Harvard case study on Colgate Palmolive done under the marketing internship under professor Sameer Mathur (IIM Lucknow) .

4. •In 1992 , Colgate Palmolive (CP) was poised to launch a new
toothbrush in the United States , tentatively named Colgate
precision .
•Susan Steinberg , Precision product manager , was weighing the
option of introducing a new toothbrush to the niche market to a
main streammarket , both the options have their own potential
benefits and challenges .

7. Analysing consumer behaviour
• The consumer research indicated that the people were more concerned
about the health of their gums and are willing to pay more for premium
and new products addressing these problems .
• Some believed that toothbrushes were as important as tooth paste for
an effective oral hygiene .
• Few believed that the primary role of toothbrush is to remove food
particles and gum stimulations were considered secondary .

10. The top competitors are :-

12. As the pace of new product introduction quickened in the
late 1980s , the advertising media expenditure needed to
launch a new toothbrush rose .
Growing competition increased the frequency and value of
consumer promotion events .
The CP toothbrush line held 25% to 40% of the category
shelf space in most stores .

13. In 1992 , 22%of all the toothbrushes were expectedto be distributedto consumers
by dentists .
Manufacturer margins on toothbrush sales throughdentists were less than half
those achieved throughnormal retail distribution .
Toothbrushes provided retailers with an average margin between 25% to 35%,
twice of that of a toothpaste.

16. Niche positioning strategy

17. Mainstream positioning strategy

21. CP should peruse the mainstreampositioning strategy for the Precision .
Also, perusing a mainstreamstrategy takes advantage of the rapidgrowthin the
retail outlets (mass merchandisers and club stores ) that wouldpurchase these new
products.

23. Analysis of the Pro forma income statements shows that the
mainstream positioning strategy will lose almost $6.7MM in the
first year but earns $16MM in the second year whereas in the
niche strategy the losses in the first year is $1.4MM but gains
$7.4MM in the second year .
Therefore it could be concluded that the mainstream positioning
strategy will help CP in the long run .

27. Steinberg should adopt and
maintain positioning strategy for
the precision because it would lead
to the increase of performance as
well as helps the company in the
long run .
It also enables Colgate Palmolive to
expand its market through mass

28. Created by Aditya Thakur , IIT Bombay , During an internship
on Marketing under the guidance of professor Sameer Mathur
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