7. Major New Products in the Super-Premium Toothbrush Segment
Product/
MANUFAC
TURER
Feature Benefit Reason Tag-line Launch
date
SKUs
Oral-B
Indicator
ORAL-B
(GILLETTE)
Indicator
Bristles
Tells you
when to
change
toothbrush
Blue band
fades
halfway.
Dental
heritage
Dental
heritage
The brand
more
dentists use
7/91 4 adult
Reach
Advanced
Design
JOHNSON
&JOHNSON
Angled
neck; raised
rubber
ridges on
handle
Cleans in
even the
hardest-to-
reach places
Slimmed
down,
tapered
head
Feel the
difference
8/91 3 adult
Crest
Complete
PROCTER &
GAMBLE
Rippled
bristle
design.
Handle with
rubber grip
Reaches
between
teeth like a
dental tool
Rippled
endrounded
bristles
Only Crest
could make
a brush this
complete
8/91 (test)
9/92
(national)
10 adult
Aquafresh
Flex
SMITHKLINE
BEECHAM
Pressure
sensitive,
flexible
neck linking
brush and
Prevents
gum
irritation
Flexes as
you brush
For gentle
dental care
8/91 (Flex)
9/92 (line
extension)
6 adult
and 1 child
10. CHANGES IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
• Customer choice changed from Performance benefits rather than
price.
• Brand choice-Feature, comforts and professional recommendations.
• New products-Aesthetic features and technical performance
improvement.
• Customer preference-Soft bristle from firm bristle.
• Toothbrush replacement frequency --once in 8.6 months in1990
to 7.5 months in 1991
16. Launch of Precision in Niche Market
PROS
• New market for Colgate in Super Premier brand.
• No SKU’s needed to be dropped.
• If failure of the product ,there will be no harm to
present market of Colgate.
• It could command 15% price premium due to Colgate
brand image and can capture 3% of the total market
share of USA.
17. CONS
• Per unit cost of the precision is high.
• If placed in mainstream market ,it could
capture 10% of the market share .Very
high in comparison to position it to niche
market.
• Less revenue generation.
18. Launch of Precision in Mainstream Market
PROS
• Most retail stores are under a mainstream position
rather than a niche position.
• Greater proportion of sales would occur through mass
Marketing.
• It will generate more revenue and capture larger market
Share and volume in comparison to niche market.
• It would in return increase name recognition for
Colgate.
19. CONS
• A mainstream position would probably lead to the reduction
and removal of one or more SKU’s.
• The prices for the Precision and other brushes would be equal.
• Equal prices would then lead to increased competition, which
in return could cause prices to go up.
• It could also lead to the cannibalization of Colgate-Palmolive’s
other super-premium toothbrush, the Colgate Plus.
21. • Executives believed that Product should stand alone and the
precision brand name should be emphasized.
• Stressing Precision as opposed to Colgate would limit the extent
of cannibalization of Colgate Plus.
• Emphasizing the Colgate name on the new Precision toothbrush
would cause additional cannibalization of the existing Colgate
toothbrushes - estimated at 20%.
23. Free 5 oz. tube of Colgate
toothpaste with the purchase
of a Precision brush
Used dentists to sample
consumers since
professional endorsements
In-home usage tests50%-off offer on any Colgate
toothpaste with a 50¢ coupon
on the Precision brush
Consumer research
Concept and tests
24. RECOMMENDATION
• Product should be launched in niche market in starting
and after sometime in mainstream market because it
will give long term profit.
• As the Precision gains popularity, CP should use some
of the advertising and marketing expenditures for
Premium lines to advance Super Premium brush in
the mainstream.
• Capture the market share away from the competitor in
both Super Premium and Premium lines by pricing
Super Premium product below the competitors.
25. • Keeping price low will help in to serve more consumer.
• Advertised as a better brush in comparison to its close
Competitors.
• Target therapeutic and cosmetic brushers.
• Promotion-invest industry-standard amounts of capital
for the new toothbrush promotion target youth and
dentist majorly.
26. DISCLAIMER
Created by Deep Mistry SVNIT Surat, during a marketing
internship under Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow.
