Colgate-Palmolive launched its popular Colgate Max Fresh (CMF) toothpaste brand in Mexico to build on its success in the US and China. Some challenges included differing consumer preferences in Mexico, low awareness of CMF's freshness benefits, and price sensitivity in Mexico's emerging market. Colgate addressed these by adjusting CMF's flavors, emphasizing its freshness through advertising, and lowering the price to increase sales volume. By branding CMF as providing "extreme freshness" through "cooling crystals" and launching an advertising campaign titled "Snowsurfer," Colgate hoped to increase CMF sales in Mexico as it had in other markets.

1. Taiwan Group – UGBA 167 Paper 1
Colgate Max Fresh
Abhinav Prathivadi | David Fefferman
Ying Shen| Mini
UGBA 167 | Taiwan Group
Throughout history, society has evolved with a numerous set of consumer products that
have over a period of time become essentials and have morphed into the daily lives of
people without even having them notice it. Personal hygiene is a market that is reflective of
this trend as generations have evolved by incorporating new trends and behaviors t at the
h
previous generation considered a luxury. Colgate-Palmolive symbol zes the personal
i
hygiene industry in the US, and as an international corporation has established itself as a
leading household name in many foreign countries. CP’s most popular brand, Colgate Max
Fresh was a roaring success owing to its innovative identity and value that it created for
consumers. By incorporating a new breath-strip and a variety of therapeutic techni ues
q
Colgate Max Fresh achieved phenomenal success accounting for over 40% of their
revenues along with products released after 2000. With a successful product in the US,
Colgate-Palmolive decided to target its global audience by marketing to various
geographies namely China and Mexico as the case Colgate Max Fresh: Global Brand Roll-
out points out. Their global strategy posed immense challenges in terms of overcoming
cultural barriers, but the “must-have” toothpaste market refined CP’s marketing strategy
with fewer players to compete with.
The Colgate-Palmolive Company's (CP) ambitions did not just include plans to
maximize business potential in local markets such as Mexico, but they also aspired to wipe
out Crest as competition and dominate the market share in Mexico. Seeing as how Colgate
already had 82% value share in Mexico, it was particularly difficult to launch a new
product without compromising some sales on the parent brand, particularly because there
was relatively flat toothpaste demand—which meant that it was hard to quot;secure incremental
shelf spacequot; and that Mexicans were probably less likely to try new products. CP decided
to brand CMF as a product with quot;extreme freshness benefitquot; and the use of quot;cooling
crystals as a unique ingredient.quot; In terms of pricing strategy, CP found that price/value
perceptions were above average for CMF, but CMF found that if the price of the product
was decreased from $15.99 to $14.99, the volume of sales would increase by 25%. As for
advertisements, they finall proposed the idea of quot;a joy ride for your mouth,quot; titling the
y
advertisement as quot;Snowsurferquot;, which effectively positioned the market in this competitive
product space. With these marketing and branding strategies, CP hoped to increase sales of
CMF similar to the levels of success it had achieved in USand China.
----DAVID’S PART GOES HERE---- #Strengths and weaknesses#
Historically, CP has been immensely successful in turning a threat to an opportunity (by
successfully battling Crest’s patent on fluoride toothpaste). In that way, the company has
always gone beyond strategic fit and has instead been focusing on how to exploit the
threats as opportunities. One of the biggest challenges and threats the introduction of CMF
was the consumer preference concerning toothpaste feature and benefits. Since these
preferences differ from the American consumers’, adjustments regarding flavor and color
of stripes had to be accommodated. Another big threat was the low awareness and

2. Taiwan Group – UGBA 167 Paper 2
preference of the cosmetic benefits like freshness and whiteness. In Mexico most
consumers were only focused on the basic oral care while the therapeutic segment stood for
87% of the total toothpaste market. The price sensitivity was another vast issue that CP had
to take in consideration. The CMF was priced in the premium segment which in many
cases was too expensive for the consumers in the emerging markets. As a result the
consumers were instead buying from competitor brand or other CP products that offered
toothpastes at a price that sometimes was a third of the price for CMF. Therefore an issue
concerning the cannibalization of the CMF on other CP products was also taken into
consideration. Even though one saw the low awareness of cosmetic features as a threat, it
was a growing segment that could turn out to be immensely profitable. Colgate could gain
first mover advantages if the company targeted emerging markets with awareness
campaigns. Other opportunities include CP’s market share and market position comparable
to its competitors (both China and Mexico) negligible market share which represented on a
well capitalized opportunity on the part of Colgate-Palmolive in these emergingmarkets.
Mexico represented a unique opportunity for CP to consolidate on its huge value share
(over 82%) and the fact that Crest is launching a similar product gives CP an excellent
opportunity to outdo its competitor. CP’s future plans are integral to the health of the
company’s financials, and a good sign of its latest products accounting for over 40% of the
revenues represents a positive sign that innovation is evolving and generating positive
vibes throughout the organization. Mexico’s market was significantly similar to China’s
toothpaste market, and following this sequential strategy of launching products helped CP
learn from their Chinese launch. By “neutralizing” the Crest Cool Explosions, the fact that
many managers argued for an early launch date depicted valid arguments with the
competition reaching intense levels for market share. Price had to be a factor in the
Mexican consumer’s mind as a country with $4000 per captia income had to plan its
household items with limited budget. By branding it through a Snowsurfer ad campaign,
and pricing it at 13-15 pesos, CP achieved a growth pattern that it had hoped for in Mexico,
and this enabled it to consolidate its share against any erosion from Crest or any local
brand.
Colgate-Palmolive’s successful brandi g and marketing in foreign coun
n tries represents a
valuable opportunity for it to consolidate its gains by leveraging and maintaining its top-
tier position. With the toothpaste market already consolidated (with few players like
Procter and Gamble/Crest, etc), competition is highly intense, but at the same time provide
focus for the companies in creating valueas opposed to solely basing it on price. With new
age flavors and innovative techniques being incorporated into toothpaste, an interesting
battle between global brands is bound to move out of the US and shift to emerging markets
like Mexico, China, India where the marketing battles of 21st century will be won and lost.