Group-8

Section-B

AAKARSHAN AVINASH (17pgp003)

NANDINI BUSIREDDY (17pgp040)
GUMMADI KRANTI KUMAR (17pgp056)
VIPUL KUMAR (17pgp200)
ADITYA KUMAR YADAV (17pgp204)
1.Assess the CMF launch in the US

Ans: In the year 2004, the market was evenly split between the two leading tooth pastes – CP and
Crest – that emphasized therapeutic vs cosmetic benefits.

Positioning: Culture has progressed with many consumer merchandises that have become necessities
and transformed into the day-to-day routines of society without having to think twice about it. CP or
Colgate-Palmolive, is an icon for the personal hygiene industry throughout the United States, and as
a worldwide company has positioned the brand as a most important home care in multiple foreign
countries. The CMF line is CP’s most popular brand. The brand was a huge hit because of its
individuality and the value that it crafted for consumers was astonishing. CMF positioned themselves
as premier brand along with CWE. Colgate emphasized freshness with a whitening reassurance while
using mini breath strips.

Advertising: According to first year statistical results, media advertising contributed to 73% of that
year’s budget. As a company, they began strive towards target market which consisted of adults
between 18-34 with female skew

2. Were CP China’s changes to the CMF Marketing launch programme justifiable?

Communication Challenge:

Colgate Max Fresh did not test as well as others name in China which led to the name being changed
to “Icy Fresh”. “cooling Crystals” was identified as the most relevant and meaningful phrase to
describe breath strips to Chinese consumers. Celebrity advertising was developed using Jay Chou,
leading rock star in china, who embodied ”extreme living”. Changing their celebrity spokesperson to
Jay Chow was another change that took place. All of the rebranding changes that took place was
definitely vital in order to get a kickstart in this new Chinese toothpaste market.

It was very obvious that Chinese consumers were not interested in spending a lot of money on
toothpaste, which was extremely different compared to other countries. CP China had a goal of
dominating the market in China with this new product launch. They realized what their competition
was doing and then decided to differentiate themselves by utilizing different graphics, flavors and
aesthetics in their product. In order to reach their destination price, they had to really research and
truly understand the market that they were about to enter. One of the first costs that had to be
lowered was their media expenditure; this cost was way too high. The changes that took place in the
CMF launch were appropriate because of multiple disagreeable components.
3.) Did CP Mexico manage its CMF launch better than CP China?

It seems as though CP China managed its job better than CP Mexico did, but then Colgate faced more
severe competition in Mexico than did in China. In China, its greatest challenges were price and
appealing to the concept of freshness. In Mexico they had the difficulty of securing interest in a new
product altogether. Demand was also slow, with most Mexican consumers disinterested in
superfluous oral care and growth in the toothpaste market was altogether dragging. The CMF launch
in Mexico was to neutralize the anticipated launch of CWE, which threatened the market domination
of CP. The pricing of CMF was at par with Crest’s Cool Explosions. Cannibalization was not a big issue
because Crest would lose more than fair share as compared to Colgate. Consumer appeal of CMF was
strong but the consumers suspected a corresponding lack of cavity prevention and whitening benefits.
The media advertising was based on the advertising that combined the explosive power to freshen
with extreme living.

Promotion activities included in-store merchandising, sampling and PR to promote the core benefits.
CMF is not essential to the Mexican portfolio as the toothpaste market is growing at a slow rate. The
CMF launch in China was a whole new dimension of freshness. The Chinese market is heavily skewered
towards lower priced local brands. Their premium market is 30%. I feel that China’s CMF launch was
better than Mexico’s because they made smart adaptations. Some launch changes that were made
include the name of the product (Max Fresh to Icy Fresh), term changes (breath strips to cooling
crystals), new flavours and new packaging.

I feel that the company gave China’s launch more attention and thought. They studied the Chinese
market and made the necessary changes in order for their product to be successful. Mexico’s because
they made smart adaptations. Some launch changes that were made include the name of the product
(Max Fresh to Icy Fresh), term changes (breath strips to cooling crystals), new flavours and new
packaging. I feel that the company gave China’s launch more attention and thought. They studied the
Chinese market and made the necessary changes in order for their product to be successful.

4. Evaluate the Global Roll-Out of CMF.

The global rollout of Colgate Max Fresh can be said to be successful.

 Product Differentiation: Product had dissolvable breath mint strips.

 Their toothpaste became convenient for customers because of the two in one product.
 They no longer have to worry about using alternate breath freshening products.
 Colgate Max Fresh was positioned as a premium brand and unique
 They spent a lot of time and money advertising that their product will give you ultimate
fresh breath. However, consumers suspected a corresponding lack of cavity prevention and
whitening benefits.
 The Chinese market was not very well aware of the effectiveness of the dissolvable breath
mints.
 It has the power to influence customers to recognize that it is a great product to purchase.
 The product packaging and labels are attractive and eye-catching, promoting their USP of
freshness
5. What are the costs and benefits of adaptation?

Chinese Market:

 Product modification is required before entering the Chinese market

 Market Research to get insights on awareness and knowledge of the Chinese culture and
their purchasing motives.
 Increased advertising costs
 The company would have to create a unique and new advertising campaign and method.
 A benefit would be that the Asian market favored freshness; therefore it would be easy to
launch the product in China.
 The impact of the Chinese launch was high media costs and high costs for repackaging (tube
change, color change, etc.).

Mexico market:

 The market was towards the therapeutic market.

 Adaptation of advertisements by focusing their advertising on oral care, protection, and
relief.
 ‘joy ride for your mouth’ campaign
 Adaptation makes company flexible to enter markets with understanding of local
preferences, but can be quite expensive and time-consuming
 Product information on the packaging and in the documentation also must reflect local
requirements. Focus should be on positioning the product through creating awareness about
the new product.