more , enabled customers to brush in
hard-to-reach places
 Procter & Gamble : had long, rippled bristles of different
lengths designed to reach between teeth , it marketed
using the theme “ Teeth aren’t flat , so why is your brush”
 Smithline Beecham : looked to develop brushes with
flexible handles that allowed for gentle brushing, also
invested on good promotional plans

10. •Incentives offered
by other brands
•Dynamic nature
of market
• Health conscious
customers
• Super premium segment
can help in increasing
market share
• Cannibalism of
Colgate Plus
• Lack of dental
endorsement
• Media
expenditure is
less
• Leader in oral
care products
• Volume market
share of 22.2%
• Extensive
overseas reach
Strength Weakness
ThreatOpportunities

11. Product design
 CP developed a unique brush with bristles of three different lengths
and orientations
 The brush achieved a 35% increase in plaque removal
 The longer inner bristles cleaned between the inner truth
 The longer outer bristles cleaned around the gum line
 The shorter bristles cleaned the teeth surface
 CP emphasised on developing a superior, technical plaque-
removing device

13. Niche
positioning
strategy
Mainstream
positioning
strategy

14. Mainstream positioning
1.Broader appeal of being
the most effective brush in
the market
2.Can achieve 10%
increase in market share
3. Can result in increase in
sales and consequently
higher revenue generation
1.Could lead to
cannibalism of other
products such as Colgate
Plus to an extent of about
20%
2.Could also result in
adequate supply of
product due to increased
demand.

15. Niche positioning
1.Can command a higher
price and enable targeting
high end customers
2.Can be later extended to
mainstream positioning also
3. The effect of cannibalism
into CP’s other products
can be avoided
1.Less revenue will be
generated compared to
mainstream positioning
because the target market
is small
2.Will reach out to limited
section of consumers

17. Colgate or
precision?
Stressing precision would limit
cannibalism
If Colgate was stressed, they
could make use of the brand
equity that Colgate has
managed to develop over the
years

18. Advertising
and
Promotion

19.  Colgate should market consumers using
statistics they have developed out of tests,
which proves that Precision is 35% better
than other products in Plaque removal
 Conduct surveys with sample audience and
show their results
 Market their product by endorsing top
dentists
 Consider an increased market budget for
Precision but also keep intact the budget
allocated for Colgate Plus

21. Positioning
 Initially Positioning Precision as Niche
Toothbrush and later broadening to
mainstream positioning would help the
product gain sufficient recognition by
avoiding cannibalization and would ensure
additional capacity once it enters the
mainstream.
 Broadening into the mainstream positioning
would enhance greater proportion of sales
which would now also occur through mass
merchandisers and club stores apart from
the food and drug stores.

22. Branding
 “Precision By Colgate "would be more prominent as it would reduce
cannibalization of Colgate Plus-which is the bread and butter of
CP’s toothbrush line and secure its market position.
 Placing The Precision at the center of the Brushes in the storage
shelves would ensure easy acceptance due to the prevalence of
the Brand at the same time-give it a unique stand.

23. Communication strategy
 Investing a little more on Advertising and Promotion would not do
much harm as it shall give a head start to this potential product
 There must be several Consumer promotions to back the launch for
the mainstream positioning as this will attract a lot more potential
buyers.
 Endorsing and dentists and marketing through them would be
better as it provides some credibility.

25. Disclaimer
 Prepared by Bharath Jaikumar , GEC Thrissur , during the course of a
marketing internship under Professor Sameer Mathur.