Brand Update : Colgate targets diabetics with an ayurvedic variant

 In a smart and interesting move, Colgate has launched a variant for diabetic patients - Colgate Diabetics. Actually, the brand name runs long like - Colgate Toothpaste for the oral health of Diabetics. The somewhat interesting name is to prevent any legal issues arising out of the product. The launch is a natural extension of the brand to capture a largely untapped market in the oral health space- diabetic patients. India is considered a diabetic capital of the world with a large incidence of this lifestyle condition.

According to the brand's press release, oral issues such as gum decay, and tooth decay are prevalent in diabetic patients and as the leader in the oral care market, Colgate aims to cater to the needs of this large segment with a variant. Another reason is the possibility of entrants into this segment and Colgate doesn't want to concede a market as it once faced such an issue with GSK's Sensodyne. Another interesting fact is that Colgate chose to go the ayurvedic route as a solution to this issue. It seems that the brand is predicting a shift from the consumers toward natural products. For promotion, the brand chose the celebrity route through the famous Indian cricketer R. Ashwin. In fact, the brand has hit a bullseye with a testimonial theme from Ashwin and his father. It is very difficult to get such a combination. 

Colgate has been very proactive in launching new products and also promoting the brand to ward off the threat from the competition. The current launch is such an example of
the market leader.

Good Day Toothpaste: Start Your Day with a Good Day!

 Brand: Good Day Toothpaste

Company: Good Day Oral Care

Brand Analysis Count: #612

It takes a lot of guts to launch an FMCG brand in the time of a pandemic like this. In that sense, what a group of entrepreneurs has done in this pandemic by launching a toothpaste brand is indeed very courageous.

Little is known about the brand Good Day Toothpaste. In fact, a google search has not yielded many results. I came to know about the brand from a television advertisement and thought that Brittannia got crazy and launched a brand extension of Good Day biscuits. 

A search indicated that it is not the case and the brand is from Kerala. 

As a marketer, the first question that comes to mind is the brand name. While Good Day is obviously a nice brand name for toothpaste, why should a firm take a famous biscuit brand name from a big business house?

Technically it is possible that the Good Day brand name is available for the toothpaste category but there may be litigation on the use of such a brand name.  Brands like Amul and Lux are indeed used by hosiery marketers overcoming the legal challenges over trademarks.

Having such a brand name is very helpful because of instant recognition and recall and may prompt some initial adoption because it carries a reputed brand name. But those are very short-term advantages.

The brand doesn't talk much about the key differentiators against its competitors like Colgate or Closeup. The ads just talk about the tagline - Start your day with Good Day. 

Good Day toothpaste comes with three variants - Milky White, Herbal and Meswak. 

The brand also is having Xylitol and hence the brand does not contain sugar. That brings a question as to whether other toothpaste brands have sugar? ( Need to check on that). 

The brand may be testing the waters in some test markets, which may be why information is not there on the internet.

However, the toothpaste market is a highly cluttered and competitive market and an ordinary product will not do any good in this market. To launch a brand in such a market needs a lot of guts and let us see how the brand pans out in the future. 

Brand Update : Colgate Launches Mouth Protection Spray Under Vedsakti Brand

 When consumers are scared, take advantage of the opportunity and offer to help. In this era of COVID-19 where consumers are scared as hell, many opportunities have popped up in the market in the form of health protection. From hand sanitizers to paints, brands are trying to cash in on the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to reassure the consumers' health concerns. This is the market which has products like paints, laminated plywood boards and even electric bulbs promising to kill the deadly bacteria and virus with a condition that 0.01 of the germs will be left behind to protect that species. After all, these are the gods' creations. 

In that scenario, how can a toothpaste brand be left behind? Everyone knows that the virus has its entry point through either mouth or nose in most cases. Since the mouth is the domain of the toothpaste, they too have jumped into the bandwagon of saving humanity from the deadly virus. How? Launching of a new product - mouth protection spray. The market leader Colgate has grabbed the first-mover advantage by launching a spray that kills the germs ( sans the 0.01 lone survivor ) at the entry point itself. Mouth sprays have existed in the market but for a different functionality- fresh breath. So although the launch is not an entirely new category creation, the brand is pioneering a new functionality to the mouth spray product-line. I predict that it will not be too long for Close-up brand to launch a mouth protect spray with mouth freshener to counter this launch.

It is also interesting that Colgate chose to launch this product under the Vedsakti sub-brand to take advantage of the Ayurveda tag which has a chemical-free perception to rely on. 

The brand is running a launch campaign for the new product. Unlike the typical Colgate ads featuring dentists, this time, the brand is banking on a child to teach their parents, benefits of using this spray. The brand I think over the last few campaigns is preferring cuteness over authenticity. 

In another similar development, Colgate Vedsakti has come out with a new campaign this time focusing on germ-killing and labelling mouth as the entry point of germs. With the new campaign, the market leader is directly challenging the position of Pepsodent which was focusing on the germ-killing promise attaining point of parity with Pepsodent.

 

Brand Update : Colgate takes laddering to next level

 Colgate is taking the brand laddering to the next level in their 2020 campaign. The brand over time has moved from a functional benefit platform of strong teeth and healthy gums into a higher-level attribute of smile and confidence. The new ad has further strengthened the new higher emotion-based positioning based on the power of a smile. 

The ad strikes the audience with the surprise twist at the end of the commercial and brings a smile to the faces. The brand in a way has taken the risk of bringing emotion into the pool of category benefits. The familiar white coat, chalk and ink theme has given way to a series of the emotion-based campaigns with brand benefits such as confidence, new beginning etc. What it brings for the brand is a sense of freshness because the earlier functional benefit based ads were around for a long-time and a sense of boredom has set in at least in my case as a customer. The new ad helped to bring in a freshness to the brand and the unfamiliar plot brings a twist to the campaign.

Vicco Vajradanti : Reinventing Itself

Brand : Vicco Vajaradanti
Company : Vicco

Brand Analysis Count: # 593

Vicco Vajradanti was one of the first products of Vicco which started its operations in a single room at the house of Sri Keshav Vishnu Pendharkar. Sri Pendharkar was a staunch believer of Ayurveda and wanted to create and popularise ayurvedic products in India. He started a small company named as Vishnu Industrial Chemicals Company in tribute to his father. This company later become popular as VICCO.  

Vajradanti was a toothpowder form in its early days and when the market shifted towards toothpaste, the company began to produce Vajradanti in the toothpaste form. Vicco Vajradanti quickly gained acceptance among people who were more inclined towards ayurvedic products. The brand was positioned as a true-blue ayurvedic product. 

Although the brand had a rich heritage and used to promote the products regularly, the toothpaste remained a niche player in the highly competitive market. Vicco was never an aggressive player in the market and slowly and surely, the brand failed to catch the attention of the new generation of customers. One should not forget that this brand was the pioneer in the sponsorship of television programs in India. This brand also was the first in putting their ads in video cassettes. 

This year, the brand is making a relaunch of sorts with the roping of Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador. The new tvc features Alia and the famous jingle which made the brand famous. 

What the brand aims to do is to bring back the nostalgia using the old jingle and at the same time use the brand ambassador to appeal to the new generation of customers. 

The celebrity endorsement in recent years is being viewed as a panacea for all brand problems. The usage of celebrity in campaigns have become a norm which has in my opinion, commoditised this strategy.

Celebrities, if not used carefully is nothing but a glorified replacement of models in these advertisements. 

Same here in the case of Vajradanti. What best the brand can hope for is a quick dose of brand awareness in the market. To be fair to the brand, it needs a truckload of brand awareness to fight the high decibel war being fought on the toothpaste market especially in the ayurvedic segment. 

Brand Update : Patanjali is making Colgate Confused !

Patanjali's Dant Kanti has really made the market leader Colgate in a tight spot. The aggressive promotions and the positioning based on Ayurveda has slightly dented the market share of Colgate. More than the market share, the Ayurveda push may shift the parameters on which the consumers decide on the toothpaste purchase. 

During the initial phase, Colgate tried to counter the Dant Kanti's challenge by strengthening the existing variant  Colgate Herbal and Colgate Salt. But that did not make an impact on the forward march of Dant Kanti. 

Colgate then used the flanker brand Cibaca to fight the challenger. Earlier, when the price warriors like Anchor and Babool challenged Colgate, the market leader used Cibaca to neutralize the threat effectively. This time, the same strategy was used by launching Cibaca Vedshakti which boasted of the natural content. The flanker brand was priced at almost 30% lower than Dant Kanti. 

The strategy seemed to have failed. Recently Colgate launched another variant Colgate Swarna Vedshakti in the Ayurveda space. This time the market leader is launching a direct attack on the competitor with the flagship brand. 

The variant is priced at a premium to the challenger brand. The new variant is positioned as a toothpaste that combines traditional with modern. 

The ads follow the testimonials from mothers to build authenticity to the brand. The current campaign is aimed at increasing the adoption of the brand. 

Now Colgate has two variants with the similar brand name ( or part)- Colgate Cibaca Vedshakti and Colgate Swarna Vedshakti with different prices. My hunch is that Colgate is migrating Vedshakti to the parent brand and may discontinue Cibaca Vedshakti in near future.

Colgate has realized that Dant Kanti is not about fighting on price. Patanjali is making the Ayurveda segment of the toothpaste market which was a niche in to a mainstream segment. If such a shift happens then Colgate's leadership position will be under threat. Colgate probably had done the right thing by fighting Dant Kanti with its flagship brand. 

Brand Update : How Colgate is fighting Patanjali

Colgate holds around 54% market share in the Rs 6000 Crore Indian toothpaste market. Of late, the brand is facing tough competition from Patanjali Ayurveda. Patanjali which is a brand which is closely associated with Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is touted to be a disruptive force in the consumer products market.

Patanjali which recently got aggressive in the market has garnered around Rs 5000 crore within a short span of time. It has overtaken firms like Jyothi Lab, Emami etc in the turnover. 

According to business news reports, Colgate is expected to face the toughest challenge with Patanjali's Dant Kanti cornering a Rs 450 crore turnover in 15-16. 

Colgate is a very aggressive marketer and is not expected to take competition lightly. Even with a market share of 54%, the brand is not known to be complacent in the addressing of competition. This case also Colgate took pro-active steps in countering the onslaught of Patanjali Ayurveda.

Colgate chose to fight  Dant Kanti using the variant Colgate Active Salt Neem. It is interesting to see that Colgate Herbal was not aggressively promoted rather it chose the Active Salt variant. Secondly, Colgate chose to rope in Priyanka Chopra to endorse the variant.

Watch the ad here : Colgate Active Salt Neem

While the neem + salt combination brings the brand parity with Dant Kanti, the celebrity endorser enhances the strength of the counter attack. 

Since Dant Kanti's main positioning is the Natural Platform, Colgate now has three variants - Herbal,Active Salt , Active Salt Neem in its portfolio. 

With the aggressive counter attack, Colgate expects to arrest the growth of  Dant Kanti. Some damage will be done since Patanjali uses price as the major strategy for market growth. But with the natural attribute neutralised, Colgate expects to retain its current customer base  with the Colgate brand portfolio. 

Marketing Strategy : Toothpaste majors fights challengers effectively

A recent article in ET mentions that the challengers in the Rs 7000 crore toothpaste market like Anchor,Ajanta Babool and Vicco were wiped out by the major brands like Colgate, HUL etc. A few years ago the major toothpaste brands like Colgate and Pepsodent were shocked by the huge challenge from brands like Anchor ,Babool etc . The challenger brand used price as the major USP and gained more than 15% share in the market.

Its interesting to understand how the majors fought these challengers. The following are the strategies used by the major brands to fight the price competition -

• React aggressively : The assault from the challenger brand was faced by the major brands aggressively. Brands like Colgate, Pepsodent etc reacted sharply to the competitor first by reducing the price to arrest the severe market share loss.
• Flanker brands : The major part of the success of market leader was the use of flanker brands to ward off price competition. Colgate effectively used Cibaca as the flanker brand to fight the price competition thus preserving the price premium of the market leading brands.
• Use smart SKUs : The toothpaste market leaders also used less prices SKUs to neutralize the price competition. The availability of big brands in affordable packs in a way prevented the consumers from switching to a less priced local brand.
• Advantage in differentiation : The age old concept of Positioning and Differentiation helped the leading brands to effectively fight the price competition. The low priced brands failed to counter the brand-equity with price alone. 
• Deep pockets : The deep pockets of the likes of Colgate and HUL enabled a large aggressive and sustained offensive against the challengers. Regional brands didn't had a chance fighting the deep pockets.

The lesson for the challenger brand is not to fight the big players without credible differentiation. 

Brand Wars : Pepsodent Vs Colgate

The August of 2013 saw the beginning of another war in the toothpaste market. Pepsodent, the challenger brand from HUL directly attacked the market leader Colgate with a high profile comparative advertisement. The ads directly compared  Pepsodent Germicheck with Colgate Strong Teeth with claim that Pepsodent Germicheck is 130% better in fighting germs than Colgate Strong Teeth.

Watch the ad here : Pepsodent vs Colgate

While this is not the first time that Pepsodent has frontally attacked Colgate. 

Pepsodent is a small brand compared to Colgate. According to ET, Pepsodent Germicheck has a market share of 6.4% while Colgate strong teeth has a market share of over 29.4%. For a challenger brand like Pepsodent, fighting the leader directly certainly puts the brand in limelight.

In India, brands do engage in such direct attacks. Law does  allow certain level of comparative advertising provided it does not disparage the other brands. Usually the challenged brands take the matter to either ASCI or to the court. But since these take time to settle, the comparative ads may have achieved its objectives.

Most of the time, the challenger brand uses research evidence to support their claims of superiority. In this case, Pepsodent claims that it has 130% more germ attack power than Colgate. The fine print says that Colgate is indexed to 100 %. So is Pepsodent in a sense puffed up the numbers to make it seem extraordinarily superior to Colgate.

It is interesting to note that Pepsodent Germicheck chose to attack Colgate Strong Teeth rather than Colgate Total. Colgate Strong Teeth is the largest brand in the Colgate portfolio but this brand is not claiming any germ killing attribute. Colgate Total is the brand which claims the germ killing attribute. So rather than fighting the Colgate Total, Pepsodent Germicheck decided to launch the attack on Colgate Strong Teeth.

Direct comparative ads, that too against an established market leader most often works for the challenger brand. It has the shock value and the ensuing marketing war gets the challenger brand eyeballs and media spaces especially in social media. Frontal attack using such tactics has its fair share of risks. The market leader often will react with full might which may destroy the challenger brand. In this case , it is the fight between the titans and if there is a war, both will bleed.  

Brand Wars : Sensitive Toothpastes

Indian toothpaste market is worth Rs 6000 crores ( Source Business Line) and growing at 20%. Colgate has been the undisputed market leader in this market.. Competitors has been trying to make a dent in the share through almost every strategy listed in marketing textbooks.

It was an unlikely player- Glaxo Smithkline Beecham (GSK ) which really broke into the stronghold of Colgate. GSK in 2010 brought its global dental care brand Sensodyne into the Indian market. The sensitive toothpaste segment was very small and almost unknown to the larger Indian market. Colgate had presence in that niche with its variant Colgate Sensitive. 

Sensodyne surprised the market by capturing 10% of the segment within 4 months on launch. The heavy awareness campaign made customers take notice of the brand.The campaign featured " Chill Test " where the customers who had sensitive teeth were asked to tryout chilled products after using Sensodyne. The ads were very convincing and prompted many customers to try Sensodyne.Besides the Above-The -Line ( ATL) promotion, GSK also contacted around 15000 dentists to promote Sensodyne ( Source- TOI). In one year, Sensodyne became a 100 crore brand and the Sensitive toothpaste market was growing at more than 45 % p.a.

Colgate being an agile marketer was not keeping quiet . The brand launched another variant Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief inorder to arrest the growth of the competitor.Both the brands benefited by the growth of the category which has grown to about Rs 500 crore. Sensodyne inched very close to the market-leader and at one point became the leading brand in the sensitive toothpaste category. According to reports, Sensodyne and Colgate Sensitive are now having almost same market share in the category. 

Pepsodent from HUL also got into the fray with its variant Pepsodent Expert.While every brand focused on providing relief from sensitive teeth, Pepsodent differentiated by offering  ' relief and repair'  to the consumer. This move by Pepsodent forced the players to rethink their offerings. In the latest campaign, Sensodyne has added the 'repair' proposition to the brand's positioning thereby achieving points-of-parity with Pepsodent Expert brand. 

Sensodyne success can be seen as the success of a specialist brand's fight with a product-line extension. Consumer's view Sensodyne as an expert in the field and hence the claims are more effective compared to the product-line extensions. However, Colgate and Pepsodent were quick enough to retaliate to the entry of Sensodyne albeit with little success.

The fight in the toothpaste segment became more interesting with the launch of Paradontax by GSK. Another specialist brand against bleeding gums. The war has just began. 

Parodontax : For people who see blood when they brush

Brand : Parodontax
Company : GSK Consumer Healthcare

Brand Analysis Count : # 521

After the success of Sensodyne, GSK has launched another specialist toothpaste in the Rs 6000 crore Indian toothpaste market. While Sensodyne was a specialist for sensitive teeth, the new launch is in the gum-care category. GSK launched its global niche brand Parodontax recently in the Indian market.

The emergence of the niche products like sensitive , gum-care shows the new phase of the evolution of  Indian toothpaste market. According to ET, Sensodyne which was launched two years back is already a Rs 100 crore brand in India. The niche segments are growing at a faster pace than the core segment and marketers are rushing to cash in on this evolution.

Parodontax is a gum-care specialist. The brand is targeting those who are already suffering from bleeding gums. According to newspaper reports, the incidents of gum-related issues is as high as 33% which itself is a huge market waiting to be tapped.
The brand is now promoting awareness about the gum-related issues and advising customers to take bleeding gums seriously. The brand is now running its standard global TVC in the Indian market.

Not to be left behind , the market leader- Colgate has already launched its Pro-gum variant -Colgate Total Pro-gum health . The leader was quick to spot the threat of this GSK to its stronghold in the Indian market. Sensodyn has infact created a dent in the market position of Colgate. Pepsodent also has Pepsodent Sensitive and Pepsodent -G for the sensitive and gum-care segment respectively. Bu the share of noise of Pepsodent is abysmally low in these segments and I feel that Pepsodent has lost out in the race atleast for now.
Alries and Jack Trout had argued that line-extensions tend to be less effective when fighting specialist brands. Here the market leaders are fighting the specialist brands using variants. It remains to be seen how effective these defense would be .

Sensodyne : For Sensitive Teeth

Brand : Sensodyne

Company : Glaxo Smithkline Beecham ( GSK Asia)

Brand Analysis Count : 474

In line with the strategy of bringing in global brands from its portfolio, GSK has launched its toothpaste brand Sensodyne in India. This is GSK's second foray into the Indian oral care market. Earlier the company had launched its toothpaste brand Aquafresh which was later withdrawn from the Indian market.

Sensodyne is a global leader in the premium toothpaste category ( specialist toothpastes) in various markets like USA. The brand has been around since 1960 came into GSK fold in 2001. GSK bough the brand from its original owner Block Drug Company INC.

Indian toothpaste market is worth around Rs 2750 crore and is segmented into Economy, Popular and Premium segments ( Source : Rediff). The economy segment in worth Rs 530 crores, popular segment is the largest segment with a size of Rs 1930 crores and premium segment constitutes 8% of the market with a size of Rs 260. The urban market for toothpaste is valued at around Rs 1850 crores. 

The premium segment of toothpaste market consists of products which has therapeutic benefits. The brands in this category are Colgate Sensitive, Pepsodent Sensitive, Meswak , Glister etc. These toothpastes are priced significantly higher (>30% ) than the popular segment .

Sensodyne is a toothpaste for sensitive teeth. According to media reports, around 17% of individuals in India suffer the condition of sensitive teeth. Sensitive teeth is a condition where the individual suffers sharp pain while consuming anything that is hot or cold. Since the awareness about remedy for this condition is low, most consumers avoid consuming foods that causes this pain. The fear of going to dentist and possibility of painful interventions often prompt individuals to manage the situation rather than taking remedial action. This is perhaps the most important challenge that Sensodyne faces in cracking the Indian market. 

The brand is operating in a niche. A niche is defined as a narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits. Niche is can be called as micro-segment which is small, profitable, with less number of competitors where the consumer is willing to pay a premium for the offerings. Usually niche brands commands a premium since it satisfies some distinct set of consumer needs. All these descriptions fit the category in which Sensodyne operates. The market is also expected to grow fast once the awareness sets in.

The brand is currently running a campaign in visual media with the aim of creating awareness about the condition of sensitive teeth and projects Sensodyne as the dentist's most preferred choice for this condition. Globally also Sensodyne is positioned as Dentist's choice for sensitive teeth. Along with the Above-the- Line promotions, Sensodyne is also conducting brand awareness programs among the key influencer - dentists. The brand is also conducting events called ' Chill Tests ' among consumers to spread the awareness of the condition of sensitive teeth. Sensodyne is banking on the promise that it provides relief in two weeks. 

In India Sensodyne competes with Colgate Sensitive. Colgate Sensitive has the first mover advantage over Sensodyne and has more brand visibility across channels. It will take a little while for Sensodyne to shake the position of Colgate Sensitive. 

Brand Update : SRK Joins Pepsodent in Dishoom Dishoom

It has been a long time since I wrote an update about Pepsodent. Although the brand has been very active in the media with different campaign , there was no clutter-breaking stuff to write about. Some times consistency can be boring.

Ever since the launch in 1993, Pepsodent has been trying hard to break into the stronghold of Colgate in the Rs 3000 crore Indian Oral Care market. Despite being a powerful brand with the powerful backing of HUL, Pepsodent is still hovering at around 13 % marketshare compared to around 52% share of Colgate.

Pepsodent so far has been very consistent with its positioning and differentiation. Although the brand started its journey positioning on Mouth Wash proposition, it quickly identified the flaw in taking that stance. Soon the brand began to take the position of a germ killing toothpaste. It had stuck to the positioning ever since.

The most memorable campaign of Pepsodent so far was the Dishoom Dishoom campaign which catapulted the brand to the position of a worthy competitor of Colgate. HUL has been tweaking the germicheck advantage using various campaigns all these years.The brand also had its range of variants like Pepsodent Complete and also Pepsodent Whitening.

The recent campaigns of Pepsodent was centered around interesting conversations among kids and also between Mother and Child. The brand had earlier tried to attack Colgate directly through ads which highlighted the claim that Pepsodent fights 10 tooth problems compared to competitors' 5 ( watch the ad ). The other campaign highlighted the common fear of mother about her child's dental health.

In 2010, the brand had made a significant investment in bringing Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador for Pepsodent. The brand is running two TVC featuring SRK

Watch : Pepsodent 1

: Pepsodent 2

The campaign revolves around the theme of interaction between a Father and Son ( Papa and Pappu) . SRK as father convincing his son about the importance of brushing the teeth with Pepsodent. The ads are quite nicely made .

The question is whether a celebrity like SRK will ad any significant value to the brand as such. SRK is a very powerful celebrity and the impact of such a powerful celebrity endorsement cannot be discounted. Especially kids will be very much influenced by this endorsement and a probable pester-power can spike the sales of the brand in the short-term.

But whether SRK will help the brand scale the next level is debatable. The presence of SRK only makes the campaign more interesting other than that there is nothing significant either in the message or in execution. The impact of SRK 'e endorsements will be more at the store level if HUL is able to use SRK at the POP and store-level promotions.

Despite having a differentiating factor like " Germ Killing Property " it is interesting to note that Pepsodent was not able to pose a significant threat to Colgate. My hypothesis is that although Pepsodent has established a Point of Difference, it has not been able to establish Points of Parity with Colgate. Colgate still has a strong acceptance as a toothpaste that prevents tooth decay and Pepsodent so far has not been able to establish itself in that attribute.

Pepsodent will do well if it could use SRK to establish Points of Parity with Colgate rather than trying to reinforce the already strong Germicheck Point of Difference.

Related Brand

Pepsodent

Listerine : Pioneering a Category

Brand : Listerine
Company : Johnson & Johnson
Agency : Contract Health

Brand Analysis Count # 439

Listerine is a brand that pioneered the mouthwash category globally. The brand which is 100 years old was named after its inventor Joseph Lister. The brand over these years changed hands many times. The original brand owners were Warner- Lambert which was later acquired by Pfizer. In 2008, the brand again changed hands to Johnson & Johnson.

Listerine is one of the first mouthwash brands to enter India. The brand pioneered the Indian mouthwash segment which is now estimated to be worth around Rs 45 crore. Listerine is having more than 90% share in the Indian market.

Mouthwash category is still very small in the Indian market. Mostly these products are considered to be medicinal and that perception inhibits lot of consumers from buying mouthwash product.

The category penetration is still restricted to a small segment of consumers. The mouthwash is bought by
(a) those who are aware of the efficacy of the product like germ killing etc
( b) those who are conscious about their bad breath
(c) those prescribed by dentists.
A normal consumer may not look at this category as a normal regular purchase.

Another major issue that inhibited the growth of Listerine brand was its bad taste. Why should one tolerate bad tasting mouthwash every morning ? Unless the need is grave , consumers may not tolerate such an attribute. Understanding this issue, Listerine changed the flavor so that bad taste will not be a stumbling block for using this product. But still Listerine is associated with bad taste among lot of consumers.

Listerine globally is positioned on the germ killing plank. According to reports, when the brand was first introduced in USA, it got a lukewarm response. To pep up the sales, the brand owners devised an innovative strategy whereby they introduced the medical term for bad breath. The advertisers introduced a faux term Chronic Halitosis to describe bad breath ( Source) . Consumers fearing that bad breath is a medical condition ran for the mouthwash cure.

In India too, the brand started off as a cure for bad breath. Watch one of the earlier campaigns here.
Although the brand had excellent recall , the promotions for the brand was erratic. The brand went on and off in the media and there was no significant effort from the brand to penetrate the market. The brand usage was severely restricted to certain consumer segments and the usage was also not regular.

Listerine is currently running a campaign positioning itself as a " Freshness Bomb". The new campaign is featuring MTV VJ Cyrus . The ad is strikingly similar to the " Chocolate Bomb" ad of Cadbury Eclairs. I am not sure why the agency went on to copy a famous ad rather than spend some grey cells on some new creative idea. ( I don't have the listerine ad, will link it once I get it)

Listerine is right now facing a crisis also. According to Business World report, the use of mouthwash which have alcohol content can increase the chances of oral cancer . The report is quoting some Australian research report to prove its point. It is surprising to see the brand not responding to such serious allegations. The Johnson & Johnson website does not even mention this brand in their product list.

Listerine at this point needs to desperately develop the mouthwash category. It needs to expand the market by
(a) educating consumers about product attributes and importance
(b) encourage consumers to use the product on a regular basis.
(c) focus on attributes like convenience, confidence etc.
Take the example of handwash category.Marketers has successfully developed this category in India through high profile advertising campaigns.

Globally Listerine has variants like Teeth Whitening mouth wash which I think is the best product to increase the brand penetration. More than bad breath, consumers are likely to be attracted by the whitening attribute which has the potential to increase the overall category usage.

Listerine has a potential in Indian market. Indian consumers have become more networked and socially active. In such a highly interactive environment, mouthwash has lot of relevance because it is convenient. 30 seconds is only what is needed to get your breath refreshed and that is a useful and appealing proposition especially to youngsters.

Smyle : It does Wonders

Brand : Smyle
Company : Maneesh Pharmaceuticals


Brand Analysis Count : 314

Smyle is one of the popular brands in the OTC market in India. This 60 crore brand earlier belonged to Kopran Pharma and was later sold to Maneesh Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Smyle as the name suggests was firts launched in the Oral care market. Its most popular product was Smyle Mouth Ulcer Gel. Smyle was one of the first OTC ayurvedic Mouth Ulcer Gel. The product achieved instant popularity because of its effectiveness.
Mouth Ulcers are a common irritating disease . The reason for mouth ulcers can be many : digestive problems, vitamin deficiency, accidental biting, use of heavy antibiotics etc. Once it is there, it causes severe pain and one will not be able to eat anything till the ulcer get cured. Normally we used to treat this ourselves using some home remedy like applying coconut oil etc. Usually one will resort to medical advice only in case of severe ulcers.
But the medicines that are usually prescribed for Mouth Ulcers tastes too bad and often smells bad also. This has opened up a new untapped market for a user friendly product.
Smyle Mouth Ulcer Gel had lot of advantages. First was that it tasted pretty OK and hence the customers did not mind using the product again and again. Secondly Smyle was ayurvedic and hence perceived to be side - effects free. Thirdly , the product was very effective.
These advantages created lot of equity for this product. But the market was small and Smyle Gel was essentially a niche brand. Smyle ulcer gel was promoted heavily through TV and print ads. I still remember a TVC which shows a guy screaming with pain inside a cinema hall while having a popcorn.
What was interesting is the way in which the brand owners extended the brand " Smyle " . I don't know the exact hierarchy of the launch of these extensions but here is the list of brand extensions of Smyle :
Smyle Mouth Ulcer GEl
Smyle Toothpaste
Smyle Prickly heat powder
Smyle throat reliever
Baby Smyle range of baby soaps
Baby Smyle baby powder
Smyle Lozenges
Smyle vaporub
Smyle Freshness talc
Smyle first aid kits
Smyle band-aid
Smyle nasal inhaler.

All these products were launched in a span of four years. Common sense says that the brand extensions was too many too fast.Smyle extending itself into powder and baby products does not make sense because the parent brand Smyle does not have a strong brand equity to support these category extensions.
Marketing theory suggests that inorder for a brand to extend into multiple categories, the parent brand should have strong relevant brand equity aswellas brand values. Smyle as a parent brand did not had such extendable brand equity. What Smyle had was a successful product.
Smyle Toothpaste made sense because Smyle was associated with Oral-Care . But there also the brand did not invest on building a positioning platform but tried to become a price- warrior. Fighting the giants like Colgate, HUL and Dabur needs more than low price.
While the throat lozenges and cough syrup extensions had a connection with oral-care, the brand had to break into the strong hold of power brand like Vicks. Smyle throat reliever had a USP of Gargle and Gulp property but I feel that the brand lacked power to compete with Vicks.

Having extended so much into so many products, Smyle may have shown an increase in the cumulative sales but in the long run, there is a chance that the brand may bleed itself to death. With out developing a core brand, too much energy has been spent on these brand extensions. Successful umbrella brands like Vicks and Johnson & Johnson have unmatched core- brand strentgh which Smyle lacks. Smyle as a brand had lot of advantages like a good brand name and a successful product . The brand could have leveraged the Smyle name and could have built a strong brand image taking some time . For example Smyle can take meaning of Smile from relief, enjoying life , freedom from pain , instant relief etc. Once that core values are built, these extensions could have worked . I am not saying that the extensions of Smyle has failed but I have a feeling that the brand will be wasting too much money over building these individual extensions since Smyle lacks a core equity.

For every brand manager, its always a dilemma choosing between investing in a brand Vs showing high sales figures. In this era of managing brands on a quarterly basis, investing in building brands takes the back seat.

Brand Update : Colgate

Colgate celebrates October as Oral Health Month. This is a unique example of a brand embarking on strong value system. Colgate has long been positioned on the oral hygiene platform. Strong teeth and prevention of tooth decay has been the main communication points of this brand. To further reinforce this positioning and also to demonstrate the brand's commitment towards society Colgate observes October as the oral health month.

This initiative was started in October 2004 and has grown in size and depth. Now this initiative covers 175 cities across 19 states and touches 250 rural areas across the length and breadth of India. During this month, the brand organizes free dental camps for oral checkups. Colgate also sponsors various initiatives to educate the masses about proper oral hygiene.
This year Colgate further expanded the scope of this initiative by an attempt to touch the young urban audience . Colgate for the first time tried an animated viral campaign aimed at youngsters. The brand uses a fictional plot involving a dangerous new species Germosaurus which evolved from the germs that causes tooth decay.
Watch the campaign here : Germosaurus
Whether the new campaign had the desired effect or not, one has to appreciate a brand to take up a worthy cause.
Colgate has set a grand vision for itself. The mission aims at ZERO tooth decay. The brand is trying to promote this vision through various initiatives in partnership with Indian Dental Association. This is a variant of cause marketing. Cause marketing is defined as the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterized by an offer from the firm to contribute a specific amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue providing exchanges that satisfy organizational and individual objectives. Another jargon to define this initiative is Corporate Societal marketing. I call it a variant because a customer does not have to buy Colgate inorder for the brand to conduct these programs.
Such initiatives of brand offer many potential benefits:
a. Building brand awareness
b. Enhancing brand image
c.Establishing brand credibility
d.Evoking brand feelings
e. Creating a sense of brand community
f. Eliciting brand engagement
g. Humanizing the firm.
( Source : Strategic Brand Management by Kevin Lane Keller)

Colgate has been a consistent topper in the Brand Rankings throughout the world. The reason behind a brand sustaining its world leadership position is that it had identified a much nobler cause than the usual market share numbers.
Its a lesson for all marketers to learn....... Do your brand have a vision for the society ?

Brand Update : Pepsodent

The toothpaste war is going to get hotter. Following the high profile launch of Colgate Citrus Blast, Pepsodent has started fighting back with a new variant Pepsodent Center Fresh. The new variant is positioned as a toothpaste that fights germs and also with mouthwash. Now promoted heavily through TV and Print, this brand now adopts the tagline " Protection Outside Freshness Inside".I think that this is the first time Pepsodent is venturing outside its domain of germ protection.Theoretically, Pepsodent is diluting its core positioning of germ protection by adding one more feature. ie Freshness. Interestingly Mouthwash and freshness is the core strength of Close Up.
More interestingly Close Up has come out with a new variant with Fluoride that offers protection. Hence both Pepsodent and Close Up have exchanged its core positioning and now both have the same properties i.e Freshness and Protection. Utter confusion isn't it? So with one stroke, HLL has diluted the core positioning of both power brands. Remember that Colgate throughout its life has stuck to one positioning . ie Strong teeth and Pepsodent has successfully differentiated itself by Germ Protection. Now all these are stories of the past. Technically Close Up is Pepsodent in Gel Form and Pepsodent is Close Up in another brand name. Close Up earlier had a unsuccessful experience with its Anti Cavity Fluoride variant.

Having said that, there are certain lessons from the latest Pepsodent variant. The brand has used visual imagery to promote the new differentiation of Mouthwash. The color scheme and the analogy with Swimming Pool .. all supports the new thrust of mouthwash with in the toothpaste. But the marketing idea does'nt stop there. The brand uses visual proof of the presence of the attribute inside the toothpaste which can be physically seen by the customer. Hence three is a physical evidence of mouthwash within the toothpaste. This is not a new idea since HLL has succeeded in giving visual evidence for its Surf brand . ( Remember Power Booster with Granules). Such visual evidences provide the brand a powerful support and can be even considered to be a brand element. While the Pepsodent uses Blue liquid like visual for Center Fresh, Close Up uses White Color inside to represent Fluoride.
So whether it is mouth wash inside or outside, these brands are venturing outside its successful positioning. It has to be seen how market responds to these strategies. What do you feel?

Related Brands

Pepsodent

image source : agencyfaqs

Brand Update : Colgate

Colgate has started aggressively promoting its niche variant Colgate Sensitive toothpaste. This is a unique variant aimed at the segment of customers having tooth/gum problem.According to a report more than 80% of Indians have dental problems like gingivitis. Sensitive is a variant that specifically address this segment. The brand is said to give relief from pain after continuous use.Colgate sensitive also has anti plaque and anti-tartar properties. The promotion of Colgate Sensitive is to popularize the therapeutic segment which is not much popular in India. Colgate uses its famous and controversial tagline " No. 1 Brand Recommended by Dentists".
Related brand
Colgate

Brand Update : Colgate

Colgate is now rocking. The brand which commands the toothpaste market with over 53% share is leaving no room for competitors. This once complacent giant has now becoming very aggressive with new product launches and innovative marketing campaigns. This year the brand has come out with a new variant Colgate Max Fresh Citrus Blast.

According to news report, the variant is a result of customer analysis by the company on the tastes and trends. The company has found that customers are moving from monotony to variety, artificial/cosmetic to natural ,single to multi/combo etc. Citrus blast is a result of such a consumer insight. Since the launch of Max Fresh variant, the brand has doubled the sales. Citrus variant is expected to increase the brand's position in the market. The brand has embarked on a 360 degree campaign promoting this variant and Saif Ali Khan will be endorsing this range. The brand is targeting youth age group 18-35. ( source: Indiainfoline.com)

Related Brand
Colgate

Brand Update : Colgate

Colgate has launched the new gel variant Colgate Maxfresh Gel with Cooling crystals. The toothpaste have liquid cooling crystals that dissolve completely in the mouth while brushing releasing intense rush of freash breath.The brand is endorsed by Saif Ali Khan and the southern film Diva Asin. This variant has forced HLL to think about variants of Close Up to counter this new launch.

Source:sify,colgate.co.in