MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT ON

STUDY OF CONSUMER ORIENTATION FOR VARIOUS TOOTH PASTE BRANDS

BY CHADARAM HEMCHAND MBA A II YEAR 1225110114 GITAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT GITAM UNIVERSITY

Indian oral care industry (including toothpaste and toothpowder) is about Rs. 35 billion. Colgate and HUL contribute around three fourth of the total market. Other major players include Dabur and Anchor group together contributing around 15% of total market. Consumer Behavior World over the oral care market is largely represented by toothpaste and toothbrush. Other products in this category include mouthwash, sprays and oral rinses. In India, there is a significant presence of toothpowder as well. Many other people in India still clean teeth with traditional products like neem twigs, salt, ash, tobacco or other herbal ingredients. Recent studies have indicated dual usage (powder and paste) in 10% of rural households. The younger generation is increasingly shifting to toothpaste even in rural areas. In relative terms, penetration of toothpowder is higher in North and toothpaste in South. This could be due to higher education, purchasing power and urbanization in the South. Indian urban toothpaste per capita consumption is about 92 grams per month compared to 219 grams of China; and only 7% of Indian urban class brush twice a day compared to 86% in Malaysia. Thus there is tremendous scope for growth of doing business in India. Toothpaste industry growth has been low as compared to other products. For market leader Colgate, in 2007 growth had been around 12% for same brands like Babool the market growth was as high as 50%. As per India Info line Sector report, about 60% of toothpaste in India is sold on family platform; there is single toothpaste for the entire family. Specialized toothpaste such as for children has been available in India only in last 2-3 years (mainly imported products) and usage is extremely low. About 35% of toothpaste is sold on cosmetic propositions. These are targeted mainly at young consumers and upper urban class on the proposition of fresh breath, white teeth and functional benefits of controlling plaque, preventing cavity etc. There is a niche market (5% of total) for toothpaste with therapeutic benefits. Toothpaste is also segmented based on product attributes as White, Gel, Herbal, etc. Some products are also available as a combination of both Whites and Gel. World over toothpaste positioned on anti-cavity platform, contains fluorides. Excessive usage of fluoride can cause a disease called Fluoresces, to which children are particularly vulnerable. In India, there is a strong societal aversion to fluoride toothpaste. Price wise, toothpastes can be segmented as Economy, Regular and Value-added segments. The price range varies from Rs.15-20 for a 100 gm pack in the economy segment to

Rs.30-35 for a 100 gm pack in the Regular Segment to Rs.50 for a 100 gm pack in the medicated/value added segment.

Methodology
Having done the intended positioning it is important for us to study the actual positioning and analyze where products/brands gone right or wrong have. The methodology involved collecting perception data from actual customers. Given that we have analyzed 24 products, considering we get information from 320 customers of each product. We took feedback from customers in following way Personal interviews Online survey However, given the size of sample, it is difficult to give concrete recommendations or suggestions to individual products.

THEORITICAL ASPECTS OF THE BRANDS

Colgate
Presently, Colgate, India is marketing the following nine varieties of toothpaste: 1. Colgate Total 12 2. Colgate Max Fresh 3. Colgate Herbal 4. Colgate Active Salt Based on the various advertisements, following can be inferred about the segmentation and positioning of the various varieties of Colgate toothpastes. Note that Colgate being a very old player in the industry does not try to market itself as a toothpaste brand as it is already perceived as one. Also, Colgate has been traditionally thought to be value for money. 1.1. Colgate Total 12 Segmentation/Target: Colgate total 12 claims to provide a 12-hour protection from germs. It also provides a range of technical reasons for its superiority as compared to other toothpastes. Hence, this variety of Colgate toothpaste is targeted at the educated urban people who brush their teeth twice. Positioning: Attribute based positioning Colgate Total 12 has been projected as the most advanced toothpaste that provides 12 hour germ protection even after eating and drinking by building a protective shield around the teeth. It also tries to position itself higher in terms of reliability of its

claims by telling the consumers that its formula is a patented one and the toothpaste is the most recommended one by the dentists. Emotion based positioning Colgate Total 12 has a strong attribute based positioning with no real emotional based positioning intended.

1.2 Colgate Max Fresh Segmentation/Target: Colgate Max Fresh, with its multiple flavors, seems to target the youth. It also associates brands like iPod and sports like Kayaking with it through the means of gifts/prizes which further enforces the belief that Colgate Max Fresh is for the youth. Positioning: Attribute based positioning Colgate Max Fresh positions itself on the basis of freshness. The tagline A new dimension of freshness brings home this very point. Emotion based positioning No real emotional based positioning intended. 1.3. Colgate Herbal Segmentation/Target: Colgate Herbal targets the traditional and the naturalist market which is pretty apparent from the name as well as the tagline Strong teeth, healthy gums, naturally and the use of squirrel as the central character in its advertisements. Positioning: Attribute based positioning Colgate Herbal positions itself based on basically only one attribute, i.e. being herbal. Emotion based positioning No real emotion based positioning is intended. 1.4. Colgate Active Salt Segmentation/Target: This variety of toothpaste targets customers with orthodox thinking who believe that salt is good for teeth. Positioning: Attribute based positioning the attribute that forms the basis of this variety of salt is that it has active salt. The toothpaste hence also positions itself alongside the other toothpastes that claim to fight gums and result in healthy gums and teeth. Emotion based positioning Colgate Active Salt aims to strike a chord with traditional people who think that salt is good for teeth. Pepsodent Pepsodent presently has six variants: 1. Pepsodent G 2. Pepsodent 2 in 1

3. Pepsodent Complete 10

2.1 Pepsodent G Segmentation/Target: Pepsodent G targets all the people who desire healthy and strong teeth and also those who already suffer from gum diseases, plaque, tarter etc. Positioning: Attribute based positioning Healthy teeth require healthy and strong foundation- healthy gums. Pepsodent G Gum care is the perfect daily use expert gum care toothpastes, clinically proven to give healthier gums and reduce gum bleeding significantly. 1. Reduces recurrent gum bleeding by at least 90% 2. Reduces plaque by 50% even 12 hours after brushing 3. Reduces tartar formation up to 71% 4. Reduces malodors for hours after brushing 5. Contains Fluoride, clinically proven anti-cavity agent 6. Contains 2 powerful anti-bacterial ingredients for effective plaque control Emotion based positioning No real emotion based positioning intended. 2.2 Pepsodent 2 in 1 Segmentation/Target: Pepsodent 2 in 1 targets basically the youth who along with the germ fighting also want fresh breath. Positioning: Attribute based positioning a unique combination of paste and gel in one tooth paste. Long lasting protection: Its advanced germy-check formula fights germs even hours after brushing to give superior protection. Long Lasting freshness: Its germy-check gel gives lasting freshness. Emotion based positioning Gel for fresh and original flavor combined with germy check paste makes brushing fun rather than a chore and teeth stronger. 2.3 Pepsodent Complete 10 Segmentation/Target: Pepsodent Complete targets the entire consumer base. Positioning: Attribute based positioning Pepsodent Complete fights 10 problems of your mouth which no other toothpaste does. Emotion based positioning No real emotion based positioning intended. Pepsodent connects directly with kids and their parents. Pepsodent has always worked in the direction of an overall awareness of dental health. The re-launch campaign in October 2003 widened the context to "sweet and sticky" food and leveraged the truth that children do not rinse

their mouths every time they eat, demonstrating that this makes their teeth vulnerable to germ attack. HLL then came with the famous Dishum Dishum campaign. The insight for this campaign was that Mothers were really worried about the eating habits of their kids. From that insight came the Big Idea let Pepsodent fight germs for you". The campaign and the smart pricing virtually killed the regional brands in the oral care market.

3 Close-up
Presently, Close-up, India is marketing the following three varieties of toothpaste: Red gel Vitamin fluoride system Close up Lemon Mint Toothpaste

3.1 Red gel Vitamin fluoride system

Segmentation/Target: It is clearly aimed at the youth. Its sleek toothpaste cover and then picture of a young people on it unambiguously emphasize this point. Positioning: Attribute based positioning: It has positioned itself being toothpaste with vitamins fluoride system which helped in white teeth, strong teeth and fresh breath for a longer period of time. Emotion based positioning: It was the first gel based toothpaste launched in India so they started a new revolution of gel based toothpaste. They wanted that the customer insight should be that people are conscious about their breath and want to get close with each other with confidence. Based on this insight the brand was positioned on the Fresh Breath platform with an image of being cool.

3.2 Close-up Lemon Mint Toothpaste

Segmentation/Target: the segmentation is same as first product but just to create a different appeal among the brand it has created a different product with different color and other ingredients. Positioning: Attribute based positioning: Close-up Lemon Mint, gel toothpaste with the whitening benefits of lemon. It has flavor of lemon mint which help in giving freshness for a longer period of time as mint is a sign of freshness. Along with that this toothpaste helps in better and stronger teeth. Emotion based positioning: No real emotional based positioning intended.

Survey Questionnaire on STUDY OF CONSUMER ORIENTATION FOR VARIOUS TOOTH PASTE BRANDS

Name: Present tooth paste

family in numbers:

income:

1. Which is your favourite brand of toothpaste? a. Colgate b. Close-up c. Pepsodent d. Meswak e. Other (pls .specify) ____________________________ 1. How many times per month do you purchase tooth paste? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 1. What attracts you to the product you choose? a. Packaging(tube, box color) yes / no b. Flavour yes / no c. Foam yes / no d. Price yes / no e. Quality yes / no f. Advertisement yes / no g. Herbal yes / no Very low Low Medium Whiteness Flavour Foam Price Quality Advertisement Herbal Packing Offers Availability Taste Preference Colors

e. > 4

High

Very high

1. Have you ever had any side-effects using a particular brand of toothpaste? a. Yes (pls specify) ________________________ b. No 1. In what way do you prefer buying toothpaste? a. Loose Set b.Box Sets 1. Approximately how much do you spend on toothpaste in a month ?Rs. ____________ 2. 3. would switch to another brand , If no, possibility for one or more of the following reason: a. Price rise of current brand b. Better packaging of another brand c. Scheme offered by another brand d. Advertisement impact e. Non availability of my brand f. Influence by others YES/NO

1. If you ever had any dental problems what steps did you take to improve them ? a. Doctors prescribed toothpaste

1. 1. 2. 3.
4.

b. Ive never had a dental problem c. Other (pls. Specify) ________________________________ Place where you buy the product: a. Near pan shop b. Kirana c. Retail d. Hyper markets Have you ever used Colgate toothpaste? yes / no If no, why? __________________________ How would you suggest toothpaste companies to increase sales? Do you know the following products of colgate Dishwashing, personal care,oral care ?

5. If you dont know above products, what may be the reasons? a. Lack of advertisement b. Other brands domination

c. More cost

d. Other (specify)___________________

ANALYSIS