Brand

Management
Professor Kyryl
Lakishyk
4th Trimester
2014/2015

Brand
Exploratory
Project

Algernon DMello 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 customers 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
Colgates competitors, namely Sensodyne, Oral-B and Aquafresh.
To obtain information related to the customers 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 welleducated 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
EUROMONITORs 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 groups 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 Sensodynes and Aquafreshs, which the group learned by
the lack of right associations of the brands 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
consumers 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 companys 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 welleducated 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
EUROMONITORs 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 2 nd 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 Colgates 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 Colgates 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, thats 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 Identity
Associated
colours

Red and white

Blue

Red,white and
blue

Blue and White

Colgate
Palmolive
Global Brand is
present on
twitter but not

Procter and
Gamble
Global Brand is
present on
twitter but not

GlaxoSmithKlin
e
Global Brand is
present on
twitter but not

GlaxoSmithKline

Logos
Owned by
Twitter
presence

Global Brand is
present on
twitter but not

Facebook
presence

Toothpaste
Toothbrush
(manual)

the Portuguese
subsidiary

the Portuguese
subsidiary

Global brand
present on
Facebook.
Colgate
Portugals page
is also present;

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

the Portuguese
subsidiary
Global Brand is
present on
Facebook. The
Portuguese
subsidiary is
also present on
Facebook;

Products in the Portuguese Market

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

We create
products that
provide you with
a more beautiful
and healthier
smile

Brand Positioning
- Leading brand
in the segment
of toothbrushes.
- Get a sense of
professional
cleaning

Toothbrush
(Electric +
Replacement
parts)

Elixirs
Childrens
products
Professional
products
Floss

Claims on
website

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

Imagery

Heavy use of
images of
general
consumers
(Mothers and
kids,couples,yout
h,babies). All
look happy.

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

Target
audience

General public
that wants
happiness

General public
that is
performance
oriented

The protection
that tastes
good.
Makes use of an
animated
character
Captain
Aquafresh for
advertising
products for
children. Use
images of
general
consumers to
advertise
products for
adults.
Kids as well as
general public
that wants
happiness and
a good tasting
toothpaste.

No

Number one
brand in dental
sensitivity

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

General public
conscious of
tooth sensitivity
and acid erosion

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 consumers 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 Bs communication is focused on product efficiency and
innovation. Although they offer a number of products, a lot of Oral Bs
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 arent very conscious of
tooth decay. The positioning of Aquafresh is such that it doesnt 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 : Sensodynes 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 doesnt 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 CustomerBased Brand Equity (CBBE) model, created by Kevin Keller, in order to
gather information about the consumers 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.

RESONA
NCE

Preferred
brand

JUDGEMENT FEELING
S
Respecte Warmth
S

d
brand

Security

PERFORMANC
Freshness
ENCE

Good
Flavour
Clean

SALIEN

IMAGER
YRed

Silver
Elegant

Top spontaneous
notoriety
CE
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
Scrivens 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 Dirio Econmico, 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 Colgates 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 dont 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 brands logo (we hid the brands
name) and asked them to assign a brand to each logo. 54% of the
respondents identified Colgates 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 didnt
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 brands total personality in

the consumers 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
brands 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 consumers 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 consumers 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 respondents
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 Sensodynes 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 Bs logo and name to the color and letters of BMWs 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 Kellers Customer BasedBrand 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
Colgat
Sensody Aquafres
Oral-B
e
ne
h
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

70

57.4

53.8

Would
recommend
other people

to

64.9

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 judgments 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 consumers 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 Colgates 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 Colgates 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 Colgates products every time (Annex ).
Comparing this percentage to the loyalty to Colgates 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).
Resonan
ce
Loyalty

Attachm
ent

Engagem
ent

Brand

Colgate

Aquafre
sh
37

Sensod
yne
32

Oral-B

Loyal to the brand

42.7

If
brand
was
not 28.9
available,
it
would
make a big difference
to use another brand
Would go out of the 24.9
way to use the brand
Average
32.2

29.1

26

19.5

26.2

22.3

19

30.8

26.8

21.1

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

57.4

64.9

53.8

57.4

64.9

53.8

Would recommend to 70
other people
Average
70

24.8

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 wouldnt 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.
Colgates 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 doesnt 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.
Colgates 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 brands 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 brands
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-Bs 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 dont 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 innovations perception.
An additional recommendation to improve the perception of
innovation would be to introduce a new toothpaste tube. Through the
analysis of the companys 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-osresultados-da-4-edicao-do-marktest-reputation-index
http://www.marktest.com/wap/a/n/id~1adf.aspx
http://www.marcasquemarcam.pt/uploads/pdf/483874.pdf
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/keller-brand-equitymodel.htm
http://www.sba.pdx.edu/faculty/ahutinel/Read/11.pdf
http://mktg.unisvishtov.bg/ivm/resources/CustomerBasedbrandEquityModel.pdf
http://www.researchersworld.com/vol2/PAPER_04.pdf
http://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.pdf
http://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
Aquafresh
For more than 50 years, Oral-B has produced the highest-quality dental
our products and the reputation of our Company, but also in our
Sensodyne
hygiene products for consumers and dental professionals. Oral-B
commitment to serving the communities where we operate. As a
provides
manual
power
toothbrushes
for
children
and
adults, oral
Aquafresh
is leads
one and
ofinthe
world's
oralproducts,
care
brands.
Its range
company
that
respect
of largest
consumer
we are
also deeply
irrigators,toothpaste,
oral care toothbrushes,
centres, and mouthwash,
interdental products,
such asoral
dental
includes
andto
on-the-move
committed
to developing technology
that responds
the changing
floss.
Currently,
Oral-B
brand
manual
toothbrushes
are
used
by
more
care
The unique
red,
and
bluebrand
striped
makes
of consumers
around
thewhite
world.
In fact,
our
goaltoothpaste
is to use our
Sensodyne isneeds
the products.
worlds
number
1 sensitivity
toothpaste
dentists
thanvisually
any other
brand inbut
thealso
world.
the
product
underlines
the triple
benefits
of
technology
createdistinctive,
products
to improve
the quality
of life
(Value Retail Sales
data,
12to
months
ending
31that
Dec continue
2013),
recommended
strong
teeth,
healthy
gums offers
and
fresh
breath
whole
mouth protection.
for
our world.
consumers
wherever
they
live.
While
being
a successful
company,
by dentists across
the
Sensodyne
a
range
of products
Oral B

our aim for

is to
achieve
consistent
growth
required
to continue
our global
specifically formulated
the
care and
treatment
of sensitive
teeth.
If
success
and
to become
even stronger
company.
you have sensitive
teeth,
switching
to aan
sensitivity
toothpaste
such We
as believe this is the
Sensodyne can make a big difference to your enjoyment of everyday
life, and supports your overall oral health too. Sensodyne toothpastes

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
Introduction
First of all Id 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)

Focus Group
(B)

Focus Group
(A)

Focus Group
(B)

Males do not have a preferred brand, while females

considered Sensodyne their favourite.
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?
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.
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?

Focus Group
(A)

Focus Group
(B)

Which is that brand and why do you dislike it as compared to

the rest?
In general, all participants associate Aquafresh to
childrens 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.
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)
Focus Group
(B)

11)

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.
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.

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
o
o

Recommendation by dentists;
Something different, dentists is overly used;
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.