Integrated Marketing Communications Plan for Colgate 360 - Case Study Example

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION Letter of transmittal The CEO, Colgate Limited Enclosed is a copy of an integrated marking communication for Colgate 360° toothbrush. This report is a major summary of the integrated marketing campaign that can be used by the company to market Colgate 360° toothbrush. The report summarizes findings of an in-depth research I carried out about the product. This report gives a description of Colgate 360° toothbrush including its major features. The report also gives a historical background of the company. It also includes major competitors and their products. Included in the report is positioning strategy of the product and the target market. Finally the report gives a detailed analysis of IMC strategy the will be used by the company. If you have any major question or comments regarding the interpretation of this report, please feel free to contact me at any time. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Executive Summary Purpose The main purpose of this report was to analyze Integrated Marketing and Communication strategies that could be used to market Colgate 360° toothbrush Purpose. This marketing plan will be aimed at marketing Colgate 360° toothbrush to the teen market. It will be aimed at increasing the awareness of the brand and sales for the brand. Method of analysis The main method of analysis used in this report was a review of literature on marketing. The main method includes analysis of the company product and the market to understand the best marketing strategy that can be used. Major findings The reports documents that the best market segment to market Colgate 360° toothbrush is among teens. This marketing segment is attracted to style and modern trends emphasized in Colgate 360° toothbrush. The company should use magazine and internet to reach the target consumers. Recommendations The report recommends that the company should target teens since they are likely to consumer trend and styles. The company should also use teen magazines and internet to reach target consumers. Table of contents Title page ………………………………………………………... 1 Executive summary …………………………………………....... 2 Table of content …………………………………………………. 3 Introduction ……………………………………………………… 4 Company background …………………………………………… 5 Product description ……………………………………………… 6 Competitive analysis …………………………………………….. 6 Target market ……………………………………………………. 8 Positioning strategy …………………………………………….... 9 Response hierarchy ……………………………………………… 10 Quadrant of the Foote, Cone and Belding Grid …………………. 11 IMC objectives …………………………………………………... 11 IMC mix …………………………………………………………. 12 Integration to achieve synergy ……………………………………15 Conclusion ………………………………………………………. 15 Recommendations ……………………………………………….. 16 List of references ……………………………………….………... 17 Introduction Purpose The main purpose of this report was to analyze Integrated Marketing and Communication strategies that could be used to market Colgate 360° toothbrush Authorization This report has been authorized by the CEO. On the backdrop of the rising competition in the tooth brush market, this market report was aimed drafting the best strategies that could be used by the company to reach target market Limitations One of the major limitations in this project has been time. Market research required time to gather needed data, which was not available. Scope of report The product that will be marketed in the marketing plan is Colgate 360° toothbrush. This is revolutionary product among Colgate healthcare portfolio. It has a product that has take the market by storm owing to its effectiveness dental hygiene. Colgate 360° toothbrush is manufactured and marketed by Colgate-Palmolive Company, which is an American multinational that operates almost all countries in the world and produces a wide range of products which ranges from soaps, detergents, orally hygiene, and others. Among the most successful products for the company has been the Colgate brand which started off as toothpaste and has now expanded to include toothpastes. The dental hygiene market is quite competitive and Colgate faces stiff competition in different markets but its products have been endearing to consumers. The leading competitors for Colgate-Palmolive Company in U.S domestic market include Church and Dwight Inc., Clorox Co Del., Procter & Gamble Company and many others which mainly deal in household and oral hygiene products. The healthcare industry is very competitive and the above competitors introduce new products now and then. Colgate products are targeted to a wide range of consumers. The Colgate 360° toothbrush targets consumers from the wider consumer market demography spectrum. It is targeted for both children and adults since oral hygiene is a part of health. Colgate 360° toothbrush has been considered a necessity in dental hygiene and has been recommended by many physicians. Company Background Colgate-Palmolive is one of the oldest and largest multinationals in the world. It is an American multinationals that operations in all continents. It is mainly focused on production of, distribution and provision of household goods, healthcare products, and personal products including soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products which include toothpaste and toothbrushes (Knowmore.org, 2005). The company has also entered into the production of veterinary products using its Hills brand. The company is based in New York City, Park Avenue. Colgate –Palmolive was founded in 1806 by William Colgate. He was a soap and candle maker and he opened up a small starch, soap and candle factor in Dutch Street in New York. The company grew in size and by 1940, it was selling uniform cake of soap and after the death of William Colgate in 1857, the company was reorganized and renamed Colgate and Company managed by Samuel Colgate, the son of the founder. In 1873, the company introduced the first toothpaste product, aromatic toothpaste which was mainly sold in jars and in 1896, Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream became the first toothpaste product to be sold in tubes, which was to be later commercialized in 1908. In United States alone, the company has more than 60 properties (Knowmore.org, 2005). It has major manufacturing warehouses in Morristown, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Cambridge in Ohio. It has major research facilities in New Jersey, Topeka, California, Richmond, and in other areas. In its overseas operation, the company operates in more than 70 countries worldwide with 280 properties. Today, the company has a portfolio of products which are produced and marketed in different countries in the world (Knowmore.org, 2005). Major product areas have remained household and personal care products, food products, health care and industrial products, and sports and leisure areas. The major brands include ABC, Afta lotion, Anbesol, Ajax, Axion, cold power, Colgate, coldent (Poland), cuddgly (Australia), Dermassage, Dentagard (Germany), Fab, Fabuloso, Fluffy (Australia), Handi Wipes, Protex (Latin America), Soupline (France), Ultra Brite, and many others. The portifolio of company products are endless and are produced in different parts of the world. Product description Colgate 360° toothbrush is designed to acquire maximum dental hygiene. It a revolutionary product that has many features meant to ensure maximum dental hygiene. It has revolutionary features which ensure that the tongue, which is a major source of bacteria, has been well cleaned. It has unique soft-textured tongue cleaner which is made to remove about 965 of the odor causing bacteria in the mouth (Colgate, 2010). It has risen up cleaning tips to access the posterior are of the mouth and softer rubber polishing cups designed as gentle stain removers. It also comes with tapered bristles for better access to the gingival margins (Tagens et al., 2010). In addition, it has cushioned thumb grip to ensure better control and comfort. Competitive analysis The major competitors include Church and Dwight Inc., Clorox Co Del., Procter & Gamble Company. The following table analyzes the competitive features of the industry: Colgate Palmolive – the main product is Colgate 360° toothbrush. This product comes with many features that are meant to ensure maximum cleanliness. It comes in different size for children and adults. The price rages from $20 to $25 per toothbrush. The following is a promotion image for the product: Excepted from: http://www.colgateprofessional.com/products/Colgate-360-Toothbrush/details Proctor and Gamble – the company mainly produces and markets Oral-B toothbrush. The products comes in different models including Rechargeable electric tooth brush, Manual toothbrush, Battery powered toothbrush, and dental products for babies (Yahoo Finance, 2010). The price of the products ranges from $20 to $25. The following is a promotion image: Excepted from: http://www.oralb.com/about/ Church & Dwight Co. – the company bought the Spin Brush brand from Procter & Gamble. This is a leading batter powered toothbrush that is targeted for both adults and children (Yahoo Finance, 2010). The price of the products ranges from $15- $25 per brush. The following is a promotion image: Excepted from: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3i2fea4bd91d0d44f991b254c09ba40d7c Target Market The main target market for this product will be the teen’s segment. This is an emerging target market for most products and services based on their emerging patterns of consumption. The youths have been found to be one of the major consumers of modern products that are based on efficiency and comfort. Colgate 360° toothbrush is not only designed for efficiency but it is also designed to provide a class appeal, a new modern style and comfort. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of teens in the U.S grew to 32 million and this number has increase by more than half by last year (MPA, 2003). This means that there is a great population shift in the country and teens presents the current and future market for most products and services. The current teen’s market is the most multicultural market that is not driven my market beliefs but the emerging styles and trends which are in line with modern lifestyle. This market is the greatest consumer of the emerging technology and want to use things that are different form those used by others. Teens also form a robust part of the economy because they had their own income to spend and also have a greater influence on household purchases. In regard to their financial income, they have no family commitment and their income is almost spend on their personal belonging. In 2003, teens spent a whooping $112.5 billion as a group (MPA, 2003). Apart from their own discretionary income, teens also spend family money which means they may end of up having more purchase influence compared to their parent. Teens are also great consumers of the emerging media technologies and hence they are easy to target through converging media. Most of them are well education and understand the health benefits of maintaining a healthy life style. Being at a time when they are forming close relationship, they are in need of a bright smile than any other market segment. Positioning Strategy Based on the target market, this marketing plan will use a positioning strategy that will attract the teen market based on their characteristics and behaviors (Johan, 1996). Colgate 360° toothbrush is a health product but marketing it purely as a health product may not be much appealing to the teens. There is need to use other strategies that will make them realize the benefits of the product and also identify with the product. Therefore this marketing strategy will combine different positioning strategies. It will use product attribute or benefit strategy where it will seek to make teen realize the benefits of the using Colgate 360° toothbrush. This will mainly include emphasizing on the health benefits of the tooth brush based on its features. The main message here will be emphasizing on the impact of the Colgate 360° toothbrush to assist the users to have a brighter smile, a necessity and requirement for every teen. This strategy will align with the basic features of the product which are supposed to ensure a smile for teens. Apart from the attribute or benefit strategy, the product will be positioned on symbolic and experimental positions. Under these positioning strategies, the main idea will be to make teens identify with the product as a part of their daily life and lifestyle. Experimental positioning will be aimed at providing sensory and cognitive stimulation by making teens become aware of the position of the product in their life. Symbolic position will cultivate self-imaging enhancement, and create sense of belonging and affective fulfillment. Combining all these strategies, the marketing plan will therefore come with a conclusive message that emphasize on the need of the productive, the healthcare benefits, and style nad comfort associated. The position message may read like “Colgate 360° toothbrush, daily recommended by dentist for a smile and comfort”. Response hierarchy The response process consumers’ use depends on different factors which are pertinent to their needs and behaviors (Johan, 1996). The response mode is determined by the extent to which the consumer feels integrated in the decision marking process. The level of consumer involvement is mainly dependant on a number of factors including person, object and situational factors. Consider the teen market, the best model that can suit teens involvement include the Hierarchy-of-effects model. The hierarchy of effect model mainly involves awareness, knowledge, liking, preferences, and action. This model best suits the teen market based on their characteristics and buying behaviors. The first step in getting teens involved in buying process is to make them aware of the existence of the product. They are more likely to be attracted to the products which are advertised in their preferred mass media like internet, magazines and others. Once they are aware of the product, they take time to gain knowledge about the product. Their liking or disliking of the product depends on the knowledge they gain about the product and the way in which it is presented. If the product has been endorsed by celebrities, they are more likely to purchase the product. If they like the product, they are likely to prefer it and take action to try it out. Quadrant of the Foote, Cone and Belding Grid Advertisement mainly involves two processes that take place in the brain. Advertisement looks to stimulate thinking and feeling process all which takes place in the brain. This means that the aim of any advertisement should be to understand who well it can touch stimulate the two processes (Johan, 1996). There are four main advertising strategies which include informative, affective, habit formation, and self satisfaction. In the quadrant of the Foote, Cone and Belding Grid, this marketing plan best fits in the informative grid. This is because in line with trend in teen buying behaviors. They are likely to follow the pattern of learning about the product, feeling its effect, and then taking an action. With many products now marketed to teens, they are likely to choose those products that are more appealing. This model has been observed in most new product since consumers have to try these products first before they can fully endorse them and start buying them. This has possible implication on promotion because it will require using information that keeps on reminding teens on the effectiveness of the product. In promotion, it is likely to require long copy format where the target consumer can accurately see the product and if possible carry out demonstration. This would require carrying out demonstration that shows that effectiveness of the product to consumers. IMC objectives i. To increase market share for Colgate 360° toothbrush by 15% in the United States market within a period of 12 months. ii. To increase awareness of Colgate 360° toothbrush brand by 20% among teens in United States within 12 months iii. To establish quality brand image of the product among parents with school going teens by 10% over the next 12 months iv. To increase total sales of Colgate 360° toothbrush by 30% in the United States market within 12 months IMC mix Integrated marketing and communication mix uses different strategies to promote the consumer become aware of existence of the product in the market. The main aim of IMC mixes to reach as many target consumers as possible (Johan, 1996). Marketing and communication mix mainly comprise of different strategies including advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity, internet/interactive marketing, and directing marketing. These six elements comprise integrated marketing mix for any company. This marketing plan will employ the following element of the marketing mix: i. Advertisement Advertisement forms a core marketing strategy for most products. It remains the most used method of advertisement due to its effectiveness in reach consumers. Considering the expected impact of the product and the target market, this marketing plan will mainly focus use of print media (Johan, 1996). Research shows that there is underutilization of the print media when it comes to advertisement of some personal products like toothbrushes but it is likely to have a lot of impact. However, because the marketing plan is targeting the teen’s market that is not a great consumer of the normal print media, this marketing plan will mainly use magazines that are likely to be used by teens rather than other printing media like newspaper. Teens magazines, especially those talking about celebrities are liked by teens are likely to be consumed compared to other print media. Magazines have many advantages. First, they are long lasting which means every time the consumer goes through the magazine, they are likely to see the advertisement. Teens have a culture of sharing magazines once they have read it which implies that when only one teenager buys the magazine, there is higher probability that it will be read by more than ten other teens therefore expanding the reach of the advertisement. The message will therefore stay longer when exposed to individual teens and also reach more consumers. There are some disadvantages with the use of magazine to reach teens. The greatest disadvantage is that there are very few teens that are likely to buy magazines compared to other media. It is also possible that most people reading the magazine goes direct to their page of interest and ignores the rest. This implies that the advertisement will have to be placed in a page with most interesting story otherwise it will not be effective. Magazines will pay greater roles in reaching the objective of information teens and their parents about the presence of the product in the market. It will also play an important role in eliciting purchase decision. The advert that will appear on print media will combine both visual and written elements. It will combine picture of Colgate 360° toothbrush and written words. The words that will appear on the advertisement include “Colgate 360° toothbrush, daily recommended by dentist for a smile and comfort”. This is illustrated below: Colgate 360° toothbrush, daily recommended by dentist for a smile and comfort ii. Internet/interactive marketing In addition, the marketing plan will use internet marketing as support marketing. Teens have been shown to be the largest group in consumption of emerging technologies like the internet. This means that one is likely to get their attention through the internet compared to other media. With internet penetration increasing the United States among teens, research shows that teen have access to internet even at home. Internet therefore forms and important medium of communication with teens. There are many advantages of using internet to reach teens. It is widely used by a teen which means the advertisement will most likely reach most of them. Currently, teens spend a sizable part of the time chatting and browsing, which means they will have increased chances of seeing the advertisement. One of the major disadvantages of using internet is that not all teens are likely to use the internet. In addition the page placement of the advertisement matters since most teens will only visit the social network websites like facebook and rarely do they visit company websites. Internet will assist reaching the objective of information teens and their parents about the presence of the product in the market. It will also play an important role in eliciting purchase decision. The advertisement in the internet will include visual, written and audio message. The visual image will include Colgate 360° toothbrush and written message will be “Colgate 360° toothbrush, daily recommended by dentist for a smile and comfort”. It will be enhanced by background audio message explaining how it works. This is illustrated below: Colgate 360° toothbrush, daily recommended by dentist for a smile and comfort Integration to achieve synergy Integration of the two elements chosen above is not difficult. This is because all these elements are among the favorite in teens. However, they differ in the fact that one is print medial while the other one is not physical. However, the integration between the two comes out naturally through their target market. Teen’s magazines are always advertised in the internet and at the same time, the company will be looking to reach teens through the internet. Therefore synergy between the two will be achieved by the degree of convergence between print and internet media. Conclusion This marketing plan will be aimed at marketing Colgate 360° toothbrush to the teen market. It will be aimed at increasing the awareness of the brand and sales for the brand. It will be advertised through the internet and magazines which are population among the teens. Advertisement in these mediums will include audio, visual, and written messages. Recommendation In order to ensure that success of the success of the marketing campaign the following will be recommend: iii. There should be wider market research to support implementation of the strategies chosen iv. There should be collaboration between different department which will be involved in the marketing plan v. There should be mitigation strategies which will be taken in case of drift of recommended strategy. List of References Colgate, (2010). Oral care home. [online] available from < http://www.colgateprofessional.com/products/Colgate-360-Toothbrush/details > [May 19, 2010] Johan, C. (1996). The effectiveness of the FCB grid as a tool for writing superior advertising strategy. Communication 22(1): 82-89 Knowmore.org (2005) Colgate Palmolive company. online] available from < http://knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=Colgate_Palmolive_Company> [May 19, 2010] MPA (2003) Teens – Market profile. [online] available from [May 19, 2010] Tagens D. et al. (2010) Colgate 360 presentation. [online] available from [May 19, 2010] Yahoo Fianance, (2010) Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL). [online] available from [May 19, 2010] Read More