A tooth for a tooth

The great cola wars dominated headlines and share of mind amongst consumers in the nineties. Ever since there have been many rivalries between corporate biggies to capture consumer mind space, though none as legendary as the cola wars. I intend to discuss the evolution of the Marketing and positioning platforms of Colgate Palmolive India and the sustained attempts by the Market leader to outsmart a determined HUL in the oral care segment.

We have heard of companies that have become synonymous with the categories that they represent (an oft quoted example being Xerox internationally and to some extent Parle in the Indian context of the Glucose biscuits category). Fortunately or unfortunately, Colgate has become synonymous for Oral Care (specifically toothpaste) in the Indian market. Fortunate, because it is extremely difficult for any new player to penetrate with Colgate being such a strong household name and unfortunate because, even if it intends to, any repositioning exercise is that much more difficult for Colgate to execute.

Colgate’s flagship product has been Colgate Dental Cream. It has always been positioned as a toothpaste that ‘Prevents tooth decay’. The thought process could have been to ascertain various dental problems, zero in on the problem that is probably most common and provide a solution to address the problem. It is a simple problem/ resolution sort of an approach and execution, and this theme is more or less consistent even with some recent offerings of Colgate (Active Salt/ Sensitive). Over a period of time, Colgate has also smartly associated itself with the Indian Dental Association to endorse this product though I am guessing this happened only after HUL’s foray into the Oral Care segment.

Let us analyse what HUL has done with its flagship product Pepsodent. HUL entered the category with a big bang. The entry was accompanied with huge ATL and BTL spends. The positioning has been to portray Pepsodent as a hard working toothpaste that ‘Fights Germs’. Though I vaguely remember that the initial communication clearly spelt out the advantages of a Germ fighting toothpaste, the more recent ads have not been too explicit in communicating this. If a consumer were to say the following, would it be justified?

‘I dread germs…. but I would dread them even more if I knew what they do to my teeth….. like causing tooth decay, cavities etc.’

Let’s discuss the second aspect of the communication for both brands. It’s the dentist endorsing the brand in one case versus the child/ mother relationship being the corner-stone of decision making in the other. Now, we know that every mother is integral to the decision making process concerned with purchases for her child and this does strike a chord with the target audience. We have seen similar communication for nutritional beverages/ food products etc. Just some food for thought at this juncture

· Immediacy of a problem takes precedence over anything which is long term. I am more likely to act on a toothache today than another problem which might happen at a later stage (eg. Impact on height/ stamina over a period of time)
· Pain and suffering takes precedence over physical disability (not resulting in pain). I am more likely to act upon a nasty toothache decisively than a problem of lack of stamina

In other words, I will probably do everything to avoid a toothache while I might take a slightly more relaxed and a long term oriented approach to building stamina. In this context, is a communication with a doctor recommending a product likely to be more impactful than a mother’s conviction?? I believe so..
Let’s explore the other brands from the Colgate/ HUL stable. Its got to be between Close-Up and Colgate Maxfresh (with cooling crystals). It’s fair to say that Close-Up has been extremely aggressive in this segment and Colgate had to re-invent themselves and quickly. The response was an innovative product with Cooling crystals and with a celebrity endorsement. Let’s look at the communication more closely.

Close-Up: One of the best jingles (with the exception of maybe Limca) that I have heard. I am sure the recall of the jingle and therefore the product is phenomenal. The execution clearly draws from the brand name and highlights ability, comfort and confidence to get close thro’ product usage…. A most desirable brand promise for the youth. Beautiful visuals and settings with a pleasant cast makes the ad that much more memorable

Do I have any other point of view on the positioning?? Just one….

Food consumption habits vary and eat-outs are a common part of any couple get-together. Does the product deliver throughout the day?? If not, since it is impossible for me as a guy/ girl to brush my teeth in the course of the day, I did rather have a Chewing gum or a candy meet my need.

Colgate Max-Fresh: An innovative product with a first of its kind ingredient based proposition of cooling crystals. In a purely functional category, this was a refreshing product innovation and excitement generator. The launch was supported with Celebrity endorsement. The ad shows Saif Ali Khan waking up to brush and he is hit by a blast of freshness thro’ the cooling crystals. The positioning “Freshen up your day with Colgate Maxfresh”. When you wake up to freshness everday, you hope that you have a bright day ahead. To my mind the freshness is a more tenable positioning platform.

With the white paste and the gel sub-segment covered, what remains is the herbal segment. Traditionally neither Colgate nor HUL recently been able to make much inroads into this segment. The herbal segment operates with a certain degree of sentiment and deference to the age old practices of maintaining oral hygiene and has a cultural angle attached to it. Consequently, brands that have been able to bring about aspect in their communication (Dabur Red/ Meswak) etc. have done exceedingly well.