This presentation is a short analysis of the Harvard Business School Study on Colgate. It aims to answer the marketing questions raised in the case.

1. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY:
THE PRECISION TOOTHBRUSH
HarvardBusinessSchoolCaseStudy

2. COMPANY BACKGROUND
In1991,ColgatePalmolivewasagloballeader
inhouseholdandpersonalcareproducts.

3. Anewproductnamed Colgate Precision tobelaunchedin1992.
DETAILS
Itwasdevelopedasatechnologicallysuperiortoothbrushforoverthreeyears.
Facinghighlycompetitivemarketwithsubstantialnewproductactivity.

4. PRODUCT SEGMENTS
VALUE PROFESSIONAL SUPER-PREMIUM
AVERAGE PRICE $1.29 $1.84 $2.59
UNIT VOLUME 24% 41% 35%
DOLLAR SALES 12% 42% 46%

5. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
Thebabyboomgenerationwasmoreconcernedregardinggums
Willingtopayapremiumforsuchproducts
82%purchaseswereunplanned
70%changedtheirbrusheswhenbristleswerevisiblyworn

6. MAIN REASONS TO USE A BRAND PERCENT OF CONSUMERS
FITS COMFORTABLY 63
BEST FOR HARD-TO-REACH
PLACES
52
SOFT BRISTLES 46
FIRM BRISTLES 36
DENTIST RECOMMENDATION 35
IMPORTANT PRODUCT IN ORAL
CARE
30
BASIS OF CONSUMERS’ DECISIONS

7. COMPETITORS

8. POINTS OF PARITY
Tripleactionbristles
Greateraccesstofrontandbackteeth
Clinicalplaque-removalefficacy
Betterhandledesign

9. ADVERTISING
AND
PROMOTION

10. Totalmediaspending(primarilyontelevision)totalledto$55millionin1992.
CRUCIAL POINTS
8%brushesreachedconsumers viafreechannels.
Whentoothbrush+toothpasteappearedinasingledisplay,salesincreasedby170%
Tomaximiseretailsales,ColgatelinewaslocatedbetweenReachandOral
productlines.

11. PRODUCT DESIGN
Longerouterbristles
-gumline
Longinnerbristles
-betweentheteeth
Shorterinnerbristles
-teethsurface
Superiorplaque
removaldesign
Moreeffectiveatthe
gumlineandbetween
theteeth

12. Problems to be addressed
POSITIONING BRANDING
COMMUNICATIONSTRATEGIES

13. POSITIONING

14. NICHE
PRODUCT
MAINSTREAM
PRODUCT
POSITIONING
OPTIONS

15. NICHE POSITIONING
PROS CONS
Targetedatcustomers concerned
aboutgumdisease.
Negligiblemarketshareattheend
ofthefirstyear.
Expectedtocapture3%oftheU.S.
toothbrushmarketbytheendof
firstyear.
Wouldbeprimarilycarriedbyfood
anddrugstores,hence,less
outreach.
NoneedforanyStockkeepingUnit
tobedropped.

16. MAINSTREAM POSITIONING
PROS CONS
Broaderappealofbeingthemost
effectivebrushavailable.
PossiblecannibalisationofColgate
Plus.
Expectedtocapture 10%ofthe
marketbytheendoffirstyear.
Pressureonproductionschedules
developedfornichepositioning.
Greaterproportionofsalesthrough
massmerchandisersandclub
stores.
Wouldrequiredroppingofoneor
moreexistingSKUs.

17. BRANDING

18. COLGATE
PRECISION
OR
PRECISION
BY COLGATE

19. ARGUMENTS
FORPRECISIONBYCOLGATE FORCOLGATEPRECISION
Executivesbelievedthe
productrepresented
‘bignews’,hence,itshould
standalone.Theyargued
thatPrecisionbe
emphasised.
ColgatePalmolive’s
statedcorporatestrategy
wastobuildontheColgate
brandequity.

20. COMMUNICATION AND
PROMOTION STRATEGIES

21. SURVEY
Fourconcepttests,conductedamong400adult
professionalbrushusers,18to54yearsofage.

22. SURVEY RESULTS
Atoothbrushcapableofpreventinggumdiseasesattractedmajorityofthetest
customers.
55%foundPrecisiontobedifferentthanitscompetitors.
77%claimedthatPrecisionwasmuchmoreeffectivethantheircurrentbrush.
Benefitofreducedgumdiseasewasmisinterpretedbyafew.
Themoreinformation customers received,thegreaterwastheirenthusiasmfor
Precision

23. RECOMMENDATIONS

24. On Positioning:
InitiallytobepositionedintheNichecategoryandlaterbewidened
tothemainstreamcategory.
ThiswouldhelpPrecisiontocreateitsbrandvalue
withoutcannibalising.
Theshiftwouldenhancethecustomerbaseasitwouldnowbechanneledthrough
massmerchandisersandclubstoresaswell.

25. On Branding:
PrecisionbyColgatewouldbeamoreprobableoptionasitwould-
1)limitthecannibalisationofColgatePlus-thebreadandbutterof Colgate.
2)builditsownbrandvalueinthemarket.

26. On Communication and promotions:
Aninformativepromotionalstrategyshouldbeadoptedbecausethesurvey
suggestedthatcustomers showedmoreinclinationwhentheyacquireddetails.
Instrongcompetitivemarkets-free5oz.tubeofpastewitheveryPrecision
purchase.
InstrongColgatemarkets-50% offonanysizeofColgatetoothpaste(uptoavalueof
$1)with50centscoupononthePrecisionbrush.

27. On advertising and promotion budget:
Category
Budget
(in millions)
Advertising $6.7
Promotion $4.5
Total $11.2

28. This presentationwascreatedbySimranBansal,Hindu
College,UniversityofDelhi,
duringamarketinginternshipunderProfessorSameer
Mathur,IIMLucknow.
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