The Colgate-Palmolive Company

MARKETING MANAGEMENT-2

Assignment

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SUBMITTED TO:

                             PROF. SMITHA SIJI

                                                                SUBMITTED BY:

                                                                                                                               KEVIN MANI

                                                                                                                                   MBA B

Colgate Toothpaste

About the Company

The Colgate-Palmolive company is an American MNC headquartered in New York City. It mainly focuses on personal, health care and household products like soaps, detergents but are mainly known for their oral hygiene product- Colgate Toothpaste. Under the brand Hill’s, they also produce veterinary products also. The company was founded by William Colgate in the year 1806. Ian M Cook is the current president, chairman and CEO of the company.

Mission – “To become a fast growing consumer goods industry by developing and delivering innovative new products to consumers and marketing them more efficiently”.

Vision- “Colgate’s vision is to become the best truly global products company.”

About the Product

Colgate toothpaste was introduced by the company in the year 1873. It had been sold in glass jars then, but in 1896, Colgate became the first toothpaste to be in a collapsible tube. It has a mark share of 45% and market penetration of 67.7% globally. It’s the only brand that is purchased by half of the world households globally. Its market penetration growth is 50% more than the second placed brand- Coca-Cola (43.3 % market penetration). In 1992, they put their first factory in India and in 1999, they became the highest selling brand in the world.

Tagline- All Around Decay Protection

USP- Colgate is the number 1 toothpaste brand recommended by dentists

Segment- Personal Care – Oral Hygiene - Toothpaste

Target Group- All households looking for oral care

Positioning- Colgate is a toothpaste with calcium and minerals to get an all-round cavity protection

Major Competitors- Pathanjali, Close-Up, Pepsodent, Sensodyne, Dabur etc.

Marketing Mix

Product

The main product varieties of Colgate toothpaste includes:

• Colgate Strong teeth with Calci-Lock Protection
• Colgate Maxfresh
• Colgate Cibaca
• Colgate Total
• Colgate Sensitive
• Colgate Active Salt

It consists of fluoride particles which abrasive materials which polishes the teeth by removing food stains away and scrubs the plagues away from the teeth. They faces intensive completion among their competitors but this competition helps them to improve themselves and thus they came up with this many successful product varieties. Each product satisfies the needs of a specific kind of customers and the whole mix contains toothpaste for all. Colgate Sensitive is the best example, which is product variety for tooth sensitive people which was introduced to defend the competition of Sensodyne toothpaste. Moreover, their products are in different sizes which serves customers with different purposes.

Place

Colgate has adopted a different and unique strategy because of which its stands ahead of their competitors. This uniqueness help them not only to attract the new customer but also to hold the old customers as well. The distribution channel followed by the company starts from the manufacturer to wholesaler then to retailer and finally to the end users. They ensure easily availability and faster delivery of their products. They has even made deals with the dental associations which is something very unique strategy by any company. Medical Stores have their brands which made the customers believe that it contains all that is important for their oral health and nothing lethal.

Price

Colgate follows a going-rate pricing strategy otherwise known as competitor-based pricing strategy. Thy price their products at a price which is little higher or at the same range as that of competitor. As numerous dentists are shown recommending their product the customers feel that the extra cost is because of their superior quality. They play a lot with the consumer’s psychology. They keep regular eye on the market and reacts very quickly with their prices. Different packs makes the deal attractive to the consumers. Sometimes complementary products of Colgate itself is provided so as to balance the sales figures and to generate more revenue. Some pastes which provide extra functions say Maxfresh are priced higher than other varieties. This rise is determined by the demand of that particular paste.

Promotion

Colgate is brand which promote their products through attractive packaging and innovative schemes. The standard color of it is something that is very much attached to the customers. For promoting their sales they uses a wide range of media including newspapers, radio, and television and also through numerous hoardings and billboards. Internet is also used as a strong channel by the company nowadays. The company website titled “Colgate World of Care” reveals all the information related to various offers, discounts and other related information about the products. They have networking media pages on Facebook, twitter etc. where the customers are encouraged to share their experience. Celebrities like Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra are selected as their brand ambassadors which increases the visibility of the products. Its common tagline “No-1 Brand recommended by dentist” is something very unique.