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SmithKline Beecham (SB) is one of the
world’s leading healthcare companies. It
develops, manufactures and markets
pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-the-counter
medicines and health-related consumer
products. Its international repertoire of
products includes leading international
brands such as Lucozade, Ribena,
Solpadeine, Panadol and Macleans.
Aquafresh
How a
leading
global
brand has
earned its
stripes
Business 2000
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One of SB’s leading world-wide brands is
Aquafresh. Aquafresh is the number one
consumer healthcare product in the
company’s international product portfolio
and is now a billion-dollar brand. It is
available in over 120 countries.
Clearly defined and consistent strategies
exist for the brand for every country in
which it is sold. These strategies are based
on an in-depth understanding of local
consumer needs and on communicating the
product in a fun and lively yet simple way.
This business study tracks how a
straightforward yet innovative range of
products from Aquafresh has evolved to
become a billion-dollar global brand. It
examines the various growth strategies the
brand has pursued since its launch twenty
five years ago and highlights the key factors
which have contributed to its success.
Background
SmithKline Beecham first launched the
Aquafresh brand in 1973. It was a highly
innovative and revolutionary product in
that it was the first toothpaste ever to
contain stripes. Since its launch, the brand
has grown and developed at a phenomenal
rate and a whole range of oral care
products has been introduced under the
Aquafresh brand umbrella.
Aquafresh was launched in Ireland in 1977
and achieved instant success in the
marketplace. It is now Ireland’s number
one striped toothpaste brand and the
fastest growing oral care brand on the
market. The brand’s market share
continues to grow and it is one of three
brands that today dominates the oral care
market. Aquafresh, Macleans and Colgate
represent approximately 70 per cent of the
Irish market. The remaining 30 per cent of
the market is distributed among 15
smaller players.
25 Years of the Aquafresh Brand
Year
Product Situation
Growth Strategy
1973
Aquafresh Toothpaste launched
with two stripes
A New Product Launch
1977
Aquafresh Toothpaste launched
in Ireland
Market Penetration
Early 1980s
A third stripe added to Aquafresh
Toothpaste - red
Product Development Strategy
A new Mild & Minty Flavour
introduced
Product Development Strategy
Revolutionary Pump Packaging
introduced
Product Development Strategy
1990
Aquafresh Flex Toothbrush
launched
Diversification Strategy
1995
Aquafresh Whitening Toothpaste
launched
Market Development Strategy
1997
Aquafresh Flexosaurus launched
Product Development Strategy
Packaging relaunch 1998.
The development of
the Aquafresh brand
When SmithKline Beecham developed
Aquafresh in 1973, it was designed to be a
leading toothpaste brand in the oral hygiene
market. The market at the time was
dominated by three well-established brands –
Colgate, Macleans and Gibbs. Each had a
strong consumer base and they were
perceived by consumers as tried and trusted
products with excellent reputations.
In a market with these characteristics, it is
often difficult to successfully establish a new
brand. However, consumer interest and
awareness in oral health was developing and
the market was beginning to experience rapid
growth. This made it a very exciting time to
launch a new toothpaste product.
SmithKline Beecham knew that to be
successful, the new brand of toothpaste
would have to possess a unique selling
proposition (USP), which would differentiate
it from the products of competitors. Thus,
when Aquafresh entered the market in 1973,
it brought with it two key product attributes
which were unique. These attributes were
instrumental in differentiating Aquafresh
from all other competing toothpaste brands.
Aquafresh was the first striped toothpaste
to be launched in the market. Its blue and
white stripes were a clear illustration of
the two product benefits - fresh breath and
the ability to fight tooth decay. The
stripes were perceived by consumers as
novel and innovative and were instrumental
in differentiating the brand from its
competitors.
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It was also the first brand to offer consumers
freshness as a major product benefit.
This concept of freshness appealed to a
whole new target market. Young people
and young families were as concerned
about taste and fresh breath as they were
about the medicinal benefits of toothpaste.
They were instantly attracted to
Aquafresh with its unique fresh taste.
The Time Line chart above illustrates the
brand’s success.
Ansoff’s matrix (1957) provides us with a
useful framework for examining the
different growth strategies that the
Aquafresh brand has pursued. The four-cell
matrix outlined below illustrates the various
combinations of product-market options
that were available for the Aquafresh
brand. Since its launch, the brand has
pursued a combination of all of these
options at different times.
The way in which Aquafresh was launched
also added to its appeal. A new style of
advertising was designed for its launch. The
‘Ocean of freshness’ advertisement used
images of blue seas and cresting waves to
communicate the product’s freshness and
taste attributes. This advertisement was
instrumental in further differentiating the
brand from its competitors and Aquafresh
was very quickly established as the best and
most modern toothpaste brand on the market.
Product Development
Strategy
The success of Aquafresh is b a s e d
fundamentally on four key learnings:
1. Superior products with defined target
markets
2. Product Range extension
3. Excellent advertising
4. Strong promotional support.
Aquafresh Whitening.
How Aquafresh
earned its stripes
So how has the Aquafresh brand achieved
such outstanding performance? Its growth
and development is a result of an innovative
and creative approach to managing the brand.
This involves:
Aquafresh Flex toothbrushes.
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Since its launch, a variety of different
strategies have been pursued to ensure that
Aquafresh is positioned as a leading brand
in the oral care market in Ireland and
world-wide.
planning where the brand should go
putting in place strategies for taking it
there.
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Product development is a strategy for
increasing market share by making
improvements to existing products or
developing new products for the existing
target markets.
Consumers’ needs and wants are continuously
changing and evolving. Because of this
companies must develop their brands to ensure
they remain relevant and appealing to their
target market. Awareness and interest in oral
hygiene had developed considerably and as a
result new needs began to emerge. People
wanted to prevent decay, have fresh breath and
feel confident about how their teeth looked.
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In 1990, it entered the toothbrush market with
the launch of the Aquafresh Flex toothbrush.
The Flex toothbrush was designed with a
unique patented Flex technology. The key
selling attribute of the new toothbrush was its
flexible neck, designed to be kinder to gums.
SmithKline Beecham has remained committed
to communicating the value of the Aquafresh
brand to its various target markets, for example:
Aquafresh toothpaste’s core benefits are
freshness, fighting decay and plaque
prevention - always in the distinctive
three stripes
In 1997, the addition of a children’s toothbrush,
Aquafresh Flexosaurus, succeeded in ensuring
that Flex enjoyed a unique family appeal. Since
its launch in 1997, Aquafresh Flexosaurus has
become Ireland’s fastest selling children’s
toothbrush.
In the early 80s, it was time to make some
changes to the original Aquafresh product in
response to these emerging trends. A product
development strategy was set in motion to
develop the products of the future. This was
essential in order to bring Aquafresh to a
leading position in the marketplace.
C o n s u m e r s w e r e b e c o m i n g mor e
knowledgeable about oral hygiene and
fighting plaque had become a significant
i s s u e . Th e s e f a c t o r s c r e a t ed new
opportunities in the oral hygiene market
and Aquafresh responded by:
relaunching Aquafresh with a new third red
stripe. This added an additional benefit of
plaque prevention to the product
introducing a new product flavour - mild
and minty - to appeal to consumers who
wanted a milder tasting toothpaste
introducing revolutionary pump packaging
- this dispenses toothpaste in an easy to use
way, with the minimum of untidiness in the
bathroom.
responding to market trends and
developments
making improvements to the Aquafresh
brand in response to these trends
ensuring that consumers’ needs are
continuously being fulfilled and that
products are communicated in a way that
the user or potential user understands.
The launch of Aquafresh Flex w as
supported with a new TV campaign. The
‘Tomato Test’ commercial used a tomato to
illustrate how much kinder the Flex toothbrush
was in comparison to regular toothbrushes.
The core message ‘kind to your gums’ was
a first for toothbrushes and made an
instant impact on consumers. Flex was
immediately differentiated from other
competing brushes. A successful new addition
to the Aquafresh brand was born.
Diversification Strategy
Diversification is a strategy for achieving
growth by developing new products that will
be sold to new markets. This can sometimes
be a high-risk strategy because it involves
entering unfamiliar territories in product and
market terms, even though they may appear
similar. However, one of the major attractions
of this strategy is that it spreads risk, moving
a company away from being too reliant on
one product or one market.
As part of its diversification strategy,
SmithKline Beecham set about extending the
Aquafresh brand into an entirely new market.
Market Development
Strategy
Market development is a strategy for
increasing sales by targeting a product at a
new market segment.
In 1995, Aquafresh Whitening toothpaste was
introduced to the market. Its introduction was
based on in-depth market research that identified
a large segment of consumers who wanted
naturally whiter teeth. The product contained
a new ingredient, Triclene, and was designed
to gently restore teeth back to their natural
Aquafresh Flex Toothbrush is kinder to
gums as it is very flexible.
Ireland’s No.1 selling children’s toothbrush.
whiteness without any of the damaging
effects of abrasive peroxide or bleaches. At
the same time, it offered the Aquafresh
core benefits of fresh, clean and healthy teeth
with its unique stripes and taste. Innovative
hologram packaging was used to reinforce the
brand attributes.
Although Aquafresh Whitening was an
extension of the Aquafresh toothpaste product
range, it was aimed at a different target market
- the younger, more affluent sector of the market
who are as concerned with the cosmetic benefits
of toothpaste as they are with the therapeutic
effects. Many of these people would have
grown up as ‘Aquafresh kids’, and were now
emerging as consumers in their own right. The
original Aquafresh toothpaste continued to
be targeted at the family segment of the market.
Once again, a state of the art advertising campaign
was designed to communicate the key
whitening benefit of the product to its target
market.
Market Penetration
Strategy
Once again, the product’s stripes were a
clear illustration of its core benefits: white
for decay prevention, blue for freshness
and red for plaque prevention.
To communicate these new developments, a
highly memorable commercial - the Billy
Boy commercial - was launched. This was a
really different, animated cartoon style of
advertisement featuring a family wearing
pyjamas in the colours of the Aquafresh stripe
accompanied by a memorable jingle tune.
The advertisement helped to propel the brand
to a new sales high.
This product development strategy for the
Aquafresh brand began in the early 1980s
and is still being pursued today. It has
resulted in a significant increase in the
brand’s market share and has involved:
Aquafresh Whitening toothpaste offers
the benefit of whiter teeth, together
with freshness, therapeutic values and
plaque prevention
An excerpt from the Billy Boy campaign.
TASKS AND ACTIVITIES
Explain why it is easier to enter a
market which is experiencing growth
than a market which is stagnant or in decline.
1
(a) Describe the oral care market in
2 1973.
(b) Outline the factors that made it difficult
and the factors that made it attractive to
launch a new product into this market.
(c) How do you think the oral care market
is different today?
As a result of this strategy, the market
share for the range continues to grow. The
brand continues to outperform many of its
leading competitors in the marketplace.
(a) Explain what is meant by Unique
Selling Proposition.
(b) Describe the Unique Selling Proposition
of Aquafresh toothpaste at the time of its
initial launch.
In Summary
(a) Take five products of your choice
and describe the USP for each of them.
(b) Outline how the USPs are communicated
to consumers.
Aquafresh, in a period of only 25 years,
has achieved phenomenal global success.
It is now a billion-dollar brand available in
over 120 countries. By the end of 1998, it
will also be available in Asia and Africa.
The key factors which have contributed to
its success are summarised below:
Aquafresh is a superior brand with a
range of top-performing products.
Aquafresh has a clearly defined personality
– fun, modern and for all the family.
The brand has continuously evolved
and responded to market trends and
forces while always holding on to the
stripes as a key part of the brand.
It is based on a clear understanding of
the needs of its target markets.
With a market penetration strategy, a company
focuses on increasing the sales of its product
among its existing target market. This usually
involves a very aggressive marketing programme
designed to attract new users (usually
competitors’ customers) to try your product.
It can also involve encouraging existing customers
to consume more of your product. For example,
encouraging customers to brush their teeth after
lunch, in addition to the morning and evening,
would result in increased consumption of
toothpaste.
Expectations for Aquafresh, however, will not
stop here. Ongoing product development and
market penetration strategies will ensure that
all products in the Aquafresh range will
continue to offer consumers the best and most
modern solutions to their oral healthcare
problems.
The continued pursuit of a highly successful
market penetration strategy has resulted in
outstanding performance for the entire
Aquafresh range of products. While pursuing
various combinations of strategies,
The continuing pursuit of product development
and diversification strategies means that
Aquafresh will continue to grow and develop
new oral care categories in the future in
response to emerging market needs.
It is supported with superior advertising
and promotional campaigns.
3
4
5
Describe each of the following growth
strategies:
Market penetration strategy
Product development strategy
Market development strategy
Diversification strategy.
Describe how SmithKline Beecham
pursued each of the four growth
strategies for the Aquafresh brand.
6
Take a brand of your choice and use
Ansoff’s matrix to describe growth
strategies which the brand has already
pursued or which you think it could pursue
in the future.
7
Working in teams of four, brainstorm
other strategies for growth which
SmithKline Beecham could pursue in the
future for the Aquafresh brand.
8
9
Explain the following terms:
Differentiation
Diversification strategy
Target Market.
Describe the lessons that other
organisations can learn from the
Aquafresh story.
10
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this case study, no liability shall attach
to either The Irish Times Ltd or Woodgrange Consultants Ltd for
any errors or omissions in this case study.
Business 2000
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