Case Study from Harvard Business School, while interning under Professor Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow

1. COLGATE &
PALMOLIVE
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CASE STUDY

2. THE BRAND LOGO
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3. The COLGATE PALMOLIVE is an American diversified
multinational corporation which operates in
1.INNOVATION
2. PRODUCTION
3.DISTRIBUTION
of household, healthcare, and personal products
COMPANY OVERVIEW
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4. FOUNDED: 1806
FOUNDER: WILLIAM COLGATE
HEADQUARTERS: 300 PARK AVENUE, NYC, NEW YORK
PRODUCTS: CLEANING AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS
REVENUE: 16.034 BILLION DOLLARS (2015)
NO. OF EMPLOYES: 37,900
WEBSITE: http://www.colgatepalmolive.com/
COMPANY OVERVIEW
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5. COMPANY HISTORY
In 1806, William Colgate introduced starch, soap and candle factory on
Dutch Street in New York City under the name of William Colgate &
Company.
In 1857, William Colgate died and the company was reorganized as Colgate
& Company; under the management of Samuel Colgate, & his son.
In 1873, the firm introduced its first toothpaste, an aromatic toothpaste sold
in jars.
In 1896, His company sold the first toothpaste in a tube, Colgate Ribbon
Dental Cream
In 1928, "PalmolivePeet" bought the Colgate Company to create the
ColgatePalmolivePeet Company.
In 1953, "Peet" was dropped from the title, leaving only "ColgatePalmolive
Company", the current name.
Today Colgate has numerous subsidiary organizations spanning 200
countries, but it is publicly listed in only two, the United States and India.
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6. FUTURE
STRATEGIES ON
4P'S
Colgate tries to position some
innovative toothpaste with a brand
name other than Colgate but under
the name of Colgate-Palmolive.
Colgate came up with the idea of
producing the products in sachets
and distributing in rural areas who
buy in small amounts.
Developing the ayurvedic tooth
powder keeping in mind of the
rural people and rural consumers.
1. PRODUCT
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7. Colgate pricing is done based
on the production costs
including the warehousing and
transport costs.
One main concern about the
Colgate Precision was if it was
treated as mainstream
toothbrush then it would lead
to cannibalization of the
Colgate Plus.
FUTURE
STRATEGIES ON
4P'S
2. PRICE
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8. Advertising through T.V Media
and Newspaper Media.
FM Radios and other Radios.
Hoardings on the Highways
and National Highways.
Use Dentists to sample
consumers and make them buy
Colgate Products.
FUTURE
STRATEGIES ON
4P'S
3. PROMOTION
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9. Colgate would try to increase
product penetration in the
rural population.
Colgate would try to increase
the number of wholesalers in
the rural
areas.
FUTURE
STRATEGIES ON
4P'S
4. PLACE
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10. SWOT
ANALYSIS
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11. STRENGTHS
It has high brand recall & visibility, excellent advertising and brand
visibility of products with a strong customer loyalty.
It offers a wide variety of oral care and personal care products.
It is operating in more than 200 countries and has a strong financial
performance.
It has achieved to penetrate into the market and hold its shares.
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12. WEAKNESS
With large number of companies fighting in personal & oral
care segment, the market has become saturated & there is little
scope for growth.
The majority of its properties are on rent basis hence high
operation costs and hence low profits.
Colgate has limited brands under a particular product category and
they have limited offerings under different segments.
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13. OPPORTUNITIES
Stretching their product line can create offerings and hence
increase their values.
Tapping the rural market in developing countries can reap
profits for the company.
Strengthening the company by mergers or acquisitions.
People need to be made aware of the optimum usage rate for these
products so that the market utilizes the product as forecasted by the
company. This can happen only through advertising /word of mouth
/doctor prescription.
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14. THREATS
Since there is high competition the margins are dropping and
companies have to give more discount on the products to sustain
the market.
Increase in the price of raw material in one factor that would
increase the price of the product.
Colgate had to face Ethical issues as an Organisation stated that
Colgate was using animal testing which affected the market.
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15. PROMOTION TOOLS
Increasing in the circumference of the tube.
Free Dental checkups in mobile vans.
Free dental check-ups whenever wherever needed.
Offers like Learn and Earn were introduced.
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16. CONCEPT OF
ADVERTISEMENTS
The Colgate Company used Slogan was "It cleans your
breath while it cleans your teeth".
The 1960s onwards, the slogan was "The Colgate ring of
confidence“.
In the late 1950's and early 1960's, Colgate stressed the fact
their "Dental Cream contained Gardol", a formula that
helped protect teeth from cavities and tooth decay.
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17. PRODUCT
CATEGORIES
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18. COMPETITORS
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19. The Colgate-Palmolive case involves the Precision
toothbrush, which was entered into the market in 1993
by Colgate-Palmolive.
This marketing plan summarizes the company’s
situation at the time the Precision toothbrush was
introduced, and the different marketing strategies
that we believe would be best for Colgate-Palmolive
and their new toothbrush
SUMMARY- SITUATION
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20. The marketing strategies include proposed strategies
involving product, price, place, and promotion.
Colgate toothbrush is the leader within the product category
holding 36.2% of the market or $1,114,137,768 in sales.
Colgate has a vast product line of toothbrush and many are
less than a decade old. While others date back over thirty
years and the original is over one hundred years old.
Therefore, it is imperative to keep Colgate’s brands fresh but
maintain a rich history of quality products.
SUMMARY- MARKETING
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21. The target market for Colgate toothbrush is Black and Hispanic
individuals age 18-35, with several children aged 7 and
younger.
Colgate commits millions of dollars to community programs and
the ADA’s “Give A Kid A Smile” Program. It has established
Colgate Smile a social network, an interactive iPhone app,
Facebook page, Twitter account and MySpace page.
Colgate is committed to Reducing Environmental Impacts (REI)
around the world. Colgate is not the leader with regard to
technological advancement within category.
SUMMARY- MARKETING
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