Colgate

Colgate Precision Case In the early 1990s competition among dental hygiene companies started to increase tremendously as information about dental hygiene grew. Each company promised the most effective toothbrush on the market. As a response to the growing toothbrush market, Colgate Palmolive decided to launch its most effective, healthy, and innovative toothbrush yet, the Colgate Precision Toothbrush. As with every new product that gets launched, the firm must analyze the market. Colgate realized that they are about to face many difficult decisions in their marketing strategy. They had to determine the most beneficial segment in which to place their product. They also had to make sure they chose the correct brand name, and advertising strategy to maximize exposure, and ensure quality to their consumers. All of this was embedded in the analysis of the market, which included: promotion, advertising, competitors analysis, positioning, target markets and segments to place the product in. When beginning a case analysis, it is of vital importance to asses the competition within the market. In this case, Colgate competed with a couple of their own toothbrushes, but mainly with several other competitors. Some of these competitors are Oral-B(Gillette), Reach by Johnson and Johnson, Crest by Proctor and Gamble and Aquafresh by Smithkline Beecham. These companies produce toothbrushes that fit into one of three categories: value, professional, and super premium. In order to maximize profit and create the best selling strategy, Colgate must analyze all the sales and information available about their competitors. Out of the many difficult decisions that Colgate had to make when assessing the market, Colgate must find out how to position their new toothbrush. There are two possibilities when it comes to positioning of a product such as the Precision Toothbrush. The first possible segment is a mainstream brush in a general market. In this segment, Colgate would