2. What it
does?
Colgate-Palmolive is an
American worldwide consumer
products company focused on
the provision of household,
health care and personal
products, such
as soaps, detergents, and oral
hygiene products.
3. • Founded by William
Colgate in 1806.
• A global leader in the
household and
personal care
products.
• The company's
corporate offices are
on Park
Avenue in Midtown
Manhattan, New York
City.
Company
Background
6. Colgate Precision
Toothbrush
• Household, healthcare and personal product
specialist company
• Launched in August 1992 in United States
• Developed by Susan Steinberg, the precision product
manager
• Product was developed with intense research in 3
years
• Technologically Superior toothbrush over 3 years
13. Dominators of U.S.
Toothbrush Market
• Colgate – Palmolive
• Johnson & Johnson ]-]-Professional
Segment
• Oral - B ] -] -Super-Premium
Segment
14. Analyzing
consumer behavior
• CP’s consumer research indicated that
consumers were becoming more concerned
about the health of their gums and were willing to
pay a premium for new products addressing this
issue.
• Most consumers agreed that toothbrushes were
as important as toothpaste to effective oral
hygiene.
• They believed that the primary role of a
toothbrush was to remove food particles and gum
stimulation were considered secondary.
23. Product Design and
Testing
•An amazing technical innovation.
•In laboratory experiments, researchers used infrared motion
analysis to track consumers’ brushing movements
•Analyzed consequent levels of plaque removal.
These parameters developed a unique brush with bristles cleaned
the teeth surface. This resulted in a triple action brushing effect
26. 2. Testing between teeth access
of different toothbrush design
Concluded that the new design was more efficient than Oral-
B and Reach in accessing front and back teeth
27. 3. Index to score clinical
plaque-removal efficacy
Here Presence of Plaque on each tooth area was calculated
- pre and post usage of toothbrush
28. 4. Creating an efficient bristle
configuration and handle
design
An average 35% more plaque was found to be removed than
other leading brands
29. 5. Efficacy and Acceptance of new
toothbrush design
Extensive consumer research was carried to test product
design and characteristics, marketing concept and strengths
31. Investment Cost Annual Capacity Depreciation time
Tufters $500,000 3 MM units 15 years
Handle Molds $300,000 7 MM units 5 years
Packaging $150,000 40 MM units 5 years
Capacity and Investment Costs
32. NICHE
POSITIONING
STRATEGY
MAINSTREAM
POSITIONING
STRATEGY
# units retail Year 1 = 8 MM
Year 2 = 15 MM
Year 1 = 26.8 MM
Year 2 = 44.1 MM
# units consumer
promotional
Year 1 = 2 MM
Year 2 = 2 MM
Year 1 = 7 MM
Year 2 = 7 MM
sampling
# units through
professionals
Year 1 = 3 MM
Year 2 = 3 MM
Year 1 = 8 MM
Year 2 = 8 MM
How unit
volumes reach
consumer
34. Niche : estimated net
profit over two years
is $12,527,333
Mainstream :
estimated net profit is
$9,515,333
A financial analysis indicates
a profit for both market
positions
36. Including in-home usage tests
revealed
• 55% of test consumers found
Precision to be very different from
their current toothbrushes.
• 77% claimed that Precision was
much more effective than their
current toothbrush.
37. Conclusion
Steinberg believed that Precision
was more than a niche product line
extension and that the proven
benefits to consumers represented a
technological breakthrough.
Precision was positioned , branded,
and communicated to consumers
after proper analysis. Market mix was
developed that enabled Precision to
reach its full potential.
38. Disclaimer
Tarun Bajaj
IIT Bombay
Professor Sameer Mathur
IIM Lucknow
Presentation by TARUN BAJAJ, IIT BOMBAY
during a Marketing Internship under Prof.
Sameer Mathur, Professor, IIM Lucknow
