Colgate Case

1- Assess and discuss the CMF launch in the U.S. - the goal of launching CMF in the U.S., outcomes, etc.

Colgate is the leading toothpaste brand in the U.S. Colgate Max Fresh or CMF could be considered one of the biggest products from Colgate. Their market research was proof that they will have a high target size enough to launch this new product. In this case, Colgate needed to come up with a product that would stand out from other products that were already in the market coming from their competition Crest who is also a very well known brand in the U.S. Because of this, they came up with the idea of CMF, toothpaste that would provide people with both health and whitening benefits. Over the case it was stated that Colgate actually made a huge investment on their advertising for CMF. Around 70% of their marketing budget was spent on this product. Apparently having a fresh breath was a high requirement for a huge part of the population, because of this, Colgate focused their CMF adds in providing people with knowledge of what the toothpaste would actually do for their breath, making it fresh. They used model Emily Procter to promote the product in the advertisement, which attracted even more people’s attention. They created two types of products, one gel and one liquid. Both packages were very modern and new at the time. They attracted people’s attention because they showed the clear mint stripes on it used for whitening, therefore people were more attracted to buy them. Because of all of this, their sales increased and almost 40% of people was now intended to buy Colgate. It eventually served as a way of boosting Colgate’s market share and boosting their sales and consumers. The reason why this is a good country to launch this new toothpaste is because their market research shows how much the population is into having good health in the products they buy. Colgate provides health for them. Also U.S. consumers seem to be looking for cosmetic benefits also at the same time they are given health, the results of this paste is actually a combination of both desires which is why the U.S. is a good market for them at the moment to launch this new product.

2- Discuss the CMF launch in China. Were China’s changes to the CMF marketing launch program justifiable? Indicate all associated adaptation costs.

The fact that they were entering a new market in a new country with this new toothpaste (CMF) made Colgate reconsider their advertisement and their marketing strategies for this new country. Since the advertisement they used for the U.S would not work the same way in China they needed to change it and find someone more connected to the Chinese society. They changed their ads campaign for Jay Chow, who represented something more relevant to the Chinese people. However, one of the biggest issues here was that the Chinese market actually had difference in flavors, which compared to the U.S they only had cool mint and clean mint. Therefore Colgate needed a change in flavor to be able to succeed in this market. They made huge investments on what were their ad campaigns and the way they packaged the product different from the U.S. Even though hit seems as if their net sales have boosted by several thousands, their sales did not seem to actually go as high as they would have wanted it to go since they invested a lot of money on it. The reason to choose this country to launch this new product is the fact that there are many types of toothpastes around, with changes in texture and flavors. This provides the Colgate Company with enough opportunity to launch a new healthy product with different flavor and see if the Chinese market accepts their product. 3- Discuss the CMF launch in Mexico? Did CP Mexico manage its launch better than CP China? Provide arguments. If the company plans to