Precision by Colgate

Colgate-Palmolive

CASE STUDY

Precision by Colgate; the most effective toothbrush on the market today with an amazing 35% increase in plaque removal when compared to other leading brushes.

KEY ISSUES

In reviewing the Colgate-Palmolive case there were several concerns involving launch of their new product. The management was concerned with how to position the toothbrush within the super-premium market, either as a niche product or in the mainstream market. There are issues with how to position and promote the toothbrush to try and minimize the new product's affect on current company products. Some executives were worried about production shortages if in fact the new product became a ‘hot' item, granted some executives also saw this potential shortage as a positive. There also existed a debate about the dollar amounts spent on advertising and whether or not the dollars should be pulled from existing products and promotions. Lastly, the new toothbrush, to truly be successful, needed to break into Oral B's high professional market share.

BACKGROUND

This case is concerned with the launch of Colgate-Palmolive's (CP) newest toothbrush. R&D began in 1989 with the mission to "develop a superior, technical, plaque-removing device". CP wanted to enter into the super-premium toothbrush segment in which they currently lacked a product. They held the number one position in the U.S. retail toothbrush market with a 23.3% volume share based on their two products – Colgate Plus and Colgate Classic; but they were in the "professional" and "value" segments.

The product segment, super-premium, arrived in the market in the late 1980's but by 1992 already accounted for 35% of the volume sold and 46% of dollar sales for toothbrushes. Oral B has been the market leader in this segment and Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble will both be releasing new brushes in 92 to add to this segments competition. The increase in players for this segment is due to shifting consumer behavior.

As with many industries the baby boom generation was beginning to make an impact. They were becoming more and more concerned with the health of their gums and preventing gum disease versus cavity prevention. They showed they were willing to pay a premium for brushes to meet these needs and thus the super-premium market was created.

The consumers themselves can be broken down into three main segments, the therapeutic brushers (46%), cosmetic brushers (21%) and the uninvolved (33%). The primary customer segment for the super-premium brushes is the therapeutic. This segment has shown they actively search for products to meet their oral health needs and