Submitted by

SIDDHARDHA KARANAM SID: 306857 as the part of course work for module M04MKT Principles of Marketing under the guidance of Mr. Mark Goodman and Mr. Balwant Samra

Principles of Marketing M04MKT 2010

Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................................ 2 Table of Figures.......................................................................................................... 3 Executive summary.....................................................................................................4 Introduction................................................................................................................ 5 Colgates orientation...................................................................................................6 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 9 SWOT analysis............................................................................................................ 9 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 14 Competitive advantage.............................................................................................14 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 15 Marketing Mix analysis..............................................................................................15 4-Ps ....................................................................................................................... 16 Product Price Place Promotion Customer solution..............................................................16 Customer cost.......................................................................20 Convenience........................................................................21 Communication..............................................................22

Additional 3-Ps....................................................................................................... 25 People................................................................................................................. 25 Physical Evidence............................................................................................... 25 Process............................................................................................................... 25 Recommendations................................................................................................. 26 References................................................................................................................ 27

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Table of Figures
1. Figure 1: Net sales of Colgate .. 4 2. Figure 2: Marketing orientation . 7 3. Figure 3: Product-marketing expansion grid .. 8 4. Figure 4: WTI prices per annum ..... ....11 5. Figure 5: 4-Ps of Marketing Mix . .14 6. Figure 6: Various Colgate toothpaste ..17 ..18 ..18

7. Figure 7: Price, earnings and Dividends of Colgate 8. Figure 8: Price list of Colgate Active Salt in India

9. Figure 9: Supply Chain in Colgate . .19 10.Figure 5: Advertising ..... 21

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Executive summary
Colgate-Palmolive Company is a $15.3 billion consumer products worldwide company that serves people of above two hundred countries and territories. These consumer products make peoples lives healthier, easier and enjoyable. Around 75% of sales are from the global operations. Colgate-Palmolives core businesses are in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition (Colgate 2008). The company is leading the business of toothpaste under its brand name Colgate, an oral hygiene product. The company manufactures a wide range of toothpastes. In 1873, ColgatePalmolive Company introduced its first toothpaste Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream in glass jars. Later in 1896, this toothpaste began to sell in a collapsible tube (Colgate 2007a). Colgate has successfully ruled about half of the toothpaste market all over the world. This report will be focusing on Colgate toothpaste of the Colgate-Palmolive Company. The main aim of this report is to investigate and analyse the marketing activities of Colgate toothpaste. What is the Colgates orientation? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of Colgate? What are the competitive advantages of Colgate? What is the impact of Colgates marketing mix? This report will try to address all these questions and more.

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Principles of Marketing M04MKT 2010 Introduction

Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational corporation of the production, distribution and provision of households, health care, personal products as well as oral hygiene products. The company was founded by William Colgate in 1806 and was then named as William Colgate & Company. After the death of founder in 1857, the company was named as Colgate & Company (Colgate 2007a). During 1864, B.J. Johnson Company was developing a new soap consisting palm and olive oil. This soap became very popular and B.J. Johnson Company went on to change its name to Palmolive Company. Peet Brothers, a Kansas based soap manufacturer merged with wellknown Palmolive and was named as Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Colgate & Company was also merged and the company became Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. However, in 1953, Peet was dropped from the name and the company is ultimately known as Colgate-Palmolive Company since then (Colgate 2007a). Colgate is an oral hygiene product and one of the brands of Colgate-Palmolive Company. The company manufactures a wide range of toothpastes. In 1873, Colgate-Palmolive Company introduced its first toothpaste in glass jars. Later in 1896, this toothpaste began to sell in a collapsible tube (Colgate 2007a). Colgate has successfully ruled about half of the toothpaste market around the globe. Colgates nearest competitors are the Procter & Gamble (P&G) i.e. Crest toothpaste and Unilever i.e. Pepsodent , Close up , and Signal (Datamonitor 2008a).

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Principles of Marketing M04MKT 2010 Colgates orientation

Nature of Demand Over the century, market for toothpaste has remained constant. Even today, people are highly concerned about the cavity prevention, whiteness of teeth and odorless teeth. Colgate frequently comes out with a range of innovative toothpastes and is selling these with top quality as well as performance (Laird et al n. d.). Extend of Demand In 2001, Colgate toothpaste had the sales of about $551.5 million, giving 32.5% share of the U.S. market and the volume sales raised 3.1% to 233.3 million units sold (Laird et al n. d.). As shown below is the net sales of Colgate from year 2004 to 2008. We can notice that the sales are increasing yearly.

FIGURE 1: NET

SALES OF

COLGATE

(Colgate 2008: 4) Orientation Colgate tries to sense the customer needs and demands. This proves that the company is marketing oriented. Let us now analyze the Colgates orientation towards the marketplace. Companies have their respective beliefs concerning their marketing efforts which are usually

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varied from company to company. The challenging concepts beneath which companies perform their marketing activities are (Kotler and Keller 2006: 15) Production Concept: Customers are attracted to those products which are extensively available and cheaper. Organizations following this concept targets on accomplishing the large production competence, minimal costs and bulk distribution (Kotler and Keller 2006: 15). Colgate follows this concept and has proved for the worldwide availability including the rural areas with global presence in over 200 countries and territories (Colgate 2008). Colgate products are sold for affordable price. Colgate is leading in toothpaste business therefore the productivity is high resulting in mass distribution. Product Concept: Costumers are attracted to those products which have the best quality, performance and innovative features. Organizations following this concept targets on developing advanced innovative products and improving them regularly (Kotler and Keller 2006: 15). Colgate strongly follows this concept and has designed their business strategies accordingly. Colgate prioritizes in innovating new products and improving existing products by innovative ideas regularly. Selling Concept: Organizations embark on robust promotion and selling efforts. This is followed with unwanted goods (buyers not interested in buying) like insurance, encyclopedias etc. This is mostly practiced by the organizations with congestion. These organizations only aim is to sell what they have. They do not bother about what the market demands are (Kotler and Keller 2006: 15). Colgate does not follow this concept as Colgate focus on what the market demands for. Colgate produces their products as per the customers demands and needs. Marketing Concept: This came into sight in the mid 1950s with a philosophy of Senseand-respond i.e. customer-centered. Earlier the philosophy was Make-and-sell which was product-centered. This concept aims at finding right products for your consumers rather than finding right consumers for your products. Organization becomes more

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valuable compared to their competitors in the means of innovation, delivery and communication with enhanced customer value (Kotler and Keller 2006: 16). Colgate follows this concept as well. Colgate tries to sense the customers requirements and respond by developing the products which fulfils all their requirements. Mostly, Colgate is first to launch unique featured products in the market. Due to this, Colgate has a tough competition with its competitors like P&G and Unilever who equally trying hard to introduce new products (Datamonitor 2008a). As time passes the demands of customers varies so Colgate offers its toothpaste in three key lines to attract aged customers, adults and kids (Kotler and Keller 2006: 249). Holistic Marketing Concept: This involves development, design and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognizes organizations breadth and interdependencies. Precisely, this concept is an approach to marketing that tries to identify and resolve the opportunity and difficulties of marketing activities. There are four main elements in Holistic marketing namely (Kotler and Keller 2006: 16) o o Integrated marketing involving communications, products & services, channels Social responsibility marketing involving Ethics, Environment, Legal and Community o o Relationship marketing involving Customers, Channel and Partners Internal marketing involving Marketing department, senior management and other departments Colgate strictly follows this concept as it includes most of the marketing activities. Colgates Business strategies Colgate strictly follows the leadership strategy which aims at the main businesses of the company namely: Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition (Colgate 2008: 2). Globally, all the Colgate employees work together to achieve in Driving Growth, Funding Growth and become Best Place to Work (Colgate 2008: 2). 8| Page Coventry University

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Colgates history of robust performance comes from Colgates main worldwide businesses with a victorious worldwide financial strategy. The financial strategy is built to grow the gross profit margin and drop the costs to fund growth initiatives and produce higher profitability (Colgate 2008: 2).

Conclusion
Colgate is a Marketing orientation company. This can be clearly shown below Potential market opportuniti es FIGURE Marketin g products and services 2: MARKETING ORIENTATION (Jobber 2007: 6)

Custome r needs

Custome rs

SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis is a structured approach for evaluating the strategic position of a business by indentifying its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Jobber 2007: 63). To get a clear idea of Colgate toothpastes outlook, it is useful to analyze the companys as well as the products (toothpaste) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). Additionally, a SWOT analysis summarizes the outcome of marketing audit of the company (Jobber 2007: 61).

Strengths
First to introduce in market: In 1873, Colgate-Palmolive Company introduced its first toothpaste in glass jars. Later in 1896, Colgate was the first toothpaste which began to sell in a collapsible tube (Colgate 2007a). Brand Image: Strong customer perceptions. Colgate is most reliable and renowned brand around the globe today. This image would aid in attracting new customers. In 2005, around 14 European countries were participants to name their most reliable brands in various categories. Colgate was chosen for the most trusted brand in the toothpaste category with 53% of votes (Jobber 2007: 331).

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Robust market place: Leads the toothpaste market in United States with the market share of above 35% and also leads in few of the European countries (Datamonitor 2008a). Global presence (in above 200 territories and countries): Colgate has successfully ruled about half of the toothpaste market around the globe (Cadit 2003). Performance sustainability: The year 2007 created a history in company by a strong operating performance. In 2007, companys revenues increased by 12.7% to $13,789.7 million and the net profit increased by 28.4% (Datamonitor 2008b: 5). Robust financial performance reinforced the financial position of the company. This gained the confidence and trust of the companys partners and shareholders which is very helpful for the companys growth. Innovative and introducing new products: Colgate prioritizes on product innovation. The company endeavours to launch new innovative products and also works on creating innovative ideas to market their existing products (Datamonitor 2008b: 5). Ansoff proposed the product-market expansion grid which can be used for analysing the new rigorous expansion opportunities (Kotler and Keller 2006: 48). Current products Current markets 1. Market- Penetration Strategy 2. Market- Penetration Strategy New products 3. Product-development strategy (Diversification strategy)

New markets

FIGURE 3: PRODUCT-MARKET EXPANSION (Kotler and Keller 2006:48)

GRID

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The company operates its oral cares innovation centre in New York. There are totally nine innovation centres of the company for different products (Datamonitor 2008b: 5) Colgates Global Innovation Fund encourages their employees to come up with innovative ideas for which they are waged. The company has also teamed up global innovation specialists to gather innovative ideas. In 2008, Colgate with Givaudan S. A. jointly developed the internal fragrance for all the Colgate products (Datamonitor 2008b: 6). The robust product development and innovation is beneficial in revising the Colgates product line at regular period and this would certainly result in growth of revenue and customers reliance. Colgate Business Planning (CBP): CBP is a planning and execution process which started in 2006 to improve the market margins and shares of the company. This process assures a constant move to commercial investment throughout and a worldwide attention on increasing the return on investment. It also let the company to plan the aims for more than a year in terms of brands and customers. This evaluates the performance against these parameters and adjusts whenever necessary. Implementation of the CBPs first phase namely CBP essentials began in the end of 2007 where around 50 countries were representing above 80% of Colgates worldwide trade investment and 6 other countries had finished the entire CBP implementation. In 2008, CBP was implemented in 12 more other countries (Datamonitor 2008b: 6). First International Malaysian Halal Logo: Colgate created a history by being the first company to acquire the first international Malaysian Halal logo on its Colgate toothpaste manufactured in Thailand. Colgate was first who obtained the Halal certification from Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) (Colgate 2009b; Daily Express 2008).

Weaknesses
Excessive debt: In 2007, Colgate had a debt of about $3,222 million i.e. equity ratio of 1.47 compared to its competitor P&G whose was 0.53. In 2007, companys interest increased to $157 million. Earlier the interest was $136 million in 2005 and $120 million in 2004. This resulted in an unfavourable consequence on companys liquidity position and may perhaps hinder its reliability in the market (Datamonitor 2008b: 7). 11 | P a g e Coventry University

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Summon up: In 2007, the company had to summon up two pet products due to issues with the supply of wheat gluten at a contract manufacturer. Though these products holds small portion of sale of the total sales but affected the brand value and the operating profit of the company (Datamonitor 2008b: 6).

Opportunities
New products: Colgate is keen on constant innovation and introduction of new products which attracts the customers attention and also grows in the range of products with the increase in market share (Ivythesis Typepad 2008). Growing demand of oral products: There is a huge growing demand of the Colgate oral care products all over the world. Colgate is popular for its oral care products and this is considered to be the main source for the growth in companys revenues (Ivythesis Typepad 2008). Widespread marketing: Global customer awareness can be done mostly by marketing. Colgate is successfully marketing their products regularly. Colgate can grow their revenues by global marketing which would most probably attract more and more customers (Ivythesis Typepad 2008). Hispanics in U.S: Colgate performs promotional campaign and exclusive marketing to attract the Hispanic market by television, on-line media and print. The growing population of Hispanics in U.S. can be the cause of development in Colgates revenues (Datamonitor 2008b: 7).

Threats
Accusation: Recently, Colgate was accused for the involvement in illegal price-fixing cartels. Moreover, Colgate and other few companies illegally swapped the data with retailers regarding ongoing price talks (Datamonitor 2008b: 8). In 2006, German competition regulator noticed that Colgate planned to increase by 5% price of all the Colgate toothpaste brands. As Colgate carried out the report of the cooperative role, Federal Cartel office did not charge any fine on them (Datamonitor 2008b: 8).

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Such kind of accusations would surely affect the brand image and high chances of drop in the market share. Losing U.S. customers confidence: In recent times, it has been noticed that the U.S. customers confidence on Colgate is continuously dropping. This was based on the reports from around five thousand U.S. households. However, this drop has resulted in the reluctance of customer spending. In 2007, company produced $3,321.5 million i.e. 24% of the total revenue from the U.S. market. This shows that Colgate has extensive business in U.S. markets and the dropping customers confidence would highly distress the image of all Colgate products (Datamonitor 2008b: 8). Costly fuel and raw materials: Colgate requires products which have go through numerous price fluctuations due to inflations, recessions, external circumstances, and variations in legal agricultural activities. Colgate had to confront the unpredicted rise in raw material and packaging money due to the partial evade against product cost fluctuations. For manufacturing the products, Colgate has to reliant on the energy suppliers. Additionally, the distributors and shipping firms are reliant on the gasoline and diesel (Datamonitor 2008b: 8). As per the prediction of the US Energy Information Administration, the following table shows the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices for recent 3 years (Datamonitor 2008b: 8).

Year 2007 2008 2009

WTI price $72 per barrel $122 per barrel $126 per barrel

FIGURE 4: WTI PRICES PER ANNUM (Datamonitor 2008b: 9).

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Since the company has a huge distribution network, increased fuel cost is most likely to have a straight impact. This will affect the margins of Colgate. The company will be unable to grow in the costs of raw materials which results in low profits and operations. Competitors: There are a couple of companies who are toughly competing with Colgate

toothpaste. These competitors are also working hard in introducing new products and in increasing their market share. The nearest competitor of Colgate toothpaste is Crest of P&G and other being Unilever (Ivythesis Typepad 2008). Forex risks: Since, Colgate is spread worldwide in around 200 countries and territories;

there are huge threats in the business operations. This is also one of the vital reason for which the company would be extensive affected (Ivythesis Typepad 2008). Counterfeit Colgate toothpaste: In 2007, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

announced that the ColgatePalmolive Company were alerting about the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste. It is been noticed that the toothpastes are deceptively packaged as Colgate which was found in various dollar-type discount provisions in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The company clearly mentioned that the counterfeit toothpastes are not distributed or manufactured by the Colgate-Palmolive Company (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2007; MSNBC 2007). Recently, from 28 November to 5 December, two major retailers Sainsburys and Boots were swindled in selling the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste (Telegraph 2008). This is a serious threat for the company as counterfeit toothpastes may contain harmful ingredients and mar the brand image. Additionally, this reflects the financial status of the company.

Conclusion
Colgate has to maintain all their strengths and grab all the opportunities. On the other hand, Colgate should sooner overcome all its weaknesses and work harder on the threats.

Competitive advantage
Competitive advantage is the achievement of superior performance through differentiation to provide superior customer value or by managing to achieve lowest delivered cost (Jobber 14 | P a g e Coventry University

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2007: 27). Colgate follows the strategy of increasing the market leadership positions for its main products. Due to this strategy, the company is delivering vigorous worldwide growth. The key products of the company are toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar and liquid soaps, deodorants/antiperspirants, dishwashing detergents, household cleaners, fabric conditioners and specialty pet food (Colgate 2008: 2). Colgate is more than a century old company and have since then been the well-known for its innovative products. Colgates oral care is the only sector of many that leads in the market by producing the huge gross margins (Cadit 2003). Colgates lead is a vital strength and bestows a substantial competitive advantage compared to its competitors: P&G and Unilever (Datamonitor 2008a). Being first in market is a great opportunity to rule the market as well as a clear advantage for the business. Colgate was first to introduce toothpaste in a collapsible tube (Colgate 2007a). Colgate is first to have the first international Malaysian Halal logo on Colgate toothpaste packaging (Colgate 2009b; Daily Express 2008). Introduction of Colgate Business planning (CBP) was a powerful and profitable for the company. Colgates innovation for new products and existing products is remarkable worldwide. The global presence of Colgate comforts the customers for buying. Colgate leads in the toothpaste business and owns high market place. The brand image of Colgate is a strong perspective for the customers (Datamonitor 2008b). Importance of marketing has also played a vital role in Colgates growth which is incredibly a Competitive advantage. Colgate focuses mainly on advertising and have been spending lots day-by-day (Colgate 2007b).

Conclusion
All the strengths and opportunities of Colgate are the competitive advantages.

Marketing Mix analysis

Marketing strategy is generally obtained by the 3 key elements namely the target markets, competitors targets and the competitive advantage (Anderson 2008). Once the marketing strategy is finalized, the company starts looking into the facts of the marketing mix. Marketing mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. (Armstrong and Kotler 2009). The brand image is obtained by utilizing the fundamentals of marketing mix (Jobber 2007: 332). 15 | P a g e Coventry University

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4-Ps
Marketing mix is essential for the company to develop the demand for its products. This can be collectively done by the four vital categories which are well-known as 4-Ps of marketing mix. The 4-Ps are namely Product, Price, Place and Promotion (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 83). PRODUCT Variety Quality Design Features Brand name Packaging Services

PRICE List price Discounts Allowances Payment period Credit terms

Target customers Intended Positioning

PROMOTION Advertising Personal selling Sales promotion Public relations

PLACE Channels Coverage Assortments Locations Inventory Transportatio n Logistics

FIGURE 5: 4-PS OF MARKETING MIX (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 83) Product Customer solution

Product is a good or service offered or performed by an organization or individual, which is capable of satisfying customer needs (Jobber 2007: 28). Colgate toothpaste is the product that appends importance to the customers lives (Pauszek n. d.). Brand name and Quality Quality comes first when the company is product oriented. Colgate toothpastes quality factors are meticulously tested to guarantee consumer satisfaction. Colgate has proved for the best 16 | P a g e Coventry University

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quality by the huge number of customers and constant demand for its products. Recently, Colgate launched new toothpaste Colgate Luminous which is selling in high demand. Colgate toothpastes have led the Colgate-Palmolive Company in the oral care sector and also generate the maximum gross margins (Foolonahill n. d.). There is a strong customer perception for Colgate products. Colgate is now the most reliable and renowned brand. In 2005, 14 European countries participated to vote for their most reliable brands in various categories. Colgate with highest votes (53%) in toothpaste category was chosen as the most trusted brand (Jobber 2007: 331). Colgate is 58 th among the top 100 global brands (Business Week n. d.). This shows how powerful and popular the Colgate brand is for all its products especially for the Colgate toothpastes. Each and Every brand of toothpaste specifies about its unique feature in the product. For Example: Colgate Herbal White toothpaste Herbal in the brand name is clear and the White in brand name highlights the assurance of pearly white teeth (Foolonahill n. d.). Features and Variety Colgate mainly focuses on innovation. They come up with new innovative products having unique features and also improve the existing products by appending new differential features. For example: Colgate Herbal White toothpaste assures of a unique formula which involves a particular blend of eucalyptus, calcium, minerals and lemon extracts (Foolonahill n. d.). Likewise all the Colgate toothpastes have their respective unique formulae. Colgate toothpastes contain original baking soda with total protection compared to other toothpastes (Oup n. d.). Colgates kids toothpastes have unique features which attract the children to brush for long and more frequently (Kotler and Keller 2006: 267). As the Colgate is keen on more and more innovation with numerous features, Colgate has a variety of toothpastes. List of the global brands in Colgate toothpastes are as follows (Colgate 2008: 3) Colgate Total Advanced Colgate Triple Action Elmex Kolynos Meridol Coventry University

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Sorriso Toms of Maine Colgate Total Colgate Max Fresh Colgate Sensitive Colgate Tartar Protection Colgate Colgate Fresh Confidence Colgate Herbal Colgate Propolis Colgate Simply White Ultra brite Colgate Luminous Colgate Visible White Colgate 2in1 Colgate Sparkling White Colgate Baking Soda & Peroxide Whitening Oxygen Bubbles Kids Toothpastes

Design and Packaging Colgates focus on innovation also concentrates on the product designs and their packaging. As shown below are the few of many varieties of Colgate toothpastes with outstanding innovative designs and packaging. We can see the uniqueness of each and every product with different style, colours and names. This proves how Colgate is keenly working on attracting the customers and understanding the new generation.

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FIGURE 6: VARIOUS COLGATE (Colgate 2007)

TOOTHPASTES

For example: Colgate Herbal White toothpastes green-colored packaging boosts the herbal ingredients, the pneumonic of mint leaves, lemon and eucalyptus complements the ingredients in the toothpaste. The two bright colours red and blue (word new) are examined to attract customers eye in the stores (Foolonahill n. d.). Quantities of the toothpaste available in the market are mostly in three sizes - 50g, 100g and 200g (Foolonahill n. d.).

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Price Customer cost

Price is the amount of money customers must pay to obtain the product. (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 83). The price of any product partially highlights its quality. Although the Colgate toothpastes quality leads in the toothpaste category globally, the price of the toothpaste is fixed only after clearly examining the prices of other leading toothpastes which are already in the market or will be launched soon in the market. This strategy of pricing, aids in positioning the toothpaste as a conventional product than a niche product (Laird et al n. d.). Below shown are the price, earnings and dividends chart of the Colgate-Palmolive Company from the year 2003 to 2008.

FIGURE 7: PRICE, EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS (Corporate Information n. d.) List price

OF

COLGATE

Let us consider one of the Colgate toothpaste for the discussion of list price. Colgate Active salt - The list price of this toothpaste in India is shown below for different quantities.

Size of Colgate toothpaste (in grams) 50 g 100g 200g

Price (in Indian Rupees) Rs. 13 Rs. 26 Rs. 47

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FIGURE 8: PRICE Discounts and/or Allowances There are not many discounts and allowances for the Colgate toothpastes (Foolonahill n. d.). Payment period and/or Credit terms As Colgate is one of the companies for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) especially in toothpaste category, credits are not allowed. Even though the retailers allow credit on purchase for all the items, however no credits allowed for Colgate toothpaste (Foolonahill n. d.). Warranties and Returns These facilities are not offered for the Colgate toothpastes (Foolonahill n. d.). Place Convenience
LIST OF

COLGATE ACTIVE SALT (Colgate 2009)

IN

INDIA

Place includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers. (Armstrong and Kotler 2009). The vital role of marketing is the process of how the product is being sent from seller to buyer. Through the dentists, stores, pharmacies etc, distribution strategy is been offered to the Colgate (Pauszek n. d.). Channels The Colgate toothpastes are sold in retail outlets like supermarkets, malls, pharmacy, cooperative stores etc. The products are distributed by the Colgates supply chain as shown below (Foolonahill n. d.). Distribut ors Wholesal ers Retailers Consume rs

FIGURE 9: SUPPLY CHAIN IN COLGATE (Foolonahill n. d.) Coverage Colgate toothpastes are available in almost all countries around the globe. Colgate serves people of above two hundred countries and territories. Now, their market also includes the semiurban and rural areas where the company is primarily focusing on (Foolonahill n. d.). Locations 21 | P a g e Coventry University

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Colgate has successfully ruled about half of the toothpaste market around the globe. Colgate serves people of above two hundred countries and territories. Colgate toothpastes can found easily in any store. They are placed in oral care section in every store. In few places the products of lowest quantity are placed near the payment counter on a trial basis (Foolonahill n. d.). Inventory The retailers stocks vary by its size (Foolonahill n. d.). Logistics Colgate sets a remarkable standard for the on-time delivery of products and make sure that the products meets the customers demands. Colgates customer services department are doing well and are in-force for tracking the customers by getting feedbacks from them. Colgate mentions their details on the packaging and gives the details of contacting them like contact number, email address, website etc through which the customers can discuss their experience of using Colgate product (Kotler and Keller 2006). Promotion Communication

Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it. (Armstrong and Kotler 2009). Widespread promotion of Colgate products has made it a synonym to toothpaste (Wa In U.S., Colgate employed extremely embattled incorporated marketing campaign which involves TV, print advertising, assortment of promotional events and on-line contents (Colgate 2007). Advertising Advertising involves internet, print, outdoor, broadcast etc (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 383). In 2004, Colgate invested large budget examining new on-line advertising campaign to realize the competence of appending on-line advertising to media mix. On this, E-business director of Colgate Palmolive, Gabi Stade said: "The objective is to test whether including online within the media mix works more efficiently than TV and traditional media alone. At Colgate-Palmolive we are always keen to push the boundaries of the marketing mix while being sure to track any innovations to assess their effectiveness." (Whitehead 2004). 22 | P a g e Coventry University

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In 2007, growth in gross profit margin and saving programs supported in the development of advertising for introducing new products and improvement in market shares globally. In Brazil, a mix of robust advertising focused on the benefits of the products, endorsements and testimonials. During 2007, 20% of the total toothpaste sales are from the Brazil whereas four years later the sales were just 1% (Lee and Johnson n. d.). The importance and growth of advertising the Colgate products is shown below. We notice that company is spending lots for advertising so the budget increases yearly.

FIGURE 10: ADVERTISING (Colgate 2007b: 3) Few of the advertising slogans of Colgate toothpaste:

Colgate toothpaste (1945)

Advertising slogan: It cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth (Wininspiration n. d.).

Colgate toothpaste (1967)

Advertising slogan: The Colgate ring of confidence (Wininspiration n. d.).

Colgate Total toothpaste

Advertising slogan: Number 1 recommended by dentists. (Textart n. d.).

Colgate Oxygen toothpaste

Advertising slogan: Pure. Fresh. Clean. (Textart n. d.).

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Translation disaster of one of the Colgate toothpaste: In France, Colgate launched toothpaste called "Cue", unfortunately it happen to be the name of a popular porno magazine (The University of Texas at Austin 2009). Colgate is attracting the growing population of Hispanic in U.S. by printing the ads in Spanish. Colgate focuses on advertising their products in rural areas (example: India) where the people are almost unaware of the products (Lee and Johnson n. d.). On October 2006, Colgate posted online advertisement on yahoo homepage. This resulted in increase of visitors to yahoo 94 million and the traffic to the Colgate Total site increased to 2000% (Kramer 2007). Personal selling Personal selling involves incentive programs, sales presentations and trade shows (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 383). Colgate has advertised their toothpaste products on the show where the audience sang in the upbeat tube where the spokeswomen adorned about the virtues of Colgate Tartar Control toothpaste in Spanish. This was targeted to attract the growing population of Hispanic in U.S. (Lee and Johnson n. d.). Sales promotion Sales promotion involves demonstrations, discounts, displays and coupons (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 383). By 2003, the company expected rural India to draw above half of the revenue as company had spent 5 times more of it for marketing in rural areas. Many of the rural Indians were not aware of the toothpaste tubes. Less than 15% of rural Indians were using the dentifrice. Since ages to clear their mouths, rural Indians were using the charcoal powder and indigenous plants. Colgate showed the infomercial video to the people and also offered them free samples. They marketed by the subtext of Colgate is good for your breath and teeth. They also demonstrated how to use the toothpaste with toothbrush. To encourage and attract the people to buy Colgate toothpaste, Colgate offered free toothbrushes to few children (Lee and Johnson n. d.; Kotler and Keller 2006: 671). Colgate offers coupons via on-line with the help of several on-line coupon sites (Kotler and Keller 2006: 588). 24 | P a g e Coventry University

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Public relations Public relations involves web pages, press releases, special events and sponsorships (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 383). On April 2008, Colgate declared regarding an exclusive online promotion of Mother's Day featuring Mary Marys music (Grammy award-winning Gospel duo). By taking part in the promotion of "Send Her A Colgate Smile!", customers could tribute their mothers with a musical E-card which had an inspiring Mothers Day song with a verse from A Mother's Smile. This song was specially written for Colgate and was performed by Mary Mary (Target Market News 2008). Colgate has their official worldwide websites where the company regularly updates information such as yearly annual report, products, interviews with management faculties etc. The website is www.colgate.co.uk. Since 18 years, Colgate is marketing to the elementary schools through its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program (Event marketer 2009).

Additional 3-Ps
The additional 3-Ps (People, Physical Evidence and Process) affects the distinctive characteristics of service product. People The people mean the customers and/or employees of the Company. Valuing Colgate People" is a training program for employees introduced in Colgate to motivate people of all race and religion. This aids to achieve goals, corporate objectives of Colgate, to be aware of their values and how to respect others for their contributions (Colgate 2009). Physical Evidence There is no much physical evidence of Colgate toothpaste. Process Colgates customer services department are doing well and are in-force for tracking the customers by getting feedbacks from them. Colgate mentions their contact details on the 25 | P a g e Coventry University

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packaging like contact number, email address, website etc through which the customers can discuss their experience of using Colgate products (Kotler and Keller 2006).

Recommendations
We recommend that Colgate promote more of their products commercially, with magazine ads, in the radio, ads in dental clinics/ hospitals, dental colleges/universities, in billboards, and on sides of public transportation (coaches/buses). We also recommend Colgate to offer more of special coupons, discounts and rebates to their customers. Colgate could be beneficial when there are in-store displays (Pauszek n. d.). Colgate should work on the physical evidence as it is equally important for public awareness of the products.

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References
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<http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/top_brands/source/58.htm> 2009]

Cadit (2003) With Invention Machine, Colgate-Palmolive Discovers New, More Cost-Effective Approach to Engineering Problem [online] Available from <http://www.cadit.com.sg/solutions/invention/CaseStudies/InventionMachine_ColgatePalmolive.pdf> [19 March 2009] Colgate (2007) March 2009] Colgate (2007a) History [online] Available from Toothpaste [online] Available from < [15

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<http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/History/1806.cvsp> [17 March 2009] Colgate (2007b) Key to our future: Powerful strategies, sharp focus [online] Available from <http://investor.colgate.com/downloads/2007AR.pdf> [17 March 2009] Colgate 2009] Colgate (2009) Valuing Colgate People [online] Available from (2008) Colgates World [online] Available from

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Colgate (2009a) Colgate-Palmolive Launches a New Toothpaste with the Power of Active Salt [online] Available from <http://www.colgate.co.in/app/Colgate/IN/Corp/PressRoom/Product.cvsp? newsArticle=News_170805> [19 March 2009] Colgate (2009b) Now with the Malaysian Halal Logo [online] Available from [18

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Laird, M. et al (n. d.) Colgate Palmolive The precision toothbrush [online] Available from <http://www.wherestheplug.com/MarketAnalysisofColgatePalmOlive.htm> [19 March 2009] Lee, M. and Johnson, C. (n. d.) Principles of advertising: A global perspective [online] Available from <http://books.google.com/books?id=3TjXcAKGKUIC&pg=PA97&dq=colgate+pamolive+marketing&ei=t3u1SfuVHJXWNoHlvN0P#PPA100,M1> [19 March 2009] MSNBC (2007) Counterfeit Colgate toothpaste recalled [online] Available from

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19214360/> [18 March 2009] Oup (n. d.) Developing the marketing mix: Competitor analysis and development of a brand [online] Available from <http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199266272/palmerch06.pdf> [19 March 2009] Pauszek, K. (n. d.) Colgate-Palmolive Case-Marketing Plan [online] Available from <http://www.franklincollege.edu/pwp/kpauszek/Marketingplan.pdf> [19 March 2009] Target Market News (2008) Colgate launches online Mother's Day promotion with gospel duo Mary Mary [online] Available from <http://www.targetmarketnews.com/storyid04280802.htm> [19 March 2009] Telegraph (2008) Tubes of fake Colgate toothpaste recalled [online] Available from <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/3933094/Tubesof-fake-Colgate-toothpaste-recalled.html> [18 March 2009] Text Art (n. d.) Database of slogans. Advertising slogans for toothpaste [online] Available from <http://www.textart.ru/advertising/slogans/toiletries/toothpaste-slogans.html> [17 March 2009] The University of Texas at Austin (2009) Lost in the translation [online] Available from <http://advertising.utexas.edu/resources/humor/PROD75_016489.html> 2009] U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2007) Counterfeit Colgate toothpaste found [online] Available from <http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/colgate06_07.html> [18 March 2009] 29 | P a g e Coventry University [18 March

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Whitehead, J. (2004) Colgate to research impact of online ads in media mix [online] Available from <http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/211948/Colgate-research-impact-onlineads-media-mix/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH> [19 March 2009] Wininspiration (n. d.) Advertising slogans [online] Available from

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