Brand Management

Professor Kyryl Lakishyk

4th Trimester 2014/2015

Brand Exploratory

Project

Algernon D’Mello 159114602| Hugo Stevens 152114022| Madalena de Almeida 152113048| Maria Ana Zorrinho 152114219| Marta

Freitas 152114056

Contents

Introduction

Through this project our group wishes to study the importance of a brand and how companies use their brand as a communication tool to set up certain perceptions in customers’ minds. We also wish to understand how brands influence a customer’s purchase decisions.

To achieve this objective, we considered the Oral care industry as the focus industry for our research. We then studied the brand Colgate and started by identifying the products that the brand offers, the perceptions that Portuguese costumers have of Colgate and the marketing strategy of Colgate in Portugal. We then compared this information with that of Colgate’s competitors, namely Sensodyne, Oral-B and Aquafresh.

To obtain information related to the customer’s perception of Oral care products we conducted two focus groups. We studied the relationship that consumers have with the oral care brands and the reasons for the relationship. Then, we created a survey based on these insights and distributed it to a convenience sample of oral care product consumers in Portugal.

Over the last few years, Portuguese consumers became increasingly well-educated about the importance of their oral hygiene and its impact in their quality of life. This has boosted the essential status of a majority of oral care products by making them ‘every-day used’ products. In According to EUROMONITOR’s Oral care in Portugal report, most of the Portuguese consumers brush their teeth more than once a day. Even though only some of them use elixirs, and even fewer use dental floss in addition to their basic oral hygiene routine, this number is increasing year after year.

From our analysis we can conclude that, although there are very few players in the oral care segment in Portugal and this is a low involvement product category, the competition among the brands is fierce. In this industry, the Points of parity (POPs) across brands, according to the group’s primary research, are diversification, efficacy/quality and safety (recommended by specialists/doctors).

To be a considered a relevant player in the Oral care market, one has to provide all the above POPs in its product. Since all the major brands provide the above POPs, each brand tries to achieve a unique positioning by either highlighting the performance aspects of their product or creating certain positive images in the mind of the customer. Through our research, using the CBBE model, the group was able to find out that Colgate is a top of mind, trustworthy and respected brand. It was also perceived that Colgate has the highest resonance level among their main competitors in Portugal (Aquafresh, Sensodyne and Oral-b), but because these brands sell low

involvement products, the overall level of loyalty and commitment is not very high in neither of the brands. Furthermore, the logo of Colgate is less memorable then Sensodyne’s and Aquafresh’s, which the group learned by the lack of right associations of the brand’s name with an incomplete brand logo of Colgate.

The group made some recommendations with the purpose of improving consumers’ perceptions of Colgate. In order to address the lack of recognition of the logo, the group recommended the brand to redesign its logo in a way that it becomes more distinctive. Regarding the low level of resonance (even though it is higher than the competitors), the group advises Colgate to get the most out of its social network pages, by increasing the number of contests and engagement games which would increase the involvement level of people towards the brand.

Research methods

In this part we will explain the methodology used to collect data for

the research. We obtained data from primary as well as secondary sources.

Primary research methods

Qualitative research is more focused on how people feel, what they

think and why they make certain choices. Therefore, it can be defined as a

naturalistic, interpretative approach, concerned with exploring phenomena

‘from the interior’ (Flick, 2009)

We conducted two focus groups, with six and eight participants

respectively. Through these focus groups we wanted to comprehend

consumer’s associations and perceptions with the brand Colgate and its

competitors. Beginning with the qualitative research (focus group) was

crucial to adapt the questions for the qualitative analysis (survey).

Quantitative research relies more on numbers and concrete data and

can be defined as an approach for testing objective theories by examining

the relationship among variables, these variables in turn can be measured,

so that numbered data can be analysed using statistical procedures

(Creswell, 2014).

Based on the inputs of the focus group and keeping in mind Kellers

customer based brand equity model, we created our survey. The survey was

developed in Qualtrics. We chose a convenient sample of Portuguese oral

care consumers by distributing the survey through social media platforms.

To get a fair analysis, all respondents had to answer questions related to

Colgate and respondents were made to answer questions related to a

competitor brand only if they had sufficient knowledge of it (We also made

sure that all competitor brands had a fair share of responses). The sample

obtained includes 157 respondents, 95 females and 62 males,

predominantly between the ages of 18-24 (109 respondents) and people

that brush their teeth 2 or 3 times per day (86 and 52 respondents

respectively).

Secondary research methods

Our group also obtained relevant data by visiting the official websites (Portuguese) for each of the brands, published papers, research reports, newspapers and other media. This secondary research was conducted to provide additional knowledge about the company’s brand, to be aware of recent news and also to theoretically support our analysis.

Limitations

Regarding the focus groups, the main limitation found was the difference in active participation between contributors. For most of the time people answered honestly, but at times we realized that some participants were waiting for other members to present their views first and thus ended up getting influenced by the others’ opinion.

Regarding the quantitative research, our main limitation was in the distribution of the survey. As previous explained, we used our personal social media platforms for distributing the survey and as a result our respondents are more concentrated between the 18 and 24 years age bracket. This is a limitation for our analysis, because our sample is not equally distributed.

We were also unable to get reliable secondary information related to oral care brands / consumers in Portugal. We had to be content with research reports of private marketing firms.

Brand and Competitors

The oral care industry in Portugal

Over the last few years, Portuguese consumers became increasingly well-educated about the importance of their oral hygiene and its impact in their quality of life. This has boosted the essential status of a majority of oral care products by making them ‘every-day used’ products. In According to EUROMONITOR’s Oral care in Portugal report, most of the Portuguese consumers brush their teeth more than once a day. Even though only some of them use elixirs, and even fewer use dental floss in addition to their basic oral hygiene routine, this number is increasing year after year.

Colgate as a brand of Palmolive

Colgate is an individual product brand belonging to the multinational corporation, Colgate-Palmolive, which specializes in oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition products. Since its founding in 1806, it has grown into a $15 billion global company with operations in over 200 countries and serving 6 billion people.

Based on a study by Kantar Worldpanel (Worldpanel, 2013), Colgate is the only brand that was purchased by more than half the world's homes with a market penetration of 64.6%. It is the 2nd most chosen brand in the world losing out only to Coca-Cola (which had consumer reach points of 5772 while Colgate had consumer reach points of 3992). This report derived its information based on the actual behavior records of the buyer rather than attitudes or opinions.

Although GSK is the market leader in the oral care industry in Portugal, we believe this is due to its diverse brand portfolio. When comparing individual brands, Colgate is the most valuable of all the oral care brands in Portugal. It was rated as the 9th most reputable brand in Portugal in 2014. It had an MRI score of 79.96 while the leader Mercedes scored 83.64. (Marktest, 2014)

Brand Identity

What does Colgate offer?

Colgate is an oral hygiene brand with a diverse product line including: toothpastes (fresh breath, prevention of dental plaque and gingivitis, sensitivity and whitening), toothbrushes, mouthwashes and dental floss. Its sub-brands include Colgate Total, Colgate Sensitive, Colgate Whitening, Colgate Fresh Gel toothpaste, Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste, Colgate Plax mouthwashes, Colgate 360 toothbrushes, Colgate for kids and also pharmaceutical products for professionals under the sub-brand Colgate PeriodGard Plus.

What are Colgate’s core values?

Caring : The Company cares about people, and that involves Colgate employees, customers, shareholders and business partners. Colgate is committed to act with integrity, honesty, compassion and high ethics in all situations, to value no differences and to listen with respect to others.

Global Teamwork : Colgate people are part of a global team, committed to working together across countries and throughout the world. Only by sharing ideas, technologies and talents can the Company achieve and sustain profitable growth.

Continuous Improvement : Colgate is dedicated on getting better every day in all it does. The company believes that it will become the best if it is able to better understand consumers' and customers' expectations and to continuously work to innovate and improve products.

What are Colgate main brand elements?

Almost everyone knows the main brand elements of Colgate. The logo, the logotype and the red color. But Colgate’s managers have decided to make some changes on them in the past year, with a redrawn logo and a chevron ribbon created by The Partners’ New York office. According to Jason Smith, the creative director at Fontsmith, this refreshed elements were needed because Colgate was never really overarching due to the many different products with different identities offered, that’s why they decided to use a different typeface and the chevron ribbon device to realign that relationship between products and company, bringing Colgate a bit more to the forefront. As to the creation of the new elements, Smith states: “Making a consistent brand across all those different regions was a challenge. The typeface was key to that – our inspiration was in trying to find something that was both humanist and clinical. The red color that Colgate uses is so ownable. We had to design a typeface that had the same emotive feeling as that white on red”. The typeface of the new logo now has three weights, with the lighter styles used for cosmetics and beauty and the heavier ones used for more clinical products (regular use and dentist/medical use).

Colgate Oral B Aquafresh Sensodyne

Core IdentityAssociated

coloursRed and white Blue Red,white and

blueBlue and White

Logos

Owned by Colgate Palmolive

Procter and Gamble

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline

Twitter presence

Global Brand is present on

twitter but not the Portuguese

subsidiary

Global Brand is present on

twitter but not the Portuguese

subsidiary

Global Brand is present on

twitter but not the Portuguese

subsidiary

Global Brand is present on twitter but not the Portuguese subsidiary

Facebook presence

Global brand present on Facebook. Colgate

Portugal’s page is also present;

Global Brand is present on

Facebook but not the Portuguese

subsidiary;

Global Brand is present on

Facebook. The Portuguese subsidiary is

also present on Facebook;

Global Brand is present on Facebook but not the Portuguese subsidiary;

Products in the Portuguese MarketToothpaste Yes Yes Yes YesToothbrush(manual)

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Toothbrush (Electric +

Replacement parts)

Yes Yes NoNo

Elixirs Yes Yes Yes YesChildren’s products

Yes Yes Yes No

Professional products

Yes No No No

Floss Yes Yes No Yes

Brand Positioning

Claims on website

We create products that

provide you with a more beautiful

and healthier smile

- Leading brand in the segment of toothbrushes.- Get a sense of

professional cleaning

The protection that tastes

good.

Number one brand in dental sensitivity

Imagery

Heavy use of images of general

consumers (Mothers and

kids,couples,youth,babies). All look happy.

Have images of Oral B products, most imagery is about the Oral B

electric toothbrush.

Makes use of an animated character ‘Captain

Aquafresh’ for advertising products for children. Use

images of general

consumers to advertise

products for adults.

Images of teeth and Sensodyne products. Lot of scientific content related to teeth sensitivity.

Target audience

General public that wants happiness

General public that is

performance oriented

Kids as well as general public

that wants happiness and a good tasting

General public conscious of

tooth sensitivity and acid erosion

toothpaste.

Communication of the Brands through its website

Based on the official statements made by the brands on their website, we have tried to analyze the companies positioning and the message it wishes to convey to its consumers. The official statements are available in Exhibit …

Colgate : In its corporate message, Colgate portrays itself as a brand deeply committed to improving its consumer’s life by constantly developing newer and better quality products. Hence all the imagery of Colgate is focused on displaying happy, smiling people of all age groups. Its main advertising focus is on its toothpaste as this is its most selling product. It has about 29 different flavors of toothpaste in Portugal, each catering to a different need. It makes use of Facebook to promote its products.

Oral B : Oral B’s communication is focused on product efficiency and innovation. Although they offer a number of products, a lot of Oral B’s communication is focused on advertising the electronic toothbrush. Although Colgate does produce electric toothbrushes, Oral B is spending a lot of money on research and advertising to capture the toothbrush market. Oral B also offers replacement parts for its electronic brushes, thus creating a customer lock in.

Aquafresh : Its communication is focused on explaining its products benefits but at the same being a fun product. This product of GSK is more targeted at children and general consumers who aren’t very conscious of tooth decay. The positioning of Aquafresh is such that it doesn’t cannibalize the target segment of Sensodyne. It has a Facebook page that targets children as well as adults. We feel that Aquafresh is the direct competitor of Colgate as its advertisements and communication is similar to Colgate and it is focused on the same target segment as Colgate. Aquafresh is portrayed as the more fun, tasty brand of GSK.

Sensodyne : Sensodyne’s communication is focused on imparting scientific knowledge to people (eg. What is acid erosion, what is tooth sensitivity,etc). It makes heavy use of dental terms. This product of GSK is targeted at people with sensitive teeth and those conscious of acid erosion. The positioning of Sensodyne is such that it doesn’t cannibalize the target segment of Aquafresh. Sensodyne is portrayed as the more serious, “medicinal” brand of GSK.

Kellers Customer Made Brand Equity Model

In the following section of the report, the group used the “Customer-Based Brand Equity” (CBBE) model, created by Kevin Keller, in order to gather information about the consumer’s brand knowledge and the principle dimensions of brand awareness, associations, reactions and loyalty of Colgate. The basic premise of the model is that the power of a brand resides in the minds of customers, through what they have learned, felt, seen and heard about the brand in the past. According to Kevin Kellers’ model, building a strong brand comprises four steps: identify - which involves establishing the proper brand identity, taking into account the breadth and depth of brand awareness; meaning - which consists of creating the appropriate brand meaning through unique and favorable associations; response - by eliciting positive, accessible brand responses; and relationship - which involves building brand relationships with customers that are characterized by intense loyalty.

In order to adapt this model to Colgate, the group has analyzed the building blocks of salience, performance and imagery, judgment and feelings and resonance of Colgate through the analysis of the results obtained in the focus groups and in the survey.

SALIENCE

PERFORMANCENCE IMAGERY

JUDGEMENTS FEELINGS

RESONANCE

Top spontaneous notoriety brand

FreshnessGood FlavourClean

RedSilverElegant

Respected brand

WarmthSecurity

Preferred brand

Salience

The salience of the brand is the memory of a brand and its linkage to other important memory structures in a consumption occasion. The depth of brand awareness consists on the ease with which a brand element is remembered, either aided or unaided, while the breadth of awareness is the range of purchase or consumption occasions for which it is recalled (which in turn depends on how the product knowledge and brand are organized in memory and refers to the different usage and purchase occasions when consumers think of a brand). Taking into account Neil Barnard and John Scriven’s article ‘Differentiation or salience’, if Colgate has more salience then Aquafresh, it means that it has more people who are aware of it, who are familiar with the brand, who note and recall its advertisements and who have and who harbor intentions to use it in the future, among other aspects.

According to the Portuguese distinction “Marcas que marcam”, by QSP-Consultoria de Marketing and Diário Económico, Colgate comes up as the top brand in Oral Hygiene among Portuguese consumers.

In the survey, when asked to identify the logo of the brand, 54.60% were able to correctly identify Colgate’s logo, with the same percentage getting the logo right for Sensodyne. When crossing the data for various age categories, in the 35-49 age group the logos of Colgate and Aquafresh were correctly identified by 70% respondents. In all the remaining age group categories, the Sensodyne and Aquafresh logos are more recognised than Colgate showing that the younger and very old Portuguese consumers don’t strongly associate with the Colgate as they do with the competitors brands. (Refer Exhibit …)

To evaluate the associations of the brands in the consumers mind we showed the respondents portions of each brand’s logo (we hid the brand’s name) and asked them to assign a brand to each logo. 54% of the respondents identified Colgate’s logo correctly. But consumers could identify Aquafresh (63%) and Sensodyne (60%) logos better. Oral B (34%) had the lowest percentage of logo recognition.

In the question where it was asked for the respondents to point out the first three brands that they could remember of oral care products, 69.33% of people pointed out Colgate as a top of mind brand (the first brand mentioned) while the competitor brands didn’t have values over 10%. When cross tabulating the brand recall with different age groups, in all the age groups, Colgate was the first brand recalled by most respondents and by a very significant margin. (Refer exhibit..)

From the above analysis we conclude that the Portuguese consumers do not associate visually with the Colgate logo. Although Colgate revamped their logo last year, it still has to do better to improve it or communicate it better. However, when asked to recall a brand from memory, a majority of respondents mentioned Colgate. This means that consumers do not remember Colgate for its visual appeal but for some other reason.

Performance and Imagery

Brand image refers to the impression of a brand’s total personality in the consumer’s mind. This impression aggregates both real and imaginary qualities which consumers associate with each brand. Usually, strong brands create rich representations in the eye of the consumer, building a story about the product, which is developed over time and transmitted as the brand’s personality. Although, using advertisement campaigns, brands are able to create desirable associations in the consumers’ minds, these associations will only be validated through each consumer’ direct experience and contact with the brand. Brand image in the consumer’s mind can be moulded by marketing activities, however it is also affected by context variables and by the characteristics of the perceiver. In addition, unique brand associations can be divided in terms of performance-related and imagery-related reflections.

Performance related associations are strongly linked to the performance of the product, for example: quality, effectiveness, or attractiveness of a particular product. On the other hand, imagery related associations are represented in memory as emotional impressions (Fiske & Taylor 1995) which do not have to be related with products’ specific characteristics.

As it has been said before, Colgate wants to be connected with the idea of helping consumers improving their quality of life, therefore the imagery of Colgate is focused on displaying happy, smiling people of all age groups.

When we asked respondents how well they knew the following brands – Colgate, Sensodyne, Aquafresh and Oral B (0=Not at all, 100=Very Well),on an average, Colgate scored 75.57 points, followed by Aquafresh and Sensodyne with 57.59 and 57.5 respectively. Oral B with the lowest with 46.56 points. The below analysis helps understand why Colgate is the most known brand.

We asked respondents to indicate how much they would associate certain characteristics with each brand (1 = Totally Disagree, 5=Totally Agree). (See annex Y). Starting with Colgate, “freshness” and “good flavour” have the highest mean (4.01 points each). Also closely related to Colgate is the “clean sensation” characteristic with 3.98 points, on average. Comparing to other brands, for Aquafresh the highest values are also for

“freshness” and “good flavour”, with average points similar to Colgate (4.05 and 4.03 respectively). This shows that Aquafresh and Colgate invoke similar imagery/performance in consumer’s minds. With respect to the other brands respondents mainly felt that Sensodyne is “recommended by specialists” and Oral B is associated with “clean sensation”. This shows that Aquafresh is the direct competitor of Colgate (we came across this same observation when we analysed the communication messages of these brands on their website) while Oral B and Sensodyne have a different positioning hence different imagery in the customers mind.

To analyse the associations respondents had with each brand, we asked them to mention how much they agree with certain sentences regarding the description of the brand (0=Not at all, 100=Very Well). Starting with Colgate, we can see that, on average, respondents considered that being an accessible brand (present in many stores) and being a respected brand are the attributes that define Colgate (82.03 and 81.57 points, on average). Looking at the main competitors, we can see that respondents, on average, define each brand with different key aspects: Aquafresh, on average, is considered a brand that satisfies all the basic necessities in the oral care market (77.33 points); Sensodyne, on average, is defined as a respected (79.11 points) and a trustworthy brand (76.97 points); and Oral B, on average, is seen as a trustworthy brand (76.41) that satisfies all the basic necessities in the oral care market (75.38).

The customers association with Colgate being an ‘accessible brand’ is supported with a study that concluded that Colgate had the highest share of shelf (48 %) among all oral care brands in Portugal. (marktest, 2013)

In order to complete the analysis about brand image, we asked respondents to compare each brand to a car brand and mention their reasons for the comparison. Examining the results we can see that if Colgate was a car, 21.05% of the respondents think it would be a Volkswagen and 15.79% think it would be a BMW. Both brands are known as good and safe brands in the car segment, which is consistent with the reasons behind the respondent’s choices: the majority of respondents justify their choice by the association of both brands with quality, value for money, trustworthiness and variety of products. For Aquafresh, 24.32% of the respondents also think it would be a Volkswagen, which seems to be consistent with the common associations it has with Colgate, and another 24,32% of the respondents imagine it as a Citroen, since for them it is a “second choice”. In Sensodyne’s case, respondents considered it as a more expensive, unique and high quality brand, since 21.62% told it would be a Porsche and 21,62% said it would be a Audi, both premium brands. For Oral B, 23.53% of the respondents said it would be a BMW, 14.71% said it would be an Audi and 14.71% considered it would be a Volkswagen. In this case, respondents link the color and letters of Oral B’s logo and name to the color and letters of BMW’s logo and name, since both are blue and use letter “B”, what is

interesting is that respondents made associations through visual matches. In addition, respondents associated innovation and recognition of the brand, as reasons behind their choices.

In conclusion, most people associate Colgate with quality and trust. Its attributes like ‘fresh’ ‘good flavor’, ‘clean sensation’ and ‘value for money’ have helped build this positive image. People also value the accessibility and Colgate being the most accessible oral care brand has also contributed to its loyal image.

Judgments and Feelings

Judgments and feelings are the third level of Keller’s Customer Based-Brand equity model. As it suggests, the responses the consumer has towards what he thinks and feels about the brand are the ones that set up this level.

To assess brand responses, we choose to ask respondents about the perceived quality of the different brands, the credibility, their association in terms of brands innovation prowess, the brands uniqueness,etc

Colgate

Oral-BSensodyne

Aquafresh

Is a good quality brand 72.87 74.31 74.95 70.40

Is a trustworthy brand 76.60 76.41 76.97 70.78

Is a respected brand 81.57 73.15 79.11 71.68

Is an innovative brand 55.85 53.97 56.26 59.35

Would recommend to other people

70 57.4 64.9 53.8

Is a unique brand 47.26 41.54 44.73 36.87

Quality – Sensodyne is perceived as the brand with the best quality (74.95%), immediately followed by Oral B with 74.31% and Colgate with 72.87%, while Aquafresh scores the lowest (70,40%).

Credibility – Sensodyne, Colgate and Oral-B have similar results in terms of trustworthiness, with 76.97%, 76.60% and 76.41%, respectively. Colgate (81.57%,) is the most respected followed by Oral-B (79.11%). Aquafresh scores the lowest score in terms of both trustworthiness and respect with 70.78% and 71.68%, respectively.

Innovation – All brands score relatively equal in this criteria but in the 50% to 60% range.Colgate comes third (55.85%) while Aquafresh is

perceived as the most innovative (59.35%). However, since all scores are relatively similar, it can be concluded that the entire oral care industry on a whole is at the same level in terms of innovations.

Consideration – Colgate is the brand that people would recommend the most with ‘70%’. In the second place is Sensodyne with 64.9%. When a person recommends a brand to someone else, it means that the person has a greater affinity towards the product than someone who does not recommend. It means the user had an experience with a brand that went above his expectations. Having such a high value is good for Colgate however it should be complacent as its competitors have similar scores as well.

Superiority – The most unique brand according to the respondents is Colgate (47.26%). According to the focus group, this might be explained by the fact that it is at the top or close to it in every aspect and also some people value simultaneous attributes such as flavor and freshness, allied with the tradition of the brand. In the second place is Sensodyne with 44.73%, which might be explained by its quality and credibility. Oral-B is the third most unique brand with 41.54%, since it is close to other brands in the factors quality and credibility. In the last place is, once again, Aquafresh (36.87%), mainly supported by its innovation as a differentiation strategy.

When told to think about all the previous experiences and thoughts consumers had about the four brands and then rate how well they knew the brand from 1 to 100, the average value for Colgate was 75.57, while both Sensodyne and Aquafresh had an almost equal average value of 57.59 and 57.5 respectively. Oral-B was rated the least, with an average value of 46.56.

With these results we can understand that for consumers, Colgate lacks mostly in innovation and quality when compared with the competitors, however the difference in values is not that much. On the other hand, Colgate leads in terms of superiority, consideration and credibility. This again by not a very big margin. This high similarity in values can be attributed to the fact that this is a low involvement product category. Consumers find it difficult to have strong judgment’s or feelings related to a particular brand.

Brand judgments and feelings can only favorably influence consumer behavior if consumers internalize or think of positive responses in any of their encounters with the brand (Keller, 2001). Therefore, Colgate needs to enhance its sense of uniqueness, namely through innovation, as this is one way to differentiate themselves.

As for feelings, according to the focus group, people considered Aquafresh to be the most fun brand because of its innovation, Sensodyne the most secure due to its quality and Colgate with warmth for its tradition. However, Oral-B was difficult to get a differentiated feeling when compared to other competitors, because it is more focused on performance. Add this to the focus group!

Loyalty to the brand – Resonance

Resonance is the nature of the consumer’s relationship with the brand. If there is a high level of resonance, the customer will be committed to the brand and engage as part of a community of users with whom he/she deeply relates. If this is the case, the customer will reveal loyalty to only one brand.

Since this is a low involvement product category, getting customers to resonate with a particular brand is difficult. However, according to the survey and focus groups completed, Colgate is the brand that comes closest to achieving a resonating feeling with Portuguese consumers.

If respondents had to purchase a toothpaste brand (Annex …), keeping price and size constant for all brands, almost half of them would choose Colgate (48.7%), which shows that consumers have a strong preference for Colgate. In the second place is Sensodyne with 23.9%, while immediately next is Oral-B with 17.9%. But this information informs only about the preferred toothpaste brand.

23.1% of the respondents state that they consider only one brand when buying toothpaste, independently of the price or type of offer (Annex …). This new information, associated with the fact that most people usually buy Colgate’s toothpaste, can be interpreted the following way: from the 23.1% of respondents who stated they buy only one brand of toothpaste, 11.2% would buy it from Colgate (23.1% * 48.7%). In other words, 11.2% of respondents are loyal to Colgate’s toothpaste. As for the competition, 5.5% are loyal to Sensodyne, 4.3% are loyal to Oral-B and 2.2% to Aquafresh.

Broadening the analysis to all oral care products, 80.2% respondents replied that they buy products from Colgate (Annex …). To be more specific, 10.2% of people said they buy Colgate’s products every time (Annex …). Comparing this percentage to the loyalty to Colgate’s toothpastes (11.2%), we observe a small decrease of 1%. This shows that consumers are more loyal to the toothpastes of Colgate than to its entire product range. The difference however is small.

To achieve a better understanding of the resonance between brands (assessing different aspects), the Annexes .. to .. are extremely useful. The following table sums up the relationship between the customer and the different brands (rating from 0-100).

Resonance

Brand Colgate Aquafresh

Sensodyne

Oral-B

Loyalty Loyal to the brand 42.7 37 32 24.8

If brand was not available, it would make a big difference to use another brand

28.9 29.1 26 19.5

Would go out of the way to use the brand

24.9 26.2 22.3 19

Average 32.2 30.8 26.8 21.1

Attachment

Important brand 59 46.8 46.6 36.8

Unique brand 47.3 36.9 44.7 41.5

Preferred brand 53.6 42.3 36.9 27.1

Average 53.3 42 42.7 35.1

Engagement

Would recommend to other people

70 57.4 64.9 53.8

Average 70 57.4 64.9 53.8

Evaluating the relationship respondents have with the brand is relevant in finding out any inconsistencies. As we can see in Exhibit …, Colgate has the highest average loyalty between the four main brands. Its average loyalty rating was 32.2%, Aquafresh had a similar rating of 30.8%, Sensodyne has 26.8% and Oral-B has the lowest with 21.1%. According to the focus group, almost all the respondents wouldn’t go out of their way to buy Colgate. They would, instead, buy another brand. This shows inconsistency with the rating of 42.7% that describes how well people consider themselves to be loyal. However, if the brand was not available, one person mentioned that he would miss the freshness of the toothpaste. The flavor is also an important factor.

Focusing on the attachment to the brand, Colgate is the one that people find the most special with an average of 53.3%. Then there are Sensodyne with 42.7%, with Aquafresh very close at 42% and, finally, Oral-B with 35.1%. In the focus group, people said that Colgate is the brand they trust the most because it is a traditional brand in their homes. Sensodyne and Aquafresh were associated with health issues and different offers, respectively. Oral-B had the least associations, with only an association to dentists.

As for engagement, in terms of the willingness to recommend the brand to other people, Colgate is once again at the top with 70%. In the second place is Sensodyne with 64.9%, in the third place Aquafresh with

57.4% and, lastly, Oral-B with 53.8%. One respondent in the focus group stated that Sensodyne is more of a “pharmacy” brand with high effectiveness, however Colgate is always the first choice because of the tradition. Curiously, all the brands were associated to recommendation by dentists.

Through the social platforms, it is also possible to find a community of people using the product in Portugal. Both Colgate and Aquafresh have Facebook pages in Portugal, with 143,000 and 69,000 likes, respectively. Colgate’s community on Facebook, encourages people to share their stories, in order to inspire others to keep smiling.

According to the gathered information, it is possible to understand that Colgate is above its competitors in terms of resonance. Loyalty to the Sensodyne brand can be attributed to the fact that it targets a niche segment of consumers with Sensitive teeth. Colgate doesn’t target a niche category but is still able to achieve a good amount of brand resonance with its consumers, which means that there is something in the brand that is driving the resonance. However, there is still room to convince people that Colgate a unique brand, which can be achieved through innovation.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Colgate is the global leader in the oral care industry. Throughout the years, it succeeded in establishing its brand image and gaining substantial market share, despite the tough competition. The brand strategy has been to work closely with customers, including retailers and dental professionals, in order to build credibility and gain endorsement and loyalty. By understanding their behavior and preferences, they can offer greater value in the form of better products.

Colgate’s future will depend on how well they respond and adapt to the changes in consumers’ perception and behavior. According to the present analysis, Colgate is very well positioned in the market, which is highly correlated to the way consumers think and feel about the brand. In terms of brand awareness, people easily identify the brand and its products, mainly because they buy them on a regular basis. However, the logo identification could have been better comparing to the competition.

Concerning the performance and imagery of its products, people associated Colgate and Aquafresh mainly with “freshness” and “good flavor”, Sensodyne with “recommendation by specialists” and Oral-B with “cleaning sensation”. Curiously enough, every brand was once associated with recommendations by specialists and quality/efficacy, although Sensodyne is more times associated with these aspects, followed by Oral-B due to lack of distinctive associations. Additionally, Colgate is considered to be an accessible and diverse brand, due to its availability in the market and to its diversification of products and adaptability to different ages. There is, however, a small difference in the perceived quality between Colgate and the

two brands at the top for this aspect, Sensodyne and Oral-B. In regard to its strategy, Colgate has been doing a great work conveying the freshness and flavor of its toothpastes through its sub-brands and packages (focusing the flavor more on products for kids). The associations with the brand clearly evidence a focus on toothpastes, which is a smart move having in account that it is the most demanded product in the oral care industry. However people were proven to adhere promptly to promotions, so Colgate should use this strategy to expand the demand to other highly used products, such as toothbrushes, dental flosses and elixirs.

Focusing on judgments, Colgate is a trustworthy and respected brand that people consider to be unique, reason why they would recommend it to other people. Sensodyne and Oral-B are perceived as good quality and trustworthy brands, while Aquafresh is the most innovative. However, there is an inconsistency between the brand’s core values, which highlight their compromise to continuously innovate its products, and the consumers’ perceptions.

When respondents were asked to assign a feeling to each brand, they considered Aquafresh to be the funniest due to its innovation, Sensodyne the most secure due to its quality and Colgate the warmest for its tradition in their lives. In this case, there is again inconsistency with the brand’s strategy, since Colgate consistently evokes happiness in its website, by showing regular people smiling. This can be explained by the lack of advertising displaying a feeling of happiness, which can be seized by the company, leveraging on the fact that people in the focus groups shared some boredom with commercials displaying doctors’ recommendations.

Finally, the analysis placed Colgate as the best in terms of resonance, being consistently better rated than the competition for loyalty, attachment and engagement to the brand. However, all brands received a low rating, which can be explained by the fact that this is a low involvement industry.

As the report demonstrates, Colgate is consistently at the top for numerous aspects, however there are still some opportunities for the brand to improve its brand management. Below, the group presents a set of recommendations based on the featured findings:

- Although the company has recently redesigned the logo, the only thing they changed was the typeface. In order to improve the logo identification and consequently the brand awareness, the group recommends the company to add a distinctive element. As seen in the survey, Aquafresh and Sensodyne were identified correctly the most times through the logo. This might be explained by the fact that both of them contain a distinctive element on their logo (Aquafresh contains a colorful toothpaste element and Sensodyne contains background loops, Images in Appendix?). Moreover, there was some confusion between Colgate and Oral-B’s logos.

- As this is a low involvement category, the company should experiment punctual promotions of the type “Take 2 for the price of 1”, mainly in segments with strong competition, since it is the most requested offer by the consumer. Besides, the company should sell products in bundles, such as for example: toothpaste plus dental floss or toothpaste plus elixir. This way, it would increase the awareness to other products that people use the most (besides the toothpaste and the toothbrush) and that are not sufficiently associated to the brand, while increasing the level of loyalty (by expanding the dependency on the brand to other products).

- According to the information gathered, consumers (mainly older people), consider quality to be the most important factor when buying toothpaste. However, Colgate is below Sensodyne and Oral-B in this aspect. The strategy should be to confer visibility to the sub-brand PerioGard Plus. Colgate cannot try to be attractive to all segments or it loses attractiveness inside its current segment. The already existing PerioGard Plus is ideal to leverage some strengths of Colgate, such as respect, trust and, in particular, the tradition, to start a campaign focused on older people. This sub-brand competes directly with Sensodyne as a premium brand. The package itself transmits more quality due to the focus on the properties of the product (eg.: advanced plaque control)Th traditionto compete in the older people segment, which is a segment where quality is preferred, to compete directly with sensodyne and oral-B. Also the package of periodgard transmits more quality due to the focus on the properties of the toothpaste and different imagery, while reducing the size of the logo to give more space for PeriodGard to improve as its own brand. It is better like this to focus on other segments risking changing the already built perceptions of Colgate as an unique brand. Show picture comparing both packages. For this brand can charge premium price, since people in the survey said to not agree to the fact that Colgate is premium.

- Introduce innovative products to place Colgate at the top in an aspect where it is not as well-rated as the competition. It transmits care for innovation in its strategy but consumers don’t perceive it. In the focus group, one person recommended the introduction of chewing gums for whitening teeth, instead of brushing them. This is a strategy which has already been used by Aquafresh, however it would still contribute to an increase in the innovation’s perception.

- An additional recommendation to improve the perception of innovation would be to introduce a new toothpaste tube. Through the analysis of the company’s range of toothpastes in Portugal, it is possible to find a better convenient tube, which allows an easier usage and storage. Therefore, Colgate should expand this type of tube to other toothpastes, as it already happens with Max White One Optic toothpaste. (See picture, appendix)

- Happiness – inconsistent – new type of commercials evocating happiness . - Create a character or use a famous one (only for packaging) to use in the kids’ lines so

that they can compete with Aquafresh in the segment that the last one seems to be better, kids. More on funny, but still helps the happiness.

Do not focus too much on electronic toothbrush. Small mkt. only used daily by 4%,

Only 54% of people identified the logo of Colgate, which is low compared to the competition. However they believe they know well the brand (75%), the most well-known. That was true for recall, but not for brand image. However, they say Colgate is the best visually appealing.

References

http://beyond-white-smile.blogspot.pt/

http://www.euromonitor.com/oral-care-in-portugal/report

http://www.colgate.pt/app/Colgate/PT/HomePage.cvsp

http://www.sensodyne.pt/

http://www.aquafresh.pt/

http://www.oralb.pt/

Kantar worldpanel report

http://anilact.pt/informar/lista-actualidade/1952-conheca-os-resultados-da-4-edicao-do-marktest-reputation-indexhttp://www.marktest.com/wap/a/n/id~1adf.aspxhttp://www.marcasquemarcam.pt/uploads/pdf/483874.pdfhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/keller-brand-equity-model.htmhttp://www.sba.pdx.edu/faculty/ahutinel/Read/11.pdfhttp://mktg.uni-svishtov.bg/ivm/resources/CustomerBasedbrandEquityModel.pdfhttp://www.researchersworld.com/vol2/PAPER_04.pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1252054?uid=37193&uid=3738880&uid=368665151&uid=2&uid=3&uid=67&uid=37191&uid=62&sid=21106878357393

http://mktg.uni-svishtov.bg/ivm/resources/CustomerBasedbrandEquityModel.pdf

http://www.marcasquemarcam.pt/uploads/pdf/483874.pdfhttp://www.marktest.com/wap/a/n/id~1adf.aspx

http://www.designweek.co.uk/colgate-rolls-out-new-identity/

Hugo references on notes (take off)

Appendix

Companies’ corporate communication

Colgate

“Colgate People, working around the world, share a commitment to our three key corporate values: Care, Global Teamwork and Continuous Improvement Team. These values are reflected not only in the quality of our products and the reputation of our Company, but also in our commitment to serving the communities where we operate. As a

Oral B

Aquafresh

Sensodyne

“For more than 50 years, Oral-B has produced the highest-quality dental hygiene products for consumers and dental professionals. Oral-B provides manual and power toothbrushes for children and adults, oral irrigators, oral care centres, and interdental products, such as dental floss. Currently, Oral-B brand manual toothbrushes are used by more dentists than any other brand in the world.”

“Colgate People, working around the world, share a commitment to our three key corporate values: Care, Global Teamwork and Continuous Improvement Team. These values are reflected not only in the quality of our products and the reputation of our Company, but also in our commitment to serving the communities where we operate. As a

“Aquafresh is one of the world's largest oral care brands. Its range includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, and on-the-move oral care products. The unique red, white and blue striped toothpaste makes the product visually distinctive, but also underlines the triple benefits of strong teeth, healthy gums and fresh breath – whole mouth protection.”

“Sensodyne® is the world’s number 1 sensitivity toothpaste brand (Value Retail Sales data, 12 months ending 31 Dec 2013), recommended by dentists across the world. Sensodyne® offers a range of products specifically formulated for the care and treatment of sensitive teeth. If you have sensitive teeth, switching to a sensitivity toothpaste such as Sensodyne® can make a big difference to your enjoyment of everyday life, and supports your overall oral health too. Sensodyne® toothpastes work to relieve tooth sensitivity and provide lasting daily protection,

Focus Groups

·         6 to 8 participants – Carefully recruited·        Moderator – Uses predetermined questions, permissive environment,

Adequate knowledge of topic Appears like the participants, Listener, 5 second pause, avoid "that's good", "excellent"

·         Assistant moderator - Handles logistics, Takes careful notes, Monitors recording equipment

·         Introduction 1. Welcome 2. Overview of topic 3. Ground rules 4. First question

·         Conclusion 1. Summarize with confirmation, 2. Review purpose and ask if anything has been missed, 3. Thanks and dismissal

IntroductionFirst of all I’d like to thank you all for sparing your precious time to be a part of this focus group. I promise to keep it short.I am, …. the moderator. And this is … the assistant moderator.Thru this focus group, we intend to understand what consumers think and feel about the brand ‘Colgate’ and its competitors – Aquafresh and Oral B. We are conducting this research as part of our brand exploratory project for our course in Brand Management.

Rules·         No right or wrong answers, only differing points of view·         You've probably noticed the microphone. We're tape recording the

session because we don't want to miss any of your comments. People often say very helpful things in these discussions and we can't write fast enough to get them all down.

·         We will be on a first name basis tonight, and we won't use any names in our reports. You can be assured of complete confidentiality.

·         You don't need to agree with others. Keep in mind that we're just as interested in negative comments as positive comments, and at times the negative comments are the most helpful.

·         My role as moderator will be to guide the discussion

·         Talk to each other. We've placed name cards on the table in front of you to help us remember each other's names.

Questions Let's find out more about each other by going around the table. Tell us your

name, where you live and for how long have you been living in Portugal.

1) Which brands of oral hygiene products are you aware of?

Focus Group (A)

The most stated brands were Colgate, Sensodyne and Oral B.

Focus Group (B)

The most stated brands were Colgate, Aquafresh and Sensodyne.

2) Do you feel that all oral care brands are the same (as in they are indifferent to you)?

Focus Group (A)

All agree that brands are not the same. Regarding Colgate, females stated that it is more “green”, associated it to

natural products and considered it a brand recommended by dentists, while males associated it to whitening

toothpaste. Concerning competitors: most agree that Aquafresh is a brand that uses more chemicals and more related with products for kids; and Sensodyne and Oral B have more effective products and, in males’ opinion, are

brands recommend by dentists.

Focus Group (B)

The majority agree that brands are almost the same, only to participants started a discussion about the quality of Sensodyne comparing to other brands, one saying that

Sensodyne is better than the rest of the brands and other saying that it is worse.

3) Does any of you have a preferred brand of oral care products / toothpaste?

- Which is that brand and why do you prefer it as compared to the rest?

Focus Group (A)

Males do not have a preferred brand, while females considered Sensodyne their favourite.

Focus Group (B)

The majority said that does not any preference, actually some choose always the product which has the higher

promotion in price. However, the ones that do have preference said they prefer Colgate.

- Is that the one that you regularly use/buy? If not, why?

Focus Group (A)

For female the main reason behind their choice is the recommendation of dentists. For males the question is not

pertinent since they do not have a preference for any brand.

Focus Group (B)

The majority does not use the same brand regularly, only the one who said Colgate is his favourite usually buys it.

4)  Is there any brand of oral care products / toothpaste that you totally dislike?

-  Which is that brand and why do you dislike it as compared to the rest?

Focus Group (A)

In general, all participants associate Aquafresh to children’s toothpaste, so not so appropriated for them

now. In addition, some stated that Oral B has not enough variety of products. All dislike private label products.

Focus Group (B)

In general, participants only dislike some flavours but not any brand in particular, only two partipants have a

different opinion: one participant said that does not like Sensodyne and another said that does not like Aquafresh.

5) What are the main attributes that a toothpaste should have for you?

Focus Group (A)

All participants considered freshness, whitening effect, white color and cleaning sensation the most important

attributes

Focus Group (B)

All participants considered freshness and cleaning sensation the main attributes, but one participant also add

that it should help with inflamed gums.

6) What does Colgate mean to you?

Focus Group (A)

While some associate Colgate to colorful toothpastes, others associate Colgate to Herbal concept and natural

products.

Focus Group (B)

Some associate Colgate to their childhood and some associate it to dentists’ recommendations.

7) What do you like worst/best about the brand?

Focus Group (A)

All focused their answers in negative aspects and agree that the package of the brand does not transmit quality.

Focus Group (B)

All focused their answers in positive aspects and agree that Colgate offers a good variety of flavours and a wide

range of products with different specifications.

8) If Colgate was a car brand, which brand would it be? What about Aquafresh? What about Oral-b?

Focus Group (A)

The most stated brands for Colgate and Aquafresh were BMW and Audi, while for Oral B were Fiat and Volvo.

Focus Group (B)

The most stated brands for Colgate and Aquafresh were BMW and Mercedes (model Class A) and Audi (Audi A1), while for Sensodyne the opinions were extreme Porsche

and old Opel.

9) Please complete the following sentence: In what it comes to oral care products, Colgate is____________________?

Focus Group (A)

The group agree that Colgate is one trustworthy brand.

Focus Group (B)

The group agree that Colgate is one of the best brands.

10) Do you think Colgate offers all of your preferred features in what it comes to oral care? If not, what do you think the brand could to improve?

Focus Group (A)

Almost all considered that Colgate already offers what is needed, but some stated that it should give more emphasis to the medicinal effect of each toothpaste.

Focus Group (B)

Some said that Colgate already offers what is needed, but others stated that the brand could launch more flavors, for

example fruity flavors for adults.

11) If the brand Colgate “disappeared”, how would you feel towards that? o “If it disappeared, I would just buy another one”;

- Would you miss anything the brand offers? o “The flavor”;o “The freshness”;

- If you used it regularly before, would it be easy to change to another brand?

o “Yes, although I would miss the flavor”;

12) If you were the Marketing Director of Colgate, which areas of the brand would you focus on when advertising to the public?

o “Recommendation by dentists”;o “Something different, dentists is overly used”;o “Advertising with common people”.

13) Think about the following brands, what images come to mind when you think of them?

- Oral-B: “a blue package”, “Oral-B in white letters”;-   Aquafresh: “different colours”, “whitening chewing gums”;-   Colgate: “Red and silver package”, “recommendation by

dentists commercial”;- Sensodyne: “recommendation by dentists”, “white color”.

Think about the following brands, what feelings come to mind when you think of them?

-  Oral B: nothing;-   Aquafresh: “fun”;-   Colgate: “warmth”;- Sensodyne: “safe”.

Does everyone in your family use the same brand of toothpaste? If not, why?

Yes/No/Yes/Yes/No/No/No

If you visited a super market, and you found the 4 toothpastes (Aquafresh, Oral-B, Colgate and Sensodyne), of the same size and same price. Which would you pick up and why?

o Oral B – “cleans well”o Colgate – “good brand”;o Sensodyne – “quality”.