Executive summary
This report focuses on the case study of Gillette and how it has been able to sustain its competitive advantage through different strategies it has applied in the last century. Gillette is one of those organizations in the world that has been able to successfully use the ‘first to get it right’ approach to ensure that it maintains its position as market leader. Also, the report discusses how the Gillette Company has successfully identified market segments and then creates a marketing mix that is most suited for that particular market segment. Moreover, the report also provides a detailed evaluation of the marketing communication campaign that the Gillette Brand uses to connect with its target markets.

Question- 1 Evaluate their ‘first to get it right’ policy in terms of Gillette’s continuing progress and prosperity.

First mover’s advantage refers to the advantage gained by an organization when it introduces a new product or a service in the market ahead of its competitors and by taking that step it is able to capitalize on untapped market potential that may be available (Grant, 2003). In most cases an organization with the first mover advantage is rewarded with significant profit margins along with a monopoly-like status where it is able to dominate the market for a significant period of time. However, on certain occasions the organization is not strategically prepared to capitalize on the rewards that are associated with the first movers advantage and for this very reason it loses any potential competitive advantage it might get, which can lead to the a situation where the competitors are able to take advantage by learning from the mistakes of the first mover; this is termed as the second mover advantage (Reinganum, 1983). It is for this very reason it is pivotal for organizations to ensure that it develops a concise strategy regarding entering the market ahead of its competitors otherwise the rewards associated with being a first mover can actually end up being converted into competitive disadvantage for the organization.
In light of the above characteristics of the first movers advantage we are in a better position to evaluate the ‘first to market’ or the ‘first to get it right’ policy of the Gillette Company. Gillette is one of the those organizations in the world that has successfully launched a number of ‘first of their kind’ products in the market and devise strategies such that they are able to sustain the competitive advantage gained through launching such products (McKibben, 2014). In its own areas of operation. Some of the products introduced by Gillette in the market, in the past, are (McKibben, 2014): safety razor 1901 twin bladed razor 1972 twin bladed disposable razor 1976 pivoting head razor 1979 pivoting head disposable razor 1980 razor designed specifically for women - Sensor 1992 triple blade razor - Mach 3 1998
Battery powered razor - M3Power 2004.
One of the significant factor behind Gillette’s success in adopting the ‘first to market’ approach is the fact that along with being the first to the market Gillette has been successful in continuously producing products that feature improvements to the existing products by introducing technologies that are new to the market. Some of these new technologies include (McKibben, 2014); 3 bladed disposables and ergonomically superior handle developments, including Sensor, Venus Divine and M3Power.
It is important to understand that the rewards associated with the first to market approach are not associated only with introducing a new product in the market before the competitors; rather it is important to continuously introduce improvements in the product to ensure that the competitive advantage is maintained in the market. One of the significant reasons behind Gillette’s success in the past century, to the point that it has successfully maintained its competitive advantage, is the fact that it has successfully managed to