Colgate-Palmolive is in no mood to let go off its dominance in the oral care category in India. It has just launched Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief, its second offering in the category after Colgate Sensitive launched two years back.
Colgate leads the Rs 2,700-crore toothpaste market in India with 53 per cent share, followed by Hindustan Unilever’s Close Up which has about 20 per cent share, says Naveen Trivedi, research analyst (consumer) PINC Research.
In the sensitive toothpaste segment (Rs 250-300 crore) too, Colgate Sensitive is the leader with 15.4 per cent share, closely followed by Warren Pharmaceutical’s Sensodent which has a 14.6 per cent share (Nielsen, April 2011). There are a host of other players like Hindustan Unilever’s Pepsodent Sensitive, Emoform, Sensoform and Senquel but these are marginal players with single digit shares.
The brand that has shaken up the category is Sensodyne, launched by GlaxosmithKline in two variants — fresh gel and fresh mint — propped by a Rs 25-crore marketing spend.
“In a span of four to five months, the brand has garnered a 10 per cent share in the sensitive toothpaste category,” claims Koushik Gupta, general manager, marketing (over-the-counter and oral healthcare), GSK Consumer Healthcare. GSK is focused on three key initiatives to drive growth: educating the consumer, liaising with dentists and activations at retail outlets.
Not surprisingly, Colgate is far more aggressive about this launch compared to some of the earlier ones. It has chalked out a promotional campaign spanning television, print, online, radio and in-store activation. To educate consumers there is a 60-second television commercial. The longer commercial will be followed by shorter versions, and will be on air for about six months.
Unlike GSK’s Sensodyne which has focused on dentist endorsement, Colgate’s communication focuses on ‘real people, real science and real proof’.
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“The people showcased in the television were people who suffer from sensitive teeth,” says Savio Sequeira, managing director, Colgate team, Bates 141. “The whole idea is to focus on the new technology and highlight the efficacy of the product through the consumers’ voice,” says Sequeira. The campaign will run in both English and Hindi.
A microsite has also been created for the product where consumers can order free samples. “The idea is to build a database of users with whom the company can engage and later make them loyal customers,” says Sequeira. The company hopes to spread awareness about sensitive teeth through mobile messaging.
Trivedi of Pinc Research says Colgate-Palmolive’s aggressiveness is not misplaced. For one, over 70 per cent of the company’s revenues come from toothpaste, and hence every new segment provides the company an opportunity for incremental growth. The sensitive teeth toothpaste segment itself is fast growing due to rising awareness of this condition.
“While the regular toothpaste segment is growing at 10 per cent, the sensitive teeth segment is growing at 34 per cent,” adds Gupta. “Also, being a value-added product, it provides the company better margins,” explains Trivedi.