The document discusses Colgate-Palmolive's (CP) plans to launch a new toothbrush called Colgate Precision. It analyzes the toothbrush market, CP's competitors, consumer behaviors, and potential positioning strategies for Precision. Key points include: - CP wanted to develop a technically innovative toothbrush that offered superior plaque removal. Extensive research was conducted to design a brush with varied bristle lengths for a triple-action clean. - The US toothbrush market had three main segments: value, professional, and super-premium. CP and J&J dominated professional while Oral-B led super-premium. - Precision could be positioned as a niche, technologically superior product or launched more broadly

2. Defining the marketing strategy
(positioning , branding and
communication strategies )for
the new toothbrush – Colgate
precision

3. •With 1991 sales of $6.06 billion and a gross profit of $2.76 billion, CP was a
global leader in household and personal care products
•CP’s five-year plan for 1991 to 1995 emphasized new product launches and
entry into new geographic markets, along with improved efficiencies
• Reuben Mark, CP’s C.E.O since 1984, had been widely praised for his
leadership in transforming a “sleepy and inefficient” company into a lean and
profitable one.
•The company faced tough competition in international markets from Procter
& Gamble, Unilever, Nestle’s L’Oreal Division, Henkel of Germany, and Kao of
Japan.

5. It is broadly into three types :
• Value
• Professional
• Super premium
• In 1992, three players dominated the U.S. toothbrush market overall:
Colgate-Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson, whose brushes were
positioned in the professional segment; and Oral-B, whose brushes were
positioned in the super-premium segment

7. • Therapeutic brushers
• Cosmetic brushers
• Uninvolved oral health consumers

8. Year Duration
1990 Every 12.4 months
1991 Every 11.6 months
1992 Every 9.7 months
Customer% Habits
48% Every 3 months
70% Bristles visibly worn
11% After seeing a dentist
3% Purchase on impulse
Customer% Habits
45% Before Breakfast
57% After Breakfast
28% After Lunch
24% After Dinner
71% Before bed
Purchase frequency
Brushing habits
Change in Toothbrush

12. • Political : Relatively insignificant
• Economic:
 New entrants appeared in early 90’s
 Proctor & Gamble and SmithKline Beecham
 Positioned in the super premium segment
• Social:
 Aesthetic appeal in the late 1980s
 An additional social development concern for gum health- baby
boom population
 Cavity prevention was a serious concern

13. •Technological :
New products were introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s
Design of the handles and head of the toothbrush
Action of bristles
Super premium toothbrush – greater plaque removal and gum care

14. The Precision toothbrush was a technical
innovation.
 In laboratory experiments, researchers used
infrared motion analysis to track consumers’
brushing movements and consequent levels of
plaque removal.
With this knowledge and through computer
aided design, CP developed a unique brush with
bristles of three different lengths and
orientations .
 The longer outer bristles cleaned around the
gum line, the long inner bristles cleaned
between teeth, and the shorter bristles cleaned
the teeth surface. The result was a triple-action
brushing effect.

16. The task force had five goals:
• Understanding the varying techniques consumers used when brushing their
teeth.
• Testing the between-teeth access of different toothbrush designs.The tests
revealed that CP’s new design was superior to both Oral-B and Reach in
accessing front and back teeth, using either horizontal or vertical brushing.
• Establishing an index to score clinical plaque-removal efficacy at the gum
line and between teeth
• Creating a bristle configuration and handle design offering maximum
plaque- removing efficacy
• Determining, through clinical and consumer research, the efficacy and
acceptance of the new toothbrush design. Extensive consumer research was
carried out over a period of 18 months to test product design and
characteristics, marketing concept, and competitive strengths.

17. • Niche positioning: Aggressive advertising campaign to
demonstrate technical superiority of the toothbrush
• Mainstream positioning : Through financial
incentives like coupons or buy one get one free

18. Pros Cons
1. Niche marketing could later be
broadened to a mainstream
position as additional capacity
came on line
2. Less erosion of colgate plus . The
products are more isolated
3. Entry into new superior toothbrush
market which CP currently holds
no position
4. CP would face less competition
1. Less contribution to net profit in
future years

19. Pros Cons
1. Unsatisfied demand could create
the perception of a hot product ,
which may increase the sales
2. Possible increase in sales
1. Greater erosion of colgate plus
2. May require dropping one of the
slow moving children’s brush from
the plus line
3. Possible pressure on production
schedules resulting in inadequate
supply of product
4. More competition

20. • The positioning decision had important implications for the
appropriate shelf location of Precision. Steinberg believed that the
best location for Precision on the retail shelves would be between
the Colgate Plus and Oral-B product lines, with the Colgate Classic
product line on the other side of Colgate Plus.
• Steinberg also believed that the positioning decision would impact
distribution and percentage of sales by class of trade. Specifically,
she reasoned that Precision, positioned as a niche product, would be
carried primarily by food and drug stores. Under a mainstream
launch scenario, a relatively greater proportion of sales would occur
through mass merchandisers and club stores.

21. Three types of equipment were required to manufacture Precision
toothbrush
• Tufters
• Handle molds
• Packaging machinery

22. • Production was subcontracted to Anchor Brush who also
manufactured CP’s Plus line of toothbrushes.
• Production costs included warehousing and transport costs.
• Eighty percent of sales through dental professionals would be priced
at $0.79 per unit; the remainder would be sold at $0.95.

23. Alternative names tested included
• Colgate Precision
• Colgate System III
• Colgate Advantage
• Colgate 1.2.3
• Colgate Contour
• Colgate Sensation
• Colgate Probe.
The Colgate Precision name was consistently viewed more favorably
It was deemed apt by 49% of concept acceptors & appealing by 31%

24. Stressing Precision as opposed to Colgate would, it was argued, limit
the extent of cannibalization of Colgate Plus. It was estimated, both
under the mainstream and niche positioning scenarios, that
cannibalization figures for Colgate Plus would increase by 20% if the
Colgate brand name was stressed but remain unchanged if the
Precision brand name was stressed. On the other hand, CP’s stated
corporate strategy was to build on the Colgate brand equity.

25. • Special coupons: A 50%-off offer on any size of Colgate
toothpaste (up to a value of $1.00) in conjunction with a 50¢ coupon
on the Precision brush in strong Colgate markets.
• Buy 1 get 1 bundling : A free 5 oz. tube of Colgate toothpaste
(retail value of $1.89) with the purchase of a Precision brush in
strong competitive markets
• Concept tests :Once the basic product design was established,
four concept tests, conducted among 400 adult professional brush
users (Colgate Plus, Reach, and Oral-B users) 18 to 54 years of age,
were run during 1990-1991. Consumers were exposed to various
product claims in prototype print advertisements and then asked
about the likelihood that they would purchase the product

27.  Niche positioning of the product is more profitable in such
kind of products
 Try to appeal to therapeutic consumers
 Market the product as providing superior and distinctive oral
care
 New product development specifically focussed on gum care
 Price precision at competitive levels within the super-
premium segment so as to offer more value than competitors,
for an equivalent cost
 Leverage their existing intensive distribution channel
relationships to ensure that Precision receives the most
effective placement
 And, invest industry-standard amounts of capital into
the promotion of the new toothbrush.

28. Created by Nitika Arora, GNDU during internship in marketing under
Prof Sameer Mathur , IIM Lucknow