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PROCTER & GAMBLE CANADA:
DEVELOPING SCOPE ADVERTISING COPY
Ken Mark prepared this case under the supervision of Professor John Hulland solely to provide material for class discussion. The
authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised
certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.
Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of
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Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail cases@ivey.uwo.ca.
Copyright © 1998, Ivey Management Services
Version: (A) 2010-01-22
INTRODUCTION
Rob Assimakopoulos, Assistant Brand Manager for Scope, leaned back in his chair and thought carefully.
It was a hazy summer’s day in Toronto, Canada at the Procter & Gamble (P&G) head office building just
north of the city. Although Rob, along with Krista Boone, Scope’s Brand Manager, had been working on
refining P&G’s Canadian Scope brand strategy since May, a few questions still remained. Was their
targeting of the “refreshment benefit” segment within the mouthwash category correct, or should they try
to make inroads on the large “hybrid benefit” segment? Either way, what elements of past Scope
advertising would be useful in the future? New television copy for Scope was planned to air in
September 1997, and it was already July 15. A focus group session had been planned in the next two
weeks, and Rob and Krista were eagerly awaiting opportunity to uncover key consumer insights but
wanted to ensure that they asked the right questions. They would have to make specific decisions
regarding the fall advertising campaign no later than the beginning of August and wanted to ensure that
the new advertisements were as successful as possible.
PROCTER & GAMBLE (P&G)
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Procter & Gamble had operations in more than 70 countries. Since introducing
Ivory Soap in 1879 — one of the world’s first advertised brands — P&G had been continually on the
leading edge of marketing innovation.
P&G North America had $17.7 billion in sales for 1996-97, with net earnings of over $2 billion.
Worldwide, P&G generated a profit of $3.4 billion on $35.7 billion in sales for 1996-97 fiscal year. The
company employed approximately 41,000 people in the United States and Canada. Over the years, P&G
pioneered many of the approaches that have become marketing fundamentals in every part of the world,
from advertising and product sampling to concepts like brand and category management. Most
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importantly, they continued to strive for marketing leadership in every part of the world where their
brands were sold.1
P&G Canada was established as P&G’s first foreign operation in 1815, with the building of the first Tide
manufacturing plant. Its Canadian division was part of the North American region and was based in
Toronto, Canada. The Canadian division employed over 800 people in the main office building, and had
numerous production plants scattered throughout the country. P&G’s brands were split into four
divisions: Laundry and Cleaning products, Paper products, Health & Beauty Care products, and Food &
Beverage products (see Exhibit 1). Scope, introduced in 1965, belonged to the Health & Beauty Care
division, which also included brands such as Head & Shoulders, Old Spice, Pantene and Ivory. The
Canadian Health & Beauty Care division had sales of $1.4 billion in 1996.
THE CANADIAN MOUTHWASH MARKET
Mouthwash, a liquid mixture that contains water, alcohol, antibacterial ingredients and flavoring, is used
by many people as a mouth cleanser, and/or to freshen their breath. A luxury product, mouthwash tends
to sell most heavily when promoted and put on display. Part of the dentrifrice segment, it is sold through
four main channels of distribution: grocery chains (e.g. Loblaws, Sobeys, Loeb); drugstore chains (e.g.
Shopper’s Drug Mart, Big V, Jean Coutu); mass merchandisers (e.g. Wal-Mart, Kmart, Zellers); and club
stores (e.g. Price Club). Because it generally represents an impulse purchase, mouthwash is often
featured weekly (advertised in local flyers using a combination of manufacturer and retailer advertising
dollars and store advertising dollars).
The Canadian market for mouthwash was estimated at $90 million in 1997, equivalent to 17.4 million
litres (see Exhibit 2), with slow growth rates expected in the future. Rob explained:
The mouthwash market in Canada, while underdeveloped versus the U.S., is saturated.
Market growth rates have been relatively slow, about two per cent per year over the past
five years. There is an opportunity to raise both consumption and household penetration,
but this can only be done through technological innovation or breakthrough marketing.
We can do a better job at making the breath refreshment benefit more relevant to
consumers, while better demonstrating how mouthwash can improve consumer’s lives.
Scope is as good a breath refreshment product as you can buy. It kills bacteria that cause
bad breath and it does it in two ways: First, alcohol breaks down the surface of bacteria,
and second, Domiphen Bromide moves in to kill the bacteria, thereby eliminating that
organism’s ability to discharge the sulphur compounds that cause halitosis (bad breath).
Mouthwash users traditionally belonged to one of two main segments: “refreshment” and “therapeutic”
users. However, a secondary hybrid segment had recently been growing in size and importance.
Consumers in the refreshment segment used mouthwash (for its taste) to refresh their mouths and to have
good breath. Generally, these people were concerned about how their breath appeared to others, and did
not suffer from oral diseases. Scope’s refreshment effect was perceived by them to be largely cosmetic.
The therapeutic benefit-seekers looked to mouthwash to prevent bad breath (halitosis) by killing the
germs that caused it. Leaning more toward a health focus, these users did not want bad breath that was
the result of germ accumulation in their mouths. The hybrid segment consumers used mouthwash to
1
From their Web site “www.pg.com,” April 1998.
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obtain both the refreshment and therapeutic benefits. The typical mouthwash consumer was between 18
and 34 years of age.
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Scope
Scope was introduced in Canada in 1965 and enjoyed rapid share growth by expressly targeting the
refreshment benefit segment. Overtaking Listerine for market share leadership in 1975, it continued to
build to its peak share of over 40 per cent of the Canadian market by 1984 (see Exhibit 3). Its market
share started to decline subsequently as private label products started to make inroads into the priceconscious segment. These private label alternatives offered consumers a somewhat lower quality
mouthwash product at a lower price. Reviewing this situation, the Scope brand team had decided in the
mid-1980s that Scope could compete on the basis of its refreshment benefit, and maintained its price
premium strategy. Retailers earned a 35 per cent to 40 per cent margin on the final price to the consumer.
The Scope Brand Team
A graduate of The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada with an MBA in 1995, Rob
Assimakopoulos had been with P&G for just over two years. Starting as an Assistant Brand Manager
with his assignment to the Scope brand, he was scheduled to be transferred to the Crest brand in three
months.
Rob reported to Krista Boone, Scope Brand Manager. Boone had previously worked on Sunny Delight
and had been promoted to Brand Manager in early 1997. In addition to Scope, she also held brand
responsibility for NyQuil/DayQuil, Fixodent and Formula 44. An MBA from McGill University in
Montreal, Quebec, she understood P&G’s approach to strategy formulation and was not afraid to
champion different ideas if she believed they were right for the brand.
Listerine
Warner-Lambert, a U.S.-based company with products sold in nearly 150 countries, produced the
Listerine line of mouthwash, which included flavors such as Original, CoolMint and FreshBurst. The
Original flavor was introduced as an antibacterial aid for dentists, and was for many years the only
mouthwash available to consumers. Although it attracted a loyal following, consisting primarily of
consumers in the therapeutic segment, it had a strong, bitter taste. To attempt to overcome this liability
and to respond to both Scope’s marketing and the advent of private label mouthwash products, Listerine
launched CoolMint in 1992 and FreshBurst in 1995. Both products were more pleasant tasting than the
original Listerine formulation. These two introductions, supported with advertising and promotional
efforts, helped stem Listerine’s share loss. By mid-1997, Listerine’s share was estimated by AC Nielsen
to be around 27 per cent, with Original flavor at 11 per cent, FreshBurst at seven per cent, and CoolMint
at nine per cent.
Listerine’s television advertising campaigns focused on the fact that CoolMint and FreshBurst killed just
as many germs that cause gingivitis (an oral disease) as the Original flavor version, but did not taste as
strong. Marianne McBean, the Scope account executive at the DMB&B advertising agency explained
that the Listerine campaign to introduce the flavor variants included commercials such as “Rooster” and
“Grandfather.” Both were product demonstrations that attempted to convince consumers that they would
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get the same germ-killing effect along with improved taste. This strategy protected Listerine’s
therapeutic heritage, while attempting to also grow the market. As Rob explained:
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Listerine was moving forward by enhancing its products’ aesthetic appeal (via FreshBurst
and CoolMint) while strengthening its therapeutic equity (via its gingivitis claim). While
this did not appear to take away Scope consumers, it did grow the market and secure
Listerine overall market leadership share.
In early 1997, Listerine experimented with an advertising spot that was not product-focused, and that
targeted a younger audience. This advertisement, “Speak-Out,” used “younger” language, graphics and
antagonistic photo shots. In mid-1997, Listerine reverted back to using more traditional, focused
advertising. This newer advertising used two 15-second spots: “Toothbrush” and “Taste,” both productfocused advertisements leveraging the benefits of refreshment and therapy by highlighting the benefits of
their flavor variants.
In addition to the above flavored products, Listerine also manufactured and marketed Listermint in its
attempt to tap into the refreshment market segment. Unsupported by advertising and having only limited
promotional dollars invested in it, Listermint continued to languish in the market with an average market
share of only around three per cent.
Plax
Plax, made by Pfizer, was positioned as the mouthwash that “removes plaque before brushing.” The
brand’s advertising message was aimed at consumers in the therapeutic segment. It was not considered a
major threat as it was perceived by consumers to have inferior taste compared to Scope. Its mid-1997
advertisement — “Equations” — focused on the message that Plax removes plaque, and featured a young
male and young female leaning against a plain wall. As they inched closer to each other, mathematical
equations flashed on the screen. Plax held a market share hovering around five per cent of the Canadian
oral antiseptic market.
Private Label
Realizing that there was money to be made in the mouthwash business, major retailers in Canada started
to introduce private label mouthwash products in the early 1980s. Because these brands were not
supported by significant advertising campaigns, retailers could offer them at a large price discount to
major brands. The availability of a product that targeted the price-conscious consumer took market share
away from the two major players: Scope and Listerine. Private label share was estimated to be around 25
per cent. Rob added:
Private label remains competitive, but because the marketing by major brands has
improved, private label’s competitive pricing is not enough to sustain its rapid growth.
As long as major labels continue to market their products effectively by building brand
equity behind compelling advertising, private label should only draw their consumers
from the price-conscious segment.
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