BRAND DOSSIER – COLGATE
PROJECT SUBMITTED TO
PROF. SRINIVAS GOVINDRAJAN
IN PARTIAL FULFIL FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF THE COURSE
MARKETING MANAGEMENT – I
SUBMITTED BY
VIGNESH VETRI VEL
SHRAVI SINGAL
SURYA UPADHYA
DEBRANJAN BHOWAL
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CONTENTS
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Introduction
Early history of Colgate and its evolution over time
Initial Positioning and subsequent repositioning
Advertising, Sales Promotion and segmentation strategies followed by Colgate
Analysis and generic competition to the brand Colgate
Strategies adopted over time by Colgate to tackle competition or prime market
expansion
7) Distribution strategies of Colgate
8) Future Directions
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1) Introduction:
Colgate Palmolive limited is one of the largest FMCG Company in India.
Colgate-Palmolive headquartered in New York City is the biggest seller of toothpaste and a
world leader in oral care products such as mouthwash, toothpastes, and toothbrushes. The
company also makes personal care products like baby care, deodorants, shampoos, soaps and
household cleaners such as bleaches laundry products, soaps. Colgate operates in more than
70 countries and sells products in more than 200.
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2) Early history of Colgate and its evolution over time
William Colgate founded a company in New York City in the year 1806 under the
name of "William Colgate & Company" to make starch, soap and candles.. But then in 1833,
he suffered a severe heart attack, and had to stop his business. In 1857, William Colgate died
and the company was reorganized as "Colgate & Company" under the management of
Samuel Colgate, his son. Colgate introduced Cashmere Bouquet, a perfumed soap in 1872. In
1873, the firm introduced and marketed its first toothpaste, aromatic toothpaste which is sold
in jars. The first toothpaste introduced was, Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream, invented by the
dentist Washington Sheffield in the year 1896 which were in collapsible tubes. As company
reaches 1906, they completes 100 years with a product line that includes 800 products.
Colgate gets incorporated by the five sons of Samuel Colgate in 1908. In the year 1910,
colgate moves from original location to Jersey city, New Jersey. They takes a new way of
promotion in the year 1911 by distributing two million tubes in schools and provides
hygienist to demonstrate tooth brushing. In the year 1926 palmolive merges with peet
brothers, creating palmolive-peet company, and then colgate and palmolive-peet merges
forming colgate-palmolive-peet company. On March 13th, 1930 colgate listed on new York
stock exchange. In the year 1953 company changes its name to colgate-palmolive company
and shifts theirs corporate headquarters to New York in the year 1956. Palmolive
dishwashing liquid was introduced in 1966 and then the sale rose to $1 billion in the year
1967.
In the year 1976 Colgate-Palmolive acquires Hill's Pet Nutrition and today Hill's is the
global leader in pet nutrition and veterinary recommendations. In the year 1968 colgate
toothpaste is reformulated with fluride; ultra brite is introduced. Company’s annual sales
surpass $5 billion mark in the year 1989. Latin American firm ‘Kolynos’ oral care is acquired
and colgate-palmolive undergoes major restructuring in the year 1992. In the year 1995,
Colgate enters central Europe and Russia, expanding into fast growing markets. Total
toothpaste is launched in United States in the year 1997; Colgate takes lead in domestic
toothpaste market.
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In the year 2004, Colgate acquires the ‘GABA’ oral care business in Europe, with its
strength in the important European pharmacy channel and its ties with the dental community.
And today, with sales surpassing $15 billion, Colgate focuses on four core businesses:

Oral Care,

Personal Care,

Home Care and

Pet Nutrition.
Colgate now sells its products in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
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3) Initial positioning and subsequent repositioning
Colgate Dental Cream has positioned its brand as toothpaste that has highlighted its
some of the features such as necessary calcium and minerals to provide

Decay protection,

Strong teeth,

Germ protection and

Fresher breath.
Colgate came up with many other variants of toothpastes. Some of them are Colgate
Visible White, Colgate Active Salt, Colgate Total, Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief, Colgate
Maxfresh etc.
Colgate has launched with extensive coverage of the product positioning, ‘Our Goal:
No Cavities’. This advertisement line is almost facing all toothpaste products with their
product themes. Then colgate highlights its emotional appeal as it says ‘Sweet Smile, A
Bright Future’.
Colgate’s motive behind creating such variants was to portray the image of various
products just like adding different taste to the toothpaste which would provide choice to the
customers within the brand itself.
Colgate repositions its product in a way such that consumers can know that these
products are better than the other brands. The difference in Colgate is in the way that they
market and promote their product. The following taglines provided by colgate reflect that it
wants the customers to see the brand as

Trusted for generations, No.1 brand recommended by dentists,

Trusted by generations who can make teeth stronger, etc.
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Now, with competition from indigenous ‘vegetarian’ toothpaste , Colgate dental
cream has also positioned itself as ‘always 100% vegetarian’ toothpaste.
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4) Advertising, Sales Promotion and Segmentation Strategy
Followed By Colgate
High quality products were always a plus point of Colgate. They started to target the
unattended rural markets and change their habits i.e. from the usage of ‘Manjans’ and
‘Datoon’ to toothpaste and tooth powder. In 1998, Colgate contacted 6 million people in
20,000 villages of which 15,000 villages had not experienced the availability of toothpaste
and toothpowder.
Colgate implemented a rural promotional scheme called ‘Sampark’ for, as they were
specialist in rural advertising category. Sampark decided to do their advertising by door to
door selling. So they hired people from certain locality who knew the local language which
helped Colgate to communicate easily with the consumer and also effective in sending the
right message across to the rural consumer. Colgate trained salesmen to convince the rural
population and make them to try free samples that Colgate was distributing.
The next best option that ‘Sampark’ choose after door to door selling was ‘publicity
vans’ also called as A/V vans. Seventy promotion vans do the rounds of the country and
educate rural folks on oral hygiene products such as toothpaste, toothpowder and
toothbrushes. These vans used to travel from village to village and depending upon the
market day in that specific village. These vans also did a number of other activities at a time
such as spot selling, sampling, retailing etc. The roving Colgate vans, after screening a 22
minute film on oral hygiene that explains how to use the product, offer sampling at stalls
setup near the van. 60 percent of the towns were covered by Colgate with their own
distribution strategy and the remaining 40 percent was covered by other distributors.
The Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Oral Health Educational Program
worldwide was developed to teach children positive oral health habits of basic hygiene, diet
and physical activity. This Program also encourages dental professionals, public health
officials, civic leaders and most importantly, parents and educators to come together to
emphasize the importance of oral health as part of a child’s overall physical and emotional
development.
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Colgate has used various public figures to promote their brand. People like Shahid
Kapoor, Gautam Gambhir
Colgate has a strong policy of advertisement by certifying its brand under Indian
Dental Association as they tell that their product is recommended by all dentists. This leaves
a very positive message to the viewers as no one compromises with their health.
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5) Analysis and generic competition to the brand Colgate
Colgate offers products in various categories including oral care, personal care and
household surface. The company has operations in over 200 countries across the world. It
operates in North America, Latin America, Europe/South Pacific and Greater Asia/Africa. It
is headquartered in New York and employs about 36,600 people.
For Oral care the products are mentioned as follows

Colgate Dental Cream

Colgate Active Salt

Colgate Max Fresh

Colgate Total 12

Colgate Sensitive

Colgate Kids

Colgate Advanced Whitening

Colgate Herbal

Colgate Cibaca

Colgate Fresh Energy Gel
Strengths
1) Strong financial performance
2) Focus on innovation and new product launches
3) Colgate business planning initiative
4) Effective communication
5) Loyal customers
6) Market share leadership
7) Existing in India for over 70 years.
8) Prescribed by the dentist and IDA.
9) Colgate has strong brand equity as it has been voted “The most trusted brand in the
country” for 3 consecutive years in the Ac Nielsen brand equity survey.
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Weaknesses
1) No online selling
2) Giant competitors like Close-Up, Pepsodent, etc.,
3) Too many products in the brands which lead to less focus on the individual product
Opportunities
1) Product and services expansion
2) Improving Advertising
3) Implementing New Products Majorly to Attract Youth
4) With increasing lifestyle, people are becoming more conscious about hygiene.
Threats
1)
Threat of fake products
2)
Changes in retail scenario globally
3)
Global Economic Conditions
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Competitors
Colgate competes with the following brands

Dabur india ltd.

Hindustan unilever

JHS Svendgaard Lab. Ltd.

Amar Remedies Ltd.

J.L. Morison(India) Ltd.

Elder Health Care Ltd.
Colgate reported a 17% jump in first quarter profit at Rs 117 crore, while its sales grew
20% at Rs 736 crore. "In an inflationary environment, the company's continuing efforts and
focussed programs to enhance efficiencies and reduce costs continue to yield strong, positive
results, helping to maintain margin and fund investments in building and strengthening brand
equity and the business," Colgate said in a statement. The company said prudent price
increases and cost management helped it maintain its strong gross margin.
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Current market position of colgate-palmolive india
Company
Market Cap.
Current Price
Change (%Chg)
11.67
0.50 (4.48%)
30.22
1,439.85
-11.50 (-0.79%)
19,630.56
171
0.10 (0.06%)
29,946.88
Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
663.3
-23.20 (-3.38%)
1,43,523.29
J L Morison (India) Ltd.
400
0.00 (0.00%)
54.6
10.31
-0.54 (-4.98%)
23.85
Amar Remedies Ltd.
Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd.
Dabur India Ltd.
JHS Svendgaard Laboratories Ltd.
(Rs. Crore)
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6) Strategies adopted over time by Colgate to tackle competition
or prime market expansion
Colgate has developed a powerful Branding Strategy which has significantly helped
the Brand in acquiring substantial amount of share in the oral care market of India.
Public relation campaigns were undertaken extensively during the launch of the brand in
leading newspapers and magazines, though they were focused more directly on enhancing the
image of the parent company in the eyes of stakeholders like shareholders potential investors,
etc. that in consumers.
“Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures” Teachers Training Program is an integral
part of the School Dental Health Program, conducted regularly across the country to promote
preventive dental health care. Colgate also has launched its first-ever online school
curriculum featuring fun and entertaining activities.
Colgate has taken an average price cut of 17% on its toothpaste brand portfolio, in a
bid to super volume growth in the category. This is a major strategy change as compared to
the promotion driven marketing being undertaken previously, which failed to generate the
anticipated growth.
‘Aggressive’ is the only word that could perfectly describe the advertising and sales
promotion strategy of Colgate. Colgate stepped up its rural promotion drives with IDA
(Indian Dental Association) to add value. This has been the stepping stone to the high
penetration in rural minds. Since 1976, Colgate has been doing this through its rural
promotion vans and “Young India, Bright Smiles, Bright Futures”, schools dental education
program
Four P’s marketing strategies followed by Colgate
Product
Colgate try to position some innovative toothpaste with the brand name other than but
under the umbrella of colgate Palmolive. Colgate products are certified by Indian Dental
Association and hence it shows its quality.
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Place
Colgate tries to increase the wholesalers in small towns and track the distribution path
so that they are covering all the village areas around the town
Promotion
Colgate is promoting their product with various strategies highlighting their product
using various taglines such as ‘Trusted by generations who can make teeth stronger’.
Price
Based on the competitors price colgate fixes their price and do their packing to the
product
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7) Distribution Strategies of Colgate
Colgate-Palmolive is as large as a company that it is impossible to specifically
identify their particular distribution strategies. The most important part of marketing is how a
product will arrive from the seller to the buyer. Many products go through a channel of
distribution, which involves manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. The
distribution strategy proposed is through dentists, plastic surgeons, drug stores, grocery
stores, large retail stores, and department stores.
If one was to look at the type of market coverage or intensity for their distribution
strategies, their types of products would fall under the category of intensive distribution, or
complete market coverage. However, there are some leads as to what the general channel of
distribution Colgate Palmolive uses. In Puerto Rico, Colgate Palmolive has its own separate
distribution company, called Colgate Palmolive Co Distributers, a subsidiary of Colgate
Palmolive. Being, the company has market access to nearly the whole world, there isn't one
single distributer for every market they sell to, those markets including some of the major
continents in the world. That would lead to believe that this distribution centre in Puerto Rico
is Colgate Palmolive's wholesaler for its Western Hemisphere operations in North America
and Latin America. It is also known that there are multiple Colgate Palmolive manufacturers
in Europe, where products are shipped to a single distribution centre in Denmark. From there,
the various products are distributed to markets in Europe. The implication is that this
distribution centre in Denmark is a variation of the distribution company in Puerto Rico, as to
say it is the same type of distribution company subsidiary that applies for Colgate Palmolive's
market coverage in Europe. As a result, Colgate Palmolive has a channel of distribution
classified as starting from the manufacturer, then on to an intermediary distributer, and finally
to the retailer.
Colgate Total channel system is indirect because its consumers are spread throughout
many geographic areas and often prefer to shop for certain products at specific places. Beside
convenience stores and large retail stores, many food stores play a key role in the distribution
of oral health care products. Mass merchandisers gained share due to increase in-store
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promotional support. Because of the increase in the demand for oral care products, stores
began shelving more oral care products. This is a big advantage for Colgate because there
would be more room in the stores for them to market the new Colgate Total. Dentists also
play a big role in the distribution of oral care products.
From a modest start in 1937, when hand-carts were used to distribute Colgate Dental
Cream Toothpaste, Colgate-Palmolive (India) today has one of the widest distribution
networks in India – a logistical marvel that makes Colgate available in almost 4.53 million
retail outlets across the country. The Company has grown to a Rs.2805 crore plus
organization with an outstanding record of enhancing value for its strong shareholder base.
The company leads the Rs.5050 crore Indian toothpaste market by holding 54.2% of the
value market share.
Since 1976, Colgate has worked in close partnership with the Indian Dental
Association (IDA) to spread the message of oral hygiene to children across the country under
its ‘Bright Smiles, Bright Futures’ Schools Dental Education Program. This program has
successfully reached more than 105 million school children covering around 2,41,699
schools across the country since its launch. The program focuses on children so that the
message of good oral hygiene is carried home to families and the community at large. In
2004, as an additional effort to create awareness for good oral hygiene ‘Oral Health Month’
(OHM), was introduced. Since its launch, OHM is conducted each year during September /
October, where free dental check-ups are conducted by Colgate in partnership with IDA
across the country. Conducted in designated towns and cities to establish and promote the
importance of good oral hygiene, OHM is Colgate’s mass consumer contact program.
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8) Future directions
Colgate has been a household name and is synonymous to dental care for generations
in india. India’s various oral care companies offer a wide range of toothpastes, toothpowders,
and mouth washes.
In India, only 55% of the population uses toothpaste and less than 15% of the Indian
toothpaste users brush twice a day, which means a large section of the market remains
untapped. After seeing all these points, it can be concluded that there is a tremendous
opportunity in Indian oral care market.
So in the near future colgate can consider two types of directions:
I. For rural market
Colgate needs to rethink about the product for rural consumers and come with cheaper
options. For example by selling smaller packages that are sachets or spending less on
packaging. Retailers and medical practioners can be given compensations for promoting their
product as they have an influence on the consumer’s choice.
II. Urban market
Urban market already being loyal to its brand, the key to new customers could be
innovation and value addition. Even brushing twice a day as a habit can be promoted to
increase consumption. Coupling products like toothpaste and mouth washes which
complement each other can also be undertaken to push sales. Smart endorsements could be
targeted to the young consumers as it is not possible to mislead urban consumers with high
claims.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.colgate.co.in

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colgate-Palmolive

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/colgate-palmolive-indialtd/stocks/companyid-13873.cms

google.com

reference from “Marketing Management” by “Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane
Keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwar Jha”
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THANK YOU
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