Marketing strategies in India of Colgate Palmolive Since the company had established itself in India in 1937, Colgate Palmolive

has initiated its marketing strategies based on market segmentation. The company has created as well as introduced international products specifically to target segments of Indian audience. Colgate Palmolive has been observed using two basic marketing strategies: Geographical and need based. Geographical marketing strategy- the company looks for new markets for its products, rural India was the primary target market for the companys geographical marketing strategies. Thus educating rural markets of dental hygiene and selling low-priced products in these markets like Cibaca. Need based- the company develops new products as well as campaigns (CSR activities) based on popular market needs. Example: developing of Colgate Toothpaste for kids.

Since Colgate Palmolives establishment in India a brief track of their marketing efforts can be recorded. Marketing efforts during 1940-1950 During initial years in India Colgate Palmolive concentrated on advertising through newspapers and popularising slogans. The slogan it cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth was popularised. The company basically stressed on their dental cream which contained Garnol (a formula that helped protect teeth from cavity and tooth decay). During this time the product was targeted towards the upper classes of the society in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Mardas and Calcutta. In 1949 tooth-powder and tooth brushes were also introduced develop the market.

1937

1949

Marketing efforts from 1950s

During this time the company introduced their international range of Palmolive shaving cream and Halo shampoo. Colgate-Palmolive pioneered the idea of introducing sachets of its products in the Indian market. This strategy was an outcome of researching the Indian market in order to observe the best packaging size preferred by Indian masses. In an effort to expand its product line in the personal care category the company introduced Charmis cream in India. Colgate Palmolive concentrated on penetrating new markets by introducing new products during this area. Due to lack of communication in India marketing advertising activities were concentrated in the contemporary metropolitan cities only. Colgate launched its first print newspaper advertisement in 1958 in English.

1950-51

1952

During 1960s During this era the company shifted their attention to aggressive marketing activities. Thus Colgate Palmolives flagship brand in India which was Colgate dental cream got its first campaign; Colgate ring of confidence. The core idea behind this campaign was that Colgate dental cream increases confidence; clean teeth are the path to happiness. Indian target oriented print activities were initiated through newspapers. During this time Cibaca toothpaste (formelyBinaca under Ciba Geigy) sponsored the Geetmala on VividhBharati (AIR). The brand was later acquired by Colgate in 1994 and was aired over the National Network of VividhBharati as COLGATE CIBACA GEETMALA. Colgate had also actively started advertising on the radio during this decade. The advertisement were primarily in English and Hindi

During 1970s In 1972 Colgate Palmolive introduced Palmolive aftershave lotion which initiated a decade of aggressive advertising through various mediums and new marketing campaigns. During this decade Colgate launched its first TVC on Doordarshan. The company also sponsored radio programs. Among them the most popular was Colgate SangeetkeSitare on VividhBharti. Such marketing activities reflected Colgate-Palmolives international strategy of sponsoring television and radio programs/sitcoms to reach their target audience. This also embarked the beginning of the companys strategy to gain sponsorship rights to popular television shows which would become a highlight of their marketing strategy in the coming decades. Colgate Palmolive launched their first CSR event in India in 1976 which was Young India Program. This was a dental health program directed to educated Indian masses towards dental hygiene and Colgate products. This was an interesting step as it developed the current market in tier 1 cities while created new market in tier 2 and 3 cities. The tagline for this campaign was brighter smiles become brighter which was popularised through various mediums of mass communication. This campaign also initiated a relationship between Colgate and Indian Dental Association (IDA). Colgate Palmolive had established successful and log-standing relationship with Dental Association in various other countries like USA, Germany etc. Thus this was a significant and intelligent step by Colgate Palmolive in concession with its international marketing strategies.

During 1980s During this time Colgate initiated aggressive marketing efforts which were a result of tough competition from toothpaste brands like Promise, Binaca and Forhans while at the same time Colgate Palmolive through aggressive marketing wanted to throw local brands out of the picture. Thus apart from effective mass above the line advertising, the company also initiated huge sales

promotions across the country. Products were pushed into sales channels in order to reach remote locations of Indian markets. Colgate Palmolive products were made available even on kinara stores during this decade. Promotional activities using celebrities were also initiated to popularise the phrase Colgate smile synonym to a healthy beautiful smile. Another significant step was making KapilDev the brand ambassador of Palmolive shaving range. This was a reflection of Indian cricket team winning the 1983 World Cup under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. The slogan Palmolive da jawabnahi became highly popularised during this campaign and later a series of TVC as well as print advertisements were aired under this campaign. This also kick-started a relationship between Palmolive shaving brands and Indian cricketers which later was to fuel other popular campaign. Sticking to their strategy of expanding their product line the company enter the Indian Soap market with Palmolive Extra care soaps

Ad link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ9uo-7_aeE

During 1990s

This was a significant year for Colgate Palmolive in Indian as they introduced a variety of new products in the market like Colgate max fresh, Colgate Total, Palmolive shaving foam. Due to continues product innovation, marketing efforts and sales promotions in 1992 Colgate was rated No. 1 brand in India and remained at the top spot for 6 consecutive years. Also to penetrate the rural market through a low-priced strategy Colgate Palmolive acquired Binaca and re-launched as Colgate Cibaca which was a low priced variant. Through this Colgate tried to cannibalise its own brands in rural areas.It was estimated that Colgate brands had approximately 3 million outlets in India. Colgate-Palmolive went into big time marketing during this decade by higher celebrities. AshwaryaRai was made the ambassador for Colgate gel and later for Palmolive soap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxNpNT1sqYg&playnext=1&list=PLDA4A73BE4106B82C&featur e=results_video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGnDR8rk6Hg

During this decade Colgate initiated the Sampark program, as a majority of people in rural areas didnt have TV or radio Colgate boosted its sale through door to door selling. Colgate also organised oral health educational programs to boost its sales and develops markets. Also during the late years of 1990s the company entered the category of dish washing soaps and liquids with Axion.

During 2000s Continuing with the strategy of increasing product variants Colgate Palmolive introduced new variants of shaving range with Palmolive 2-1 shaving cream. Rahul Dravid was made the brand ambassador for the Palmolive shaving products. While new products were also introduced to fulfil the need of the masses, example- growing market for herbal products, Colgate introduced Colgate herbal.

Colgate in association with IDA conduct a CSR event called Oral Health Month in 2004. This event helped the product to penetrate to distant corners of India through promoting oral hygiene. Since then it has become an annual event for Colgate. Through this event Colgate took many marketing initiative like mobile dental vans in rural areas, free check-ups etc. Also through partnering with dentist across the nation Colgate developed a pan-India network based on trust. Under this campaign Colgate in 2006 collaborated with Aganwari workers and educated them about oral hygiene.

Colgate continued sponsoring TV shows like Antakshari, thus increasing their brand visibility and recall value.

This decade had witness an aggressive increasing in marketing activities; celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, ShahidKapoorGeneliaDsouza were found endorsing Colgate products.

The company also launched webisodes under the brand Max fresh which were made viral. These were to initiate social media marketing measures. Since then the brand has develops various channels to connect with the consumers online like FB page, community forum etc. At the same time CSR activities were constantly performed to increase rural penetration. The company has also collaborated with ITC e-choppal for the same. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBkb_upRojI Colgate-Palmolive has been working to become an image of trust in India and have developed strategies to increase brand loyalty through consumers trust. From 2003 to 2006 the brand was awarded the title of the most trusted brand in India. Recently the brand completed 75 years in India and has started the campaign 75 years of spreading smiles. The campaign focuses on building better consumer relations as well as towards educating the masses about oral hygiene.