COLGATE:MARKETING STRATERGY

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

Ayisha.b.m

MAY- 2010

02. Overview of the Company/Company profile

2.1. Back ground:

Toothpaste has a history that stretches back nearly 4,000 years. Until the mid-nineteenth century, abrasives used to clean teeth did not resemble modern toothpastes. People were primarily concerned with cleaning stains from their teeth and used harsh, sometimes toxic ingredients to meet that goal. Ancient Egyptians used a mixture of green lead, verdigris (the green crust that forms on certain metals like copper or brass when exposed to salt water or air), and incense. Ground fish bones were used by the early Chinese.

In 1850, Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, a dental surgeon and chemist, invented the first toothpaste.

Modern toothpaste was invented to aid in the removal foreign particles and food substances, as well as cleans the teeth. When originally marketed to consumers, toothpaste was packaged in jars. Chalk was commonly used as the abrasive in the early part of the twentieth century.

The Colgate-Palmolive Company also asserts that it sold the first toothpaste in a collapsible tube in 1896. The product was called Colgate Ribbon Dental Crème. In 1934, in the United States, toothpaste

What is Colgate ?

In 1806, when the company was founded by 23-year-old William Colgate, it concentrated exclusively on selling starch, soap, and candles from its New York City-based factory and shop. Upon entering his second year of business, Colgate became partners with Francis Smith, and the company became Smith and Colgate, a name it kept until 1812 when Colgate purchased Smith's share of the company and offered a partnership to his brother, Bowles Colgate. Now called William Colgate and Company, the firm expanded its manufacturing operations to a Jersey City, New Jersey, factory in 1820; this factory produced Colgate's two major products, Windsor toilet soaps and Pearl starch. Colgate-Palmolive Company's growth from a small candle and soap manufacturer to one of the most powerful consumer products giants in the world is the result of aggressive acquisition of other companies, persistent attempts to overtake its major U.S. competition, and an early emphasis on building a global presence overseas where little competition existed. The company is organized around four core segments--oral care, personal care, home care, and pet nutrition--that market such well-known brands as Colgate toothpaste, Irish Spring soap, Softsoap liquid soap, Mennen deodorant, Palmolive and Ajax dishwashing liquid, Ajax cleanser, Murphy's oil soap, Fab laundry detergent, Soupline and Suavitel fabric softeners, and Hill's Science Diet and Hill's

Prescription Diet pet foods. Colgate-Palmolive has operations in more than 200 countries and generates about 70 percent of its revenue outside the United States.

What are Colgates Products ?

Dental Care Products

Of Colgate's oral care, household cleaning, personal care and pet food products, dental care products are the most lucrative. According to Texas Tech University, "Out of these four products their main source of income is oral care." Some of Colgate's "Total" line of toothpaste includes Colgate Total Advanced, Colgate ProClinical, Colgate Tartar Control, Colgate Ultrabrite and Colgate Cavity Protection.

SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, and Colgate 2in1 are a part of the Colgate children's line. Colgate makes over-the-counter products and supplies dentists with teeth whitening, fluoride, sensitivity products and toothbrushes. Some over-the-counter sensitivity names include canker sore pain relievers Colgate Orabase with Benzocaine and Colgate Peroxyl Rinse. Colgate 360, Colgate Motion, Colgate Wave, Colgate Navigator and Colgate Total Professional are among Colgate's line of toothbrushes.

Household Cleaning Products

Colgate produces several lines of household cleaning products. Ajax brand scouring and machine washing cleaners, Palmolive hand soap and dishwashing liquid, and Dermassage dishwashing liquids are popular. Colgate's fabric care line of cleaners includes Dynamo and Fresh Start laundry detergents; Suavitel Fabric conditioners as well as Murphy Oil disposable wipes and household cleaner.

Personal Care Products

Colgate manufactures several lines of personal care toiletries for men and women. Colgate shaving cream, deodorants, and body wash products for men include Aft and Skin Bracer by Mennen. Irish Spring bar soap and body washes, along with several deodorants such as Stainguard and Speed Stick 24/7.

Lady Speed Stick antiperspirant, Invisible Dry and Lady Speed Stick with Aloe are among deodorants for women. Female soap products include Softsoap hand soaps, body washes, moisturizers, hand gel sanitizers and Vel beauty bars. Teen Spirit and Teen Spirit Fun Fragrance are two Colgate lines of dry deodorants designed especially to attract teens.

Sucess Stratergy

Consistent growth drives Colgate’s global success. New products, increased advertising, geographic expansion and greater efficiency again drove sales and profits to new records. Innovative new products are critical to Colgate’s continuing growth. And the pace of new product introductions is accelerating. The most effective marketing begins with the consumer. It starts with insight gleaned country by country, by being closer to the consumer than competitors and sharing knowledge with colleagues across the Company. Over 100 Colgate researchers from around the world are united on-line and meet globally to share their knowledge, validate concepts and keep the new product development pipeline full with options, as far as three years into the future.

Teams of new product specialists, located in regional centres all over the world, develop the Company’s new products. From the very beginning of the development process, they are focused on creating global products that can be rapidly expanded throughout Colgate’s broad global network.

Colgate Actibrush has helped make the Company Number One in manual and battery operated toothbrushes in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland, strengthened

our top position in Portugal and the South Pacific, and propelled us to a strong Number Two position in Italy and Greece. Similarly, Palmolive Naturals skin and hair care products are winning consumers in Asia, Europe and Latin America with their natural, refreshing ingredients and elegant packaging. And Colgate Herbal toothpaste, with its natural formula, is building share in countries in Latin America, Central Europe and Asia.

Colgate’s new product teams identify and roll out products to market faster, bringing profitable returns sooner. Product development cycles have been reduced dramatically in the past five years, sometimes halved. TGlobal equities today account for almost 75 percent of Company sales, up from 50 percent ten years ago. Fuelled by new products, Palmolive has emerged from among more than 20 brands to become the Number Two best-selling Personal Care brand in Italy. And the Colgate brand name has demonstrated its ability to expand into new segments that provide incremental sales, such as with Colgate 2in1, a combination liquid gel toothpaste and breath freshener.

Because so many consumer purchase decisions are made in-store, Colgate research professionals conduct in-depth interviews with diverse shoppers, both in retail stores and in their homes, on an ongoing basis. The insights discovered have led to the success of new Colgate products like Soft-soap brand Fruit Essentials hand soap and shower gel, with attractive bright packaging that literally stops people in store aisles.

Importantly, proprietary knowledge about different consumer groups and how they shop, coupled with Colgate’s growing market shares, creates a strong partnership that is enabling Colgate sales executives to increase in-store presence for Colgate products.

While Colgate Oral Care is well established in over 200 countries, newer categories such as liquid hand soap are currently distributed in only half that many, with plans in place to expand Colgate’s global market presence in 2001 and beyond. In China, introductions of fabric softener and shampoo combined with a new joint venture with Sanxiao, that country’s market leader in toothbrushes, are helping to fuel rapid growth.

Colgate’s many decades of global operating expertise, its powerful brands and proven strategies for broadly launching superior new products to the market quickly, serve as a rich foundation for future success. By building on recent achievements and anticipating the needs of tomorrow, Colgate will continue to deliver greater value, growth and profitability in the years to come.