This is a case study on Colgate-Palmolive: The Precision Toothbrush done under the guidance of Professor Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow for Marketing Management internship.

1. Case Study
ON

2. History of “The Precision”
• Found in 1806 by William Colgate, an English
manufacturer.
• It began as a starch, soap and candle store in New York
City and as the soaps, made out of olives and olive oils
gained fame, the company’s name became, Colgate-
Palmolive.
• The brand began developing products for grooming and
beauty.
• It was in August of 1992, they were poised to launch a
toothbrush in the U.S. tentatively named “The Precision”
toothbrush.

3. Marketplace
Baby boom generation became
more concerned about health
issues pertaining to their gums.
They started looking for products
based on features and
recommendations.
That is where Colgate made its entry
into the tooth and gum market.

4. Consumer Segmentation

6. Battles by Colgate (apart from cavities)
Oral-B was endorsed as “the dentist’s toothbrush” with heavy
advertising and remains one of the biggest competitions to
Colgate-Palmolive.
P&G’s Crest claims to reach the nooks and corners 37% better
than leading brands.
J&J’s Reach was an innovation excellence as it helped the
consumer to brush at 45 degrees due to its beveled handle. This
was a major threat to Colgate Precision as the launch dates were
only a few months apart.
Smithkline Beechman’s AquaFresh Flex had flexible handles and
offered gentle brushing which was well advertised.

7. Product Segmentation
Value Professional Super -
Premium

8. Segment Advantage Average Pricing (in $)
Value Economic 1.29
Professional Premium quality 1.59-2.09
Super-Premium Innovative design 2.29-2.89

9. Brand Positioning
There were two options:
• Niche
• Mainstream

10. Niche Positioning
Pros
• Target market: Consumers
concerned about gum diseases.
• No SKUs needed to be dropped
• Expected to capture 3% of the
U.S. market in one year with
15% price advantage over Oral-
B.
Pros
• Larger market share and volume
share at the end of one year,
about 10% market share and
10% volume share.
Mainstream Positioning

11. Niche Positioning
Cons
• Occupies lesser market and
volume share as opposed to
mainstream positioning.
Example: Volume share for
Niche is 5% while for
Mainstream is 10%.
Cons
• “Cannibalization” of Colgate
plus.
• Increased pressure on
Production capacity and
schedules.
• (May) Require dropping of one
or more SKUs.
Mainstream Positioning

12. Colgate Precision or Precision by Colgate?

13. • The brand decided to launch it under a new line named “The Precision” in order to avoid
the cannibalization of Colgate Plus, as it was at least 20% in both- niche and mainstream
positioning.
• The name gave out the purpose of the product line, thus the name marketed the product
for itself.
Branding insights:
Results:
• Prevention of Gum diseases was the Unique Selling Point (USP).
• 55% consumers found Precision different from their present toothbrushes.
• As the awareness about the product increased so did the enthusiasm amongst the
consumers to use it.

14. Advertising

15.  Co-Branding- When Precision combined with Colgate toothpaste, sales shoot up to 170%.
 Sponsoring events- Colgate sponsors events such as various fashion shows, award functions.
 Word of Mouth Marketing- Famous celebrities endorse the products.
 Interesting traditional advertising: The print advertisements and the ones on television and social media
are interesting to see/ watch.
 They often associate with brands like One Direction, the Superman series and produce brand-oriented
products that attract the younger generations.

16. Future for “The
Precision”

17. Branding, Positioning and Marketing
They should experiment with packaging of product line with keeping the initial
idea intact.
They should follow mainstream positioning as it amasses a larger market as
compared to niche positioning.
The marketing and advertising can be increased by sponsoring more events,
giving out free samples and associating with more celebrities- including child
celebrities to endorse for children’s range and old celebrities for aged range.
This will make the product more relatable.

18. Conclusion

19. • High brand visibility due
to extensive, excellent
advertising.
• Strong and loyal
consumer base.
• Variety in oral and
personal products.
• Geographic expansion is
highly successful.
• The market is saturated
offering little or no
growth.
• The brand has limited
product categories with
limited products under
each segment, thus a need
for innovation.
• Rural market is till
unexplored as
consumers still use
nature’s products.
• The product line can be
stretched both ways.
• The awareness need to
be increased by
advertising, professional
recommendation so that
consumers utilize the
products as forecasted
by the brand.
• The number of companies
producing the same
product is very high and
therefore to survive, they
need to follow discounting
and co-branding
effectively.
• They must innovate to get
an edge above other
competitors.
• Ethical issues have been
raised time and again for
animal testing.

20. Disclaimer
This case study has been done
under the guidance of Professor
Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow as a
part of the Marketing
Management internship under
him.
Presented by:
Ishita Pandey,
Manipal Institute of Technology.