Project: Aquafresh Course: Strategic Brand Management
Sarajevo, Summer Semester 2013.
Contents INTRODUCT INTRODUCTION ION .................................. ................................................... .................................. .................................. ................................... .............................3 ...........3 COMPANY OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................3 BRAND ANALYSIS ..............................................................................................................3 1.1 Brand/ organisational values .........................................................................................3 1.2 Aquafresh Aquafresh heritage heritage ................................. .................................................. .................................. .................................. .................................. ....................5 ...5 1.3 Brand strengths and weaknesses: SWOT analysis .........................................................6 1.4 Analysis of the competition: how to stand out?..............................................................9 1.4.1 How do they differentiate? ....................................................................................... 10 2.1 Conducting a brand survey .......................................................................................... 11 2.2 Analyzing a brand survey ............................................................................................ 13 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................... 17 3.1. Brand differentiation .................................................................................................. 17 3.2. Increasing brand equity .............................................................................................. 18 3.3. Illustration Illustration of tactical suggestions suggestions (next steps) ...................... ............. .................. .................. .................. ................... .......... 19 CONCLUSION CONCLUSION ................................. ................................................. .................................. ................................... .................................. ................................ ...............20 SOURCES...... SOURCES....................... ................................... .................................. ................................. .................................. ................................... ................................. ...............21
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INTRODUCTION As a part of a research study, we chose to examine Aquafresh brand. The first part of this research analysis contains basic dat a about the toothpaste industry and company itself, their main advantages and disadvantages and values based o n secondary research analysis. The second part is consisted of primary research data and conclusions drawn from it based on survey conducted. The final part concernes future recomendations and propositions for increasing brand equity and differentiating the brand.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
SmithKline Beecham (SB) is one of the world‟s leading healthcare companies. It develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, o ver-the-counter medicines and health-related consumer products. Its internat ional range of products includes leading international brands such as Lucozade, Ribena, Solpadeine, Panadol and Macleans. One of SB‟s leading world-wide brands is Aquafresh. Aquafresh is the number one consumer healthcare product in the company‟s inter national product portfolio and is now a billion-dollar brand. It is available in over 120 countries. Clearly defined and consistent strategies exist for the brand for every country in which it is sold. These strategies are based on an indepth understanding of local consumer needs and on communicating the product in a fun and lively yet simple way. SmithKline Beecham first launched the Aquafresh brand in 1973. It was a highly innovative and revolutionary product in that it was the first toothpaste ever to contain stripes. Since its launch, the brand has grown and developed at a phenomenal rate and a whole range of oral care products has been introduced under the Aquafresh brand umbrella.
BRAND ANALYSIS 1.1 Brand/ organisational values One of the most powe rful things a brand can do is align its values with its customer‟s values. While brands can promise functional, emotional, experiential or self-e xpressive benefits, those whose values are aligned with their customers‟ values are much more likely to 3|Page
achieve a deeper and longer lasting loyalty. This coupled with today's competitive environment makes brand values alignment a priority of every brand marketer. For the beginning of our analysis, we will present a company responsible for the brand we dedicated our project to. GlaxoSmith Cline is science-led global healthcare company that researches and develops a broad range of innovative medicines and brands. It has three primary areas of business in pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare. Considering its highly sensitive industry, this company has strong organizational values. Those are: 1. Respect for people - this value is best seen in the company's relationship with its employees. Apart from the fact that company (as any serious one) has a respect for its customers, it also pays special attention to its employees. They developed certain behavuors that ensure possibility for employees to grow and that show respect: a) flexible thinking b) building relationships c) developing people d) enabling and driving the change e) continuous impovement f) customer driven 2. Patient Focus- company strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people across the world, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. This value is also one of the biggest employees motives to work for the company. 3. Transparency- company considers that business has to evolve to meed global challenges, and so does the culture. Transparecy, thus, becomes very important, and total disclosure is something company strives to the utmost of ts ability. 4. Integrity- copmany is trying to ensure that doing what is right for their patients and consumers is at the heart of every decision they make. In so doing, they demonstrate integrity in action.
Considering the nature of these values a company as a whole has, they are transferable to the individual brands the co mpany is responsible for up to t he certain degree. Although Aquafresh as a brand is looked upon individually, and many of the consumers do not know the connection between GlaxoSmithCline and the Aquafresh, those core values can still be transfered to the brand as separate identity, even though they are not visible at the first glance.
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1.2 Aquafresh heritage Aquafresh is a brand of toothpaste that was launched in 1973. It is manufactured by consumer healthcare product maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) which was established in 2000 by the merger of Glaxo Wellcome plc and SmithKline Beecham plc. Headquartered in the U.K., GSK is one of the world's largest manufacturers of prescription and over-t he-counter drugs. Aquafresh toothpaste was introduced by Beecham plc as the first striped toothpaste on the market and its blue and white stripes were a clear illustration of two product benefits. As the first on the world "Double Protection" formula, combined a "white" fluoride toothpaste for cavity protection and an "aqua" gel for fresh breat h, hence the name. The 'ocean of freshness' advert used images of blue seas a nd waves to communicate the product's novel freshness and taste attributes.
Since launch, awareness and interest in oral health have developed considerably and GSK invests heavily in dental research and resources to ensure that Aquafresh continues to meet patients' needs. In the early 1980s, fighting plaque was a significant issue and GSK augmented the product to help reduce plaque build-up. In 1983 Aquafresh's formula was redeveloped into a "Triple Protection", after a "red" gel for healthy gums was added. As such, the three stripes - red, white, and aqua, have since become registered trademarks which is very recognisable and adored by customers. Since then, advertising has marked t his as a "complete toothpaste" and a "whole mouth paste" and t he slogan for Aquafresh is "three in one protection for your family". Development of the Aquafresh brand continues today, with a number of Aquafresh products available that meet the changing needs of patients. Dental research supported by GSK ensures that the Aquafresh brand continues to address cr itical oral health issues. 2008 saw the launch of the new Aquafresh 'Your mouth is amazing' campaign, which inspires patients to recognise the amazing physiology of their mouths. Modern, exciting television commercials bring Aquafresh into the 21st century and inspire patients to think about the amazing processes taking place in their mouths and their teeth every day. Diversity of Aquafresh toothpastes is nowadays divided into six main groups:
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EXTREME CLEAN - toothpaste which delivers on an extreme feeling of clean by delivering bad breath, micro-active, germ-killing bubbles.
ISO-ACTIVE - whitening toothpaste which is a breakthrough gel that transforms into an active foam penetrating hard-to-reach places and protecting – front, back and in between. WHITENING – whitening toothpaste which include extreme clean, ultimate white and extra fresh+whitening series. ADVANCED - reinvented toothpaste with a 2X Enamel Strengthening formula, which helps lock in vital minerals and lock out plaque acids - for strong, healthy teeth for a lifetime. ORIGINAL – classic toothpaste series contains 4 types of toothpaste: cavity protection, extra fresh+whitening, tatar control+whitening, sensitive maximum strength, FOR CHILDREN- range of toothpastes and toothbrushes series dedicated special for children in age 0-3, 4-6 and 6+ years old.
Aquafresh has also started to offer another products in oral health segment by starting a line of toothbrushes for children and adults. In 2004, t hey introduced the Max-Active brand, which was promoted as the first to fit the size of any tooth. There are also Dragon Talestoothbrushes for children and mouthwash. Aquafresh also launched a tooth-whitening product, Aquafresh White Trays, in February 2007. Nowadays Aquafresh is one of the world's largest oral care brands. Its range includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, and on-the-move oral care products. The unique red, white and blue striped toothpaste makes the product visually distinctive, but also underlines the triple benefits of strong teeth, healthy gums and fresh breath – whole mouth protection.
1.3 Brand strengths and weaknesses: SWOT analysis
1.3.1 Strengths
SmithKline Beecham is recognized as the world‟s leader in personal care sales which included oral hygiene products like toothbrushes and toothpastes. In 1991, its sales topped at $6 billion and profits at $2.76 billion as it cornered 43% of the world‟s toothpaste market and 16% of the world‟s toothbrush market. In the United States, the world‟s largest market, it holds the number one spot in toothbrush sales with a market share o f 23%.
The brand‟s market sharecontinues to grow and it is one of three brands that today dominates the oral care market. When Aquafresh entered the market in 1973, it brought with it two key product attributes which were unique. These attributes were instrumental in differentiating Aquafresh from all other competing toothpaste brands. 6|Page
Aquafresh was the first striped toothpaste to be launched in the market. Its blue and white stripes were a clear illustration of the two product benefits - fresh breath and the ability to fight tooth decay. The stripes were perce ived by consumers as novel and innovative and were instrumental in differentiating the brand from its competitors. It was also the first brand to offer consumers freshness as a major product benefit. This concept of freshness appealed to a whole new target market. Young peopleand young families were as concerned about tast e and fresh breath as they were about t he medicinal benefits of toothpaste. They were instantly attracted to Aquafresh with its unique fresh taste. The way in which Aquafresh was launched also added to its appea l. A new style of advertising was designed for its launch. The „Ocean of freshness‟ advertisement used images of blue seas and cresting waves to communicate the product‟s freshness and taste attributes. This advertisement was instrumental in further differentiating the brand from its competitors and Aquafresh was very quickly established as t he best and most modern toothpaste brand on the market. The success of Aquafresh is based fundamentally on four key learnings: 1. Superior products with defined target markets 2. Product Range extension 3. Excellent advertising 4. Strong promotional support. From these statistics, one of their main strengths is being the market leader in oral care products. Aquafresh is the number one consumer healthcare product in the company‟s international product portfolio and is now a billion-dollar brand. It is available in over 120 countries. Their knowledge and know-how helped them create a wide distribution network across entire world which allows them products and goods to almost every corner ofthe world. Aquafresh has an extensive Research and Development department boasting 170 employees worldwide. That is linked to its current position as on of the market leaders in the toothbrush industry. Therefore, their strong commitment to innovation through investment in R&D is a prominent strength. They offer a great range of products ready to cater to specific needs o f different consumers. A dedicated website provides a stronger online presence with e ngaging content for its target group. Aquafresh uses innovative oral health technologies to appeal to a younger audience. The packaging of Aquafresh Extreme Clean, for example, is a shimmering, glittery box that appears hip and current. This along with low product facings is a marketing ploy to appeal to children whose eye level is lower t han adults.
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1.3.2 Weaknesses
Aquafresh is a strong brand owned by the world's third largest pharmaceut ical company. While the Aquafresh original is instantly recognizable by its dist inct red, white and blue ribbon, other newer products are not as known. Higher advertising spending are needed in order to sustain in the market that is constantly increasing. Shelf facings are weak. Products are usually displayed on the shelf below the consumers‟ waistline since it appeals to a younger demographic leaving out older, higher spending consumers. Compared with biggest competitors, Aquafresh has fewer facings in stores. Like many companies, Aquafresh has evolved with the number of products it offers. While it continues to add products, such as white st rips, floss, toothbrushes, mouthwash, etc., it may have lost the focus it had with just toothpaste. While Aquafresh continues to grow, it can grow too big and begin to lose focus on the brand. A major weakness of Aquafresh is the fact that it is not its own brand.This is mostly a weakness for the Aquafresh brand because t he money that is coming into Aquafresh may not being coming straight into Aquafresh. Also, GSK launched Sensodyne toothpaste which is seen as a major competitor to Aquafresh. 1.3.3 Opportun i ties
Demographic trends like increasing population and purchasing power favor the consumer healthcare market, t hus opportunities for growth. Secondly, with the baby boomers and younger generations becoming more concerned with the health of their gums, they will be willing to pa y the above mentioned premium for a toothpaste which is optimized for better gum care. Company can capitalize upon this demographic segment to ensure a successful release of their product. Aquafresh has many opportunities to expand their current line of products along with developing new and exciting products that will benefit many people. In the Aquafresh line of products, there are many different products that will help a person fight many forms of oral care issues, from tartar to gingivitis. But in all of the different toothpastes that Aquafresh offers, there are only a handful of toothpaste flavors. Adding more flavors, especially for children could increase sales. 1.3.4 Th reats
The super-premium market is highly competitive, hosting many brands and private label toothpastes. If any of these rivals creates a toothpaste which tops or even equals the technology of Aquafresh, specifically if done at a lower production cost, Aquafresh may lose market share. Along with intense rivalry from existing competitors, Aquafresh has to deal with new competitors. 8|Page
One of the factors which can cause buyers‟ bargaining power to grow is when the switching costs for buyers are low. Even if Aquafresh were to position its brand as the most expensive toothbrush on the market, it is still a rela tively inexpensive product, compared to many daily purchases (i.e. lunch in NYC or a cup of coffee at Starbucks). Therefore, buyers can easily switch between toothpaste brands without giving the decision much thought.
1.4 Analysis of the competition: how to stand out?
Hundreds of existing brands of toothpaste occupy the market and the bestsellers are (in order of market share) Signal, Colgate and Aquafresh. The toothpaste market is a mature but still growing market and the marketing strategies of the main competitors is all about improving product quality, adding new product features, new sorts and flanker products, enter ing new market segments, new distribution channels and so on, to strengthen the firms competitive pos ition.
Table 2: Value share of main competitors in the toothpaste market Brand
Value Share
Colgate
37%
Maclean
15%
Sensodyne
12%
Aquafresh
11%
Others
25%
Source: Oral Hygiene Review (2001)
The toothpaste industry is one typical model of an oligopoly meaning that it is dominated by a small number of major firms such as Colgate -Palmolive, Procter and Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline(Aquafresh) (Industry structures 17. 2008.). The competition among the different companies have always been ferocious with companies launching new products with new features regularly be it whitening toothpaste, mouth fresheners toothpaste or economic toothpaste. This is just an example of how the competition is harsh and how the companies want to target different market segments.
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Each firm produces a toothpaste which is differentiated (i.e. different in character) from all other toothpastes produced by the other firms in the industry. Thus one firm might produce a red, white and blue toothpaste with a spearmint taste, another might produce a white toothpaste with a wintergreen taste. This assumption is similar to a monopoly which produces a unique (or highly differentiated) product. Under monopolistic competition, each firm produces a differentiated product. Products are close substitutes but not perfect substitutes. The toothpaste market is a market with many competitive rivals, with similar products that are aimed at the same customer group. The differentiated products are imperfectly substitutable in consumption. This means that if the price of one toothpaste were to rise, some consumers would switch their purc hases to another toothpaste. From the perspective of a firm in t he industry, it would face a downward sloping demand curve for its pro duct, but the position of the demand curve would depend upon the characteristics and prices of the ot her substitutable products produced by other firms. This assumption is intermediate between the perfect ly competitive assumption in which goods are perfectly substitutable and the assumption in a monopoly market in which no substitution is possible. The barriers to entry are a lso relatively low making it easy for new competitors to get in the game. Thus if one toothpaste company are selling well and making profits on a type of toothpaste, it sends signals to the competitors to o pen up or start selling similar toothpaste. Thus, the market is fragmented and the brands have a hard t ime to differentiate. As soon as you have come up with something new, the competition will be there and have their own versions of it, right next to you in the store.
1.4.1 How do they differentiate?
A brand can differentiate their toothpaste, on feelings, product features like tastes and so on. Many of the larger brands seem to have a similar st rategy with large amount of product offerings, trying to offer a toothpaste for every age and thinkable problem that could occur. Aquafresh have many toothpastes for children and has games and things for younger children on their homepage, and Colgate talks about what happens with the teeth when you get pregnant, just to mention some examples.
Then we have the “outsiders” with a more focused differentiation strategy, trying to find a niche and compete on a different term. For example, Sensodyne toothpaste, that also is owned by GlaxoSmithKline like Aquafresh, has a more serious health- and medicine approach. Giving a solution directed to health problems like prevention of brown teeth for smokers and gum disease, and protection of sensitive teeth. Vademecum is saying that its a litt le bit stronger than other toothpastes, and that children should use just a small amount, giving the impression of t hat it is more of a medicine than just a toothpaste with natural ingredients. And we also have the specialized toothpastes that are sold only in pharmacies, giving them an e xclusive distribution to make them seem more medical and exclusive. We also have Email Diamant, portrayed as t he “cosmetic toothpaste”, that concentrates on the cosmetic angle of it, making toothpaste sound like a small surgery enhancement. Looking young and fresh with whitening of your teeth, 10 | P a g e
without going to a professional dentist and getting them whitened. Also Denivite concentrates on a “professional whitening at home”- approach. A new differentiation key driver that is also emerging in the toothpaste market, is for toothpastes to be more organic, vegetarian and more green and eco friendly. There is also the in- store brands that have more of a “no frills strategy”, Carrefour, for example, is offering its own “BIO”- toothpaste, for a smaller amount of money than the similar competitors. At a first glance many of the large competitors seem to have similar strategies, but as you can see there is still room for differentiation. Later on in the blog we will concentrate on 5 brands and go in depth, and show you how each of them are trying to keep their differentiation in this large market.
2.1 Conducting a brand survey
Considering we had chosen the brand Aquafresh, we had to adapt the model of survey we created together with our assistant on the tutorials, to match our chosen brand. The introductory part is consisted of explanatory paragraph, in which is described the aim of the survey, survey conductors and contact information. The potential respondents were asked to fill in the survey so they can participate in research considering brand Aquafresh. The goal was to collect objective, first hand information from the users of this particular product. Survey contained closed format questions in dichotomous, importance and Likert scale forms. In the first part of the survey, respondents were asked to answer question regarding their demographic status (age, gender, education and income). The second part consisted questions, regarding general usage of toothpastes available on BiH market, the usage of the product itself and consumer preferences. In the final and the most important part of the survey, respondents were asked to answer questions regarding the brand itself, brand awareness and brand position in consumers‟ minds compared to other competitive brands on the market. The survey was conducted online via social networks by the end of the second week of April 2013. We collected 37 responses (see Exhibit 1), and even though this number of responses is not sufficient for making statistically r elevant conclusions, one should have in mind that this is a trial research for academic purposes.
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Exhibit 1.
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2.2 Analyzing a brand survey
By analyzing the data we collected we can der ive conclusions later on regarding increase of brand equity for the co nsumer of the brand and further differentiating the brand from its competitors.
2.2.1 Demographics
Out of the 37 respondents, 12 of them were male (32 %), and 25 of them were female (68 %). All of them belong to age group up to 25 years old, 8 of them were younger than 20 (22 %), while 29 of them were in the age group from 21 up to 25 (78 %). This is probably because we conducted our research online, via social networks targeting mostly our friends and peers. That could also explain the fact that 100 % of our respondents have personal income lower than BAM 1000,00. Household income differs from personal income. When we look at the Exhibit 2 we can see that 9 % of our respondents have household income below BAM 1000,00, 39 % of our respondents have household income between BAM 1001,00 - 1500,00, 19 % of them have household income between BAM 1501,00 – 2000,00, while 13 % of them have household income higher than BAM 2000,00. All of our respondents live in Canton of Sarajevo and most of them (49 %) have finished high school so far, while 43 % of them have bachelor degree. Only two of our respondents have master‟s degree.
Exhibit 2
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2.2.2 Brand awar eness
Based on the information drawn out of data collected, we can conclude that customers are familiar with brand Aquafresh and that they actually use products of this brand. Only one of 37 people wasn‟t familiar with the brand Aquafresh. Even though respondents are aware of the brand, the level of awareness varies, as one can see in Exhibit 3.
Exhibit 3
We can say that promotional activities targeting brand awareness have fulfilled their task, but later on through our survey we will see if t hey stopped there, or promotion was so successful to trigger consumer preferences towards Aquafresh brand. Further more in our analysis we discovered that customer mostly buy Aquafresh and Colgate brands, but not far behind them is also Zirodent. These two brands are the biggest competitors to Aquafresh brand on BiH toothpaste market. When consumers were asked to choose which of the listed brands their favorite one was, we can say that, it was pretty much a dead race between these three brands. And this slightly differ from global trends on this product market, because from secondary data we found out that two biggest competitors to Aquafresh are Signal and Colgate, with Signal having the highest market share in the world. Although we listed and researched 5 different brands in further analysis we will focus only on Aquafresh, Colgate, and Zirodent, and we will only compare responses regarding these three brands. This is because t he remaining two brands (read Signal and Sensodyne) have significantly lower market share in BiH toothpaste market than chosen three brands. According to the answers of our respondents, consumers of toot hpaste in BiH are not so loyal to the brand they use.(See Exhibit 4) We will connect this to the secondary data we found, that says, that consumers think that it is better to switch between brands of toothpaste every once in a while, and it is ver y difficult to distinct and determine benefits of each particular brand of toothpaste. Consumers tend to take more than one brand of toothpaste into consideration when making purchase decision in their previous and future purchases. 14 | P a g e
We can say here, that based on these data, and because of high competition, Aquafresh should find that missing something that could lure consumers into purchasing their products and make them always choose Aquafresh.
Exhibit 4
Responses also showed that the crucial factor affecting the purchase decision is level of quality. The top three brands had again the highest scores when evaluating this criterion. It is followed by criterion regarding best performances this product provides. As we previously mentioned it is hard to differentiate and evaluate pro duct benefits for customers. The research showed that for these three brands customers haven‟t had such differed opinions, and they pretty much evaluated and scored these brands and their characteristics in similar way, giving them similar grades. Having in mind that it is difficult for consumers to differentiate perfor mances of different toothpastes, we researched which sources do they use, if any, when informing about products that they tend to buy, and what is it, that influences their final decision. What makes them choose the brand that they end up buying?! We can see, from the Exhibit 5 that the TV is traditionally still the most influential media in our society, because most of our respondents listed TV as their main source of information. TV is of course followed by more and more popular source of information, the Internet. And we cannot exclude word of mouth, which showed as st ill influential force when marketing a product. 15 | P a g e
Exhibit 5
2.2.3 Awareness, i mage, loyalty and competiti veness of A quaf resh brand
In general, more than 80% of respondents find that Aquafresh brand has a good reputation, not just among their friends and colleagues but also on the ent ire market of toothpaste in BiH. But this doesn ‟t prove that most people prefer Aquafresh, because responses regarding reputation of other competitive brands have been similar. This again proves how hard it is to distinct this type of product on the market, among their competitors. Based on their responses we can say that Aquafresh created a great image of its brand because they mostly perceive Aquafresh as brand that fulfills their expectations, and it serves its purpose. Although we already concluded that this is high competitive market where the products are similar and supported that through entire research analysis, that does not mean that Aquafresh doesn‟t have its loyal customer. We found that 15 to 20 % of respondents would still buy Aquafresh brand making it their first choice even if other brands have same characteristics, but only 10% of respondents personally consider themselves loyal to t he brand. When compared to its competitors, Aquafresh is considered to be recognizable between other products of the same kind, making it possible for 78% of our respondents to recognize the brand. Also, for the most of our respondents (85%) it is easy to remember the logo or the symbol of Aquafresh. It seems that Aquafresh makes a strong impact on the customers since 63% of respondents can remember so me of the characteristics of the brand without difficulties and connect brand with values which is surely a positive thing. Also, the overall picture of the company offering the product is good, only 12 to 25% respondents claimed that company did not fulfill their expectat ions. This good reputation could have a crucial value for the company in attracting new customers, making them more loyal and increasing market share. Customers believe in the functionality and quality of the brand so they expect that they will get the value for the price paid and that the brand will 16 | P a g e
satisfy the needs they have. ( see Exhibit 6 )
Exhibit 6
To conclude, the results of the survey were not so surprising. We proved that the users of toothpaste are not so loyal to the brand which we found from our secondary data. Aquafresh brand is recognizable, trustworthy and it has a good reputation in the society in the broader sense. Furthermore, it is among top three brands on the toothpaste market in our country, and as such, it has opportunities for increasing its market share, becoming the leader among its competitors. One of the main obstacles may be high competitiveness of t he market followed by similarity of the products offered.
RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1. Brand differentiation In order to differentiate a brand like toothpaste it is very important to know what people want from it, what do they expect to get by using toothpaste? It is important personal care product because its usage is independent of age, sex, or disposable income. Based on secondary data and research we conducted people want t hat their toothpaste to provide them items with the highest loadings. Those are: makes mouth feel just like co ming from a dentist after brushing, cleans teet h thoroughly, encourages children to brush their teeth, gives shiny teeth, and long-lasting fresh breath. With the exception of the third item, all items can be associated with the clean t eeth and its benefits. Therefore, factor 1 is interpreted as t he toothpaste cleaning ability. Using the same pro cedure, factors 2 to 4 are interpreted as cavity protection, approval of dentists, and whitening power respectively. In our research we found out that customers really relay on quality of the pro ducts they are using. That is because they use tooth paste because of their health, and then for cosmetics.
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Furthermore, the emotional value analysis highlights two factors. The first one is labeled confident describing the contented feeling of having clean and healthy teet h. The other factor, however, is similar to the aspirer mind-set factors, such as rich, attractive, and young. Finally, the novelty items are summarized into two factors: “curiosity,” brought about by new brands, packaging redesigns, sales promotions or even trying their friends‟ different brand, and for a “change of pace” mainly to get a better tasting toothpaste. Now that we see what we are up against it is easier to confront the problem of differentiation. But these data are public, and mostly all of to p toothpaste brands used their own research to collect cert ain data that would help them understand customers better. The product should stand out on the shelves, what does that mean, it should draw attention. There is a lot of brands on the shelves these days. Now when you stand in front of the tooth paste shelve you can barely see what you came for, everything is shiny, bright colored, 3D images it demands attention. But when everything demands att ention nothing can be seen. Use alternative containers. Nowadays, all of the toot h paste containers are t ubes, there are some new packagings but mainly there are tubes. One should think of the newer easier way of packaging tooth pastes. So that customers buy effectiveness from that container, something that will address more hygienic way of putting t he toothpaste on the brush, something that will be fun for the children also. There is one great opportunity there. And finally it should focus on taste. Taste is very important factor, customer enjoys good taste in tooth pastes, and it is the item they use on daily basis. And they have so many alternatives so they like to try out different tastes. But not all customers like same things. It is very difficult to cover every ones taste, also it would be mistake to offer customers too big of a range of products, because it might distract them from the products we want them to buy.
3.2. Increasing brand equity The success of Aquafresh is based fundamentally on four key learnings: 1. Superior products with defined target markets. In order to keep this competitive advantage, Aquafresh needs to redefine segments which they need to address to keep track with increasing number of products on the market and changing trends. 2. Product Range extension The market is constantly changing thus creating new opportunities for competitors to stand up and catch new customers. In order to use these o pportunities, their products need to satisfy current needs on the market, so their range should be broad enough to catch different types of customers. 3. Excellent advertising Advertisements can be a great step up in differentiation process. Catchy 18 | P a g e
advertisements or slogans can be a great incentive for customers to buy the products.
4. Strong promotional support. And finally, Aquafresh needs and currently runs st rong promotional campaigns which can make an image in customers minds that with buying their products, they actually get more value for their money. Trying not to lose focus on their strength and brand image, it is needed to add special attractive innovation. During our analysis, we saw t he great opportunities on expanding Aquafresh toothpaste flavors. For people who have positive impression on Aquafresh oral health care, now Aquafresh can offer different flavors that other competitors don‟t have. When tooth paste starts to build reputation on good taste, it differs on the market; it brings it higher in customer‟s minds. It gets prestige. Soon customers will start to connect Aquafresh with good flavors and they would be interested to try on extension products.
3.3. Illustration of tactical suggestions (next steps) Because a toothpaste market has a broad range of customers with harsh competition, by defining the different segments correctly and delivering right image to customers can help to increase the market share of products. First Aquafresh needs to address somewhat loyal customers. Because toothpaste is convenience good it is not something people debate about when buying it. Aquafresh can use this to maintain their good reputation among current buyers. It is necessary to focus on loyalty customers who tried Aquafresh products and find it very impressive so first thing is to keep those customers and to try to make them completely loyal. Second thing they can do regarding new trends is to address more on whitening products. People today want to have “celebrity teeth”. What does that mean, it means that society today is vain and Aquafresh should keep that in mind when communicating tooth paste that helps teeth to stay white and shiny, address customers with help of celebrity representatives etc. Third thing is addressing women with children. Their most important factor is health of their kids, but addressing kids is also very import ant. To combine both of these tactic into one with offering products that kids connect with by introducing them characters that they love, cartoons etc., but also offering commercials that will show their parents t hat it is a good and healthy choice for their kids to use that particular tooth paste. Here interesting and innovative containers would be helpful in making tooth brushing fun for the kids, and when parents see that it will help create a healthy habit for their kids to always brush, it will attract them to buy Aquafresh.
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CONCLUSION Aquafresh, in a period of only 25 years, has achieved p henomenal global success. It is now a billion-dollar brand available in over 120 countries. The key factors which have contributed to its success are: Aquafresh is a superior brand with a range of top -performing products.
Aquafreshhas a clearly defined personality – fun, modern and for all the family.
The brand has continuously evolvedand responded to market trends and forces while always holding on to the stripes as a key part o f the brand.
It is based on a clear understanding ofthe needs of its t arget markets.
It is supported with superior advertisingand promotional campaigns.
Expectations for Aquafresh, however, will not stop here. Ongoing product development and market penetration strategies will ensure t hat all products in the Aquafresh range will continue to offer consumers modern solutions to their oral healthcare problems. The continuing pursuit of product development and diversificat ion strategies means that Aquafresh will continue to grow and develop new oral care cat egories in the future in response to emerging market needs.
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SOURCES http://www.colgate.co.uk/app/ColgateTotal/UK/faq.cwsp http://www.ooshop.com/ http://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch80/T80-5A.php http://www.aquafreshscienceacademy.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquafresh http://www.aquafresh.com/ http://www.bravis.com/en/glaxo_smith_kline_k_k/proj032.html http://www.gsk.com/products/our-consumer-healthcare-products/aquafresh.html
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