According to Datamonitor 360 (link number 1 in sources below): “Colgate-Palmolive Company (Colgate-Palmolive or 'the company') is one of the leading consumer product company's in the world. It offers products in various categories including oral care, personal care, household surface, fabric care and pet nutrition.” Please find below the brand identity prism of Colgate:
Taken from the Colgate’s annual report:
Q. Amid today’s heightened competitive environment, what is Colgate doing to better connect with consumers?
A. When we think about driving our growth with consumers, we focus on targeting our commercial investment to both build brands with our traditional marketing programs and build trial for the new products that we are bringing to the marketplace.
[…] engaging with consumers must include very powerful and effective in-store shopper marketing activities to complement our advertising in traditional media outlets. […] our integrated marketing campaigns are making much greater use of digital tools […]. [F]or in-store activity, one example is using a demonstrator to explain how Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste provides instant and lasting relief from pain […] while distributing product samples for consumers to try for themselves.
As a result […] Colgate’s long-term global market shares have strengthened despite periods of heightened competitive activity. As we enter 2011, we are planning for even greater levels of advertising investment, both in and out of the store, […] to strengthen our worldwide market share positions.
- A very diversified brand portfolio: one toothpaste per customers?
Kids market
Source: Signal.com
Colgate’s kids universe is much more developed than the competitors. The very detailed website category for children is used to create long and durable brand awareness and knowledge. Indeed, both mother and children will be interested in the brand as it is serious for the parents (lots of information) and funny for the children (funny design).
Colgate appeals to kids on an emotional level with animation characters they love. They also appeal on a psychological level to the parents because they feel like they make the best to take care of the children.
Colgate is trying very hard to reach that segment with lots of innovative strategies. Indeed, during various annual events like “Oral Health Month”, they give free gifts with a special way to show the brand. This kind of advertising campaign is really innovative and original. It reminds us the way Skip promotes its laundry washing products: encouraging kids to get dirty in order to wash their clothes!
Young people market
Source: Signal.com
Source: Official Colgate Max White One Facebook page
Colgate’s universe for young people is focused on seduction, funny colors and activities, partnerships with “hype” and attractive companies (radio for example). They even organize events with young people based on Facebook pages (targeting young techies).
Colgate tries to catch the attention of the newly independent adults by creating a “community” feeling even if we are talking about toothpaste! This technique is based on what relates to the young people to create brand awareness. Thanks to campaign like “Bye bye les accessoires”, they try to stand out from the mass and be visible when the young people go into the shops for example. They know the brand and learn about it in a funny way.
Colgate is trying to catch the attention of the young customers with a disruptive and funny campaign. People can have whiter teeth by using the Iphone application and then post these pictures on Facebook. We think that this is interesting because it shows that behind the funny application; it proves that young people are interested in the aesthetic feature of the product and need this brand benefit.
Adult and old people market
Source: Signal.com
Colgate’s universe for adult people is much more focused on scientific information and anti-age perspective. Colgate is taking advantage of its leading position to propose health oriented products as the one we can find in the pharmacies. Regarding these products, they have to explain everything with scientific details because they want to appear “serious”. Consequently, they increase brand knowledge with a large amount of information.
They try to appeal to the adults and aging population thanks to emotion, psychological and functional level. Indeed, they focus on the anti-age effect of the toothpaste for aging people who want to take care of their health the best possible. They also launch highly specialized toothpaste that appear as “professional” for the customers.
Colgate seems to seek hard to maintain its brand credibility. Indeed, according to the annual report of the brand: “Colgate’s strong relationships with professionals have contributed to making Colgate and Hill’s the most recommended brands by dentists and veterinarians worldwide. Professional endorsements build credibility for Colgate’s brands and drive product trial.” They have many connections to appear as offering a professional service at home.
However, as he states: "One of the toothpaste is billed as being "For Sparkling White Teeth"; another is "For Clean, White Teeth"; and a third is "For Sparkling, Healthy White Teeth." Can you guess which one goes with which toothpaste?"
- A "targeted approach" with a LOT of different products.
However, as he states: "One of the toothpaste is billed as being "For Sparkling White Teeth"; another is "For Clean, White Teeth"; and a third is "For Sparkling, Healthy White Teeth." Can you guess which one goes with which toothpaste?"
We can wonder if the product benefits and positioning for each product is very clear.
- Colgate’s brand positioning as a “dental cosmetic brand”
According to this article on Datamonitor 360 (link number 2 in sources below): “Specialist whitening brands, such as Clinomyn and Rembrandt are long established, however mainstream brands, like Colgate's Sparkling White, have only recently used 'whitening' as part of the brand name.”
This information is very interesting because it confirms that mainstream brands can have a brand positioning close to specialized brands. By adding this kind of features to the toothpaste, the company is enlarging its target and tries to develop its brand trust.
This new positioning is very trendy and translates the needs of the customers into concrete brand benefits. Many mainstream brands are using it at the moment (Crest by P&G also focus on it with its “Crest Rejuvenating Effects”).
- Colgate’s brand positioning as a “natural brand”
According to Datamonitor 360 (link number 3 in sources below), building brand trust and legitimacy is difficult for mainstream brands inside specialized markets like “natural” markets.
Indeed, they explain that “marketing natural products requires an understanding of niche market consumers, who tend to be skeptical of mass market companies operating in the natural products sector. If these new products are to be successful and provide the needed boost to volumes and margins, Colgate needs to match the message to the product and understand the natural is essentially a marketing and retail strategy.”
Consequently, the marketing strategy must be very well done to attract the attention of these customers. Many customers are currently asking for natural and organic products and the brand is trying its best to translate the needs of the customers into brand benefits.
- Colgate’s newest weapon: Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief.
Colgate launched its Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste in 2011. Thanks to this innovation, Colgate have a serious competitive advantage among the other mainstream brands in the market. Indeed, their explanation about this product is very technical and medical. They manage to build brand trust thanks to this strong product.
According to Datamonitor 360 (link 4 in sources below) the company “will revolutionize the way millions of consumers treat and prevent sensitivity pain.” This sentence is very interesting because Colgate’s brand reputation seems really indestructible. They are “revolutionizing” the way people feel, which is quite exaggerating but focus on the strong knowledge and the “savoir faire” of the brand.
The description of the new Colgate’s product is very health oriented and the brand promise is really surprising: “"New Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste is clinically proven to deliver faster and long-lasting sensitivity relief versus a leading sensitive toothpaste. Its proprietary formula penetrates to the source of pain, the nerve, to soothe the pain faster, shielding the nerve to prevent the pain from coming back."
According to the annual report of the brand: “Colgate connects with today’s consumers globally is by utilizing integrated marketing communications that include a mix of traditional and non-traditional media. The launch of Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste leveraged multiple digital touch points, including informative product web sites and online media […], consumer testimonials. These activities, combined with more traditional media and promotional events, are contributing to market share gains worldwide.”
Do not forget to brush your teeth after eating... do not worry Colgate will remind it to you anyway!
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