Colgate brand image

“A great brand is a story that’s
never completely told”
-Scott Bedbury

Brand Tracker
Phase I – Brand Image
Measurement
A report submitted to
Prof. Srinivas Govindrajan
In partial fulfilment of the requirement of the
course
Product and Brand Management

On 29th July 2012

By
Abinas Mishra (B11002)
Anubhuti Anup (B11008)
Piyush Das (B11031)
Sumedha Dutta (B110047)

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Executive Summary

Colgate-Palmolive is a New York based company established in the year 1806 by William
Colgate. It is best known for its oral care products. It was ranked No. 155 in the list of
Fortune 500 companies in the year 2012, with revenue of US$ 16.73 billion. Colgate enjoys
global market leadership in the oral care segments.

Colgate started as a starch, soap and candle business, it diversified itself into consumer
goods category after it was taken over by Palmolive.

In the first phase of the “Brand Tracker” project we have attempted to determine the current
status of the brand and the brand identity in the minds of the consumers. A variant of the
famous Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) was used to identify the current status of the brand
while the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) was used to determine the brand
identity.

The BAV model measures the value of the brand along 4 dimensions namely Differentiation,
Relevance, Esteem and Knowledge. Differentiation and Relevance together comprise the
brand strength while Esteem and Knowledge build up the Brand Stature. For BAV, a simple
random sample of 31 was surveyed using a questionnaire.

COLGATE has the highest percentile score (100) along 2 pillars namely relevance and
esteem while it has 80 percentile in Differentiation and Esteem second only to Dabur and
Pepsodent respectively. On the BAV power grid COLGATE lies on the leadership category
which shows that it has a high earnings and high growth potential. The only cause for
concern, if any is the comparatively low differentiation score which shows that there is a
problem in Colgate‟s Serving as it is replicated by its competitors also.

The ZMET technique was used as the qualitative research tool to gauge the brand identity of
COLGATE. A sample of 6 respondents was chosen to execute this process. The technique is
based on the fact that most human communication is nonverbal, much of which is visual. The
ZMET interview employs several steps to surface and further define consumers key thoughts
and feelings. Each step in ZMET provides a different opportunity for identifying and
understanding metaphors, thereby gaining a deeper understanding about the consumers. The
ZMET technique identified Colgate as a brand that promises satisfaction, confidence, love
and care and gives value for money. And a highly trusted brand which is considered as a
part of a family.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary……....................................................................................... 3

Brief history of the brand................................................................................5-7

Quantitative research model – BAV………………………....................... ....9-20

Qualitative research model – ZMET………………………………………… 22-26

References...............................................................................................................27

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A Brief History of Colgate:
The Founder:

William Colgate was born in Hollingbourne, Kent, England, on 25 January

1783. He was the son of an 18th century English farmer, politician and

sympathizer with the American war of Independence and French Revolution,

whose Republican ideals impelled him to leave their farm in Shoreham, Kent

in March 1798 and emigrate to Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States of

America .Colgate formed a partnership with Ralph Maher to manufacture

soap and candles, and William helped the two men, but the partnership

dissolved after two years.

William Colgate came to New York City in 1804. He there obtained employment as an
apprentice to a soap-boiler, and learned the business.

Colgate: From Soap & Candle manufacturer to Leader in Oral care

In 1806, William Colgate, opened up a starch, soap and candle factory on Dutch
Street in New York under the name of "William Colgate & Company". In the 1840s, the firm
began selling individual cakes of soap in uniform weights and by 1873 they introduced
toothpaste in jars. Today, Colgate is a leading brand in oral care sector with products selling
across 200 countries and contributing a major proportion to the $17 billion revenue of
Colgate-Palmolive.

1806: Colgate on Dutch Street

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Type: Public Company

Traded as: NYSE

Industry: Personal Care

Founded: 1806

Headquarters: New York, USA

Revenue: US$16.73 Billion

Products: Soaps, Detergent and Oral hygiene

Employees: 39200 (2011)

BRAND COLGATE

Colgate is one of India‟s most admired and trusted brands. The brand has a permanent place
in Brand Equity‟s Most Trusted Brands „Hall Of Fame‟, for consistently appearing in the top
ten ranks.

Over a hundred years ago toothpaste did not in squeezable plastic tubes but was available in
glass jars. In India, oral hygiene meant munching on a piece of bark or root and a quick
gargle afterwards. Today, Indian consumers have multiple brand and flavours and product
features to suit every dental need.

Colgate has led emphasis on basic oral care awareness in rural and urban India to build a
bond with the consumer and the dental professionals. This has helped Colgate to shape the
oral care category in India, taking it beyond cavities and expanding it with a product portfolio
that now addresses a wide array of consumer oral health needs. Furthermore, constant
innovation in products and communication has been at the heart of their growth strategy.It
has followed a multi pronged communication strategy. Some of the significant mass media
initiatives were the last year 1947 reprint of the times of India on Independence day
advertising Colgate sensitive pro-relief and a limited edition night newspaper in Andhra
Pradesh to spread awareness about night brushing. It has also active social media presence for
Colgate MaxFresh and for Colgate Active Salt it ventured into the routine and daily lives of
consumers with an „interruptive format‟ marketing campaign. The Colgate „ask the dentist‟
campaign was used for the Colgate Dental Cream to make the brand relevant and top-of-mind
for consumers.

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EVOLUTION (TIMELINE)
1806: William Colgate starts a starch, soap and candle business on Dutch Street in New York
City.

1873: Colgate introduces toothpaste in jars.

1896: Colgate introduces toothpaste in a collapsible tube.

1947: Ajax cleanser is launched, for cleaning products.

1953: Colgate-Palmolive Company becomes company's official name.

1968: Colgate toothpaste adds MFP Fluoride, clinically proven to reduce cavities.

1983: Colgate Plus toothbrush is introduced. Today over 1.6 billion Colgate toothbrushes are
sold annually worldwide

1987: Colgate acquires Soft soap liquid soap business from the Minnetonka Corporation.
Today, Colgate is the global leader in liquid hand soap.

1995: Colgate enters Central Europe and Russia, expanding into fast-growing markets.
Colgate acquires Kolynos Oral Care business in Latin America and launches market-leading
Sorriso toothpaste.

2004: Colgate acquires the GABA oral care business in Europe, with its strength in the
important European pharmacy channel and its ties with the dental community.

2006: Colgate enters the fast-growing Naturals segment by purchasing Tom‟s of Maine, a
leader in that market in the United States.

Today …
Today, with sales surpassing $15 billion, Colgate focuses on four core businesses: Oral Care,
Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. Colgate now sells its products in over 200
countries and territories worldwide.

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Qualitative Research Model
Brand Asset Valuator Model

Brand Asset Valuator (BAV)
Brand Asset Valuator is Y & R is a proprietary research evaluating components of brand
equity across categories and countries. The Brand Asset Valuator brings together years of
thorough international scientific research into the biggest brand database existing today. With
this knowledge, a brand will gain a competitive advantage by analysing and moving forward
in an efficient and well-grounded manner. Research administered on more than 38,000
brands after questioning more than 500,000 consumers from 49 countries. It involves
continuous validation and analyses customised to a brand.

The analysis provides-

 Brand Image Power
 Brand Diagnostics via the four pillars
 Brand image Comparison
 Measurement of Current Strength & Future Potential

BAV measures the value of a brand across four key pillars: Differentiation,
Relevance, Esteem and Knowledge.

 Differentiation measures how distinctive a particular brand is.
 Relevance measures how personally appropriate a particular brand is.
 Esteem measures how highly regarded a brand is.
 Knowledge measures how well know a brand is.

Indicates Report Card
brands future of past
value performance

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Research Methodology

The BAV model was used to measure the current status of the brand vis-à-vis its
competitors.
As questions of BAV are not available, hence an independent questionnaire was
designed to gauge the consumer‟s perception across the 4 pillars on which BAV is
based.
Weightage of 100% was assigned to each pillar of the BAV model
 This weightage was split amongst the questions related to them.
 Weights were assigned to these questions on the basis of how direct and how
comprehensive was the information that could be derived from the question.

Research Design: A descriptive research was conducted.
Research Instrument: Questionnaire
Sampling Unit : Users of Toothpaste
Sample size :31
Calculation :
 The calculation was done by adding the number of responses and multiplying them
to the weightage of the question that was allocated to a particular attribute or a
brand.
 The process was followed to arrive at a score for each brand. All the scores from the
questions pertaining to a specific pillar for a particular brand was added to get the
final score.
 Percentile was assigned on the basis of the final score received by each of the brands

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 In question number Q.4, Z-test was done to find out whether the sample was
representative of the entire population or not. After that ANOVA was
executed to figure out which brand was the leader across all attributes being
tested.
 In question number Q.9, Z-test was done to find out whether the sample was
representative of the entire population or not.

Questionnaire
1. Which brands come to your mind when you think of toothpaste? (Brand Knowledge-
30%)

2. Identify the tooth paste brand from the audio clip played. (Brand Knowledge- 30%)

3. When it comes to toothpaste, which one of these will you recommend? (Brand Esteem-
50%)

a. Pepsodent
b. Close up
c. Colgate
d. Anchor
e. Dabur

4. a. The understated brand is a trustworthy brand (Brand Esteem- 25%)

Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly
Agree Agree nor Disagree
Disagree
Pepsodent
Close up

Colgate
Anchor
Dabur

b. The quality of the understated brand is the best (Brand Esteem- 25%)

Strongly Agree Neither Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree nor Disagree Disagree
Pepsodent
Close up

Colgate
Anchor
Dabur

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5. Among the following, which criteria would you choose while buying toothpaste? To be
cross tabulated with question no.6 (Brand Relevance)

a. Healthy tooth & gums
b. Long lasting freshness
c. Prevention of tooth decay
d. Whiteness
e. Use of natural herb
f. Variety

6. (Brand Relevance)

A. If you consider Pepsodent as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1
on the basis of the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being
the lowest)

d. Whiteness
f. Variety

B. If you consider Close up as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1
on the basis of the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being
the lowest)

d. Whiteness
f. Variety

C. If you consider Colgate as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on
the basis of the brand fulfilling the criteria (5 being the highest & 1 being the
lowest)
d. Whiteness
f. Variety

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D. If you consider Anchor as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on
lowest)

d. Whiteness
f. Variety

E. If you consider Dabur as a brand, rate the following attributes from 5 to 1 on
lowest)

d. Whiteness
f. Variety

7. The understated brand is a Unique brand (Brand Differentiation- 40%)

Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly
Agree Agree nor Disagree
Disagree
Pepsodent
Close up

Colgate
Anchor
Dabur

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8. Identify the following brands (Brand Knowledge- 40%)

9. Which of these photos, you can relate with (Brand Differentiation- 40%)

a. Pepsodent
b. Close up
c. Colgate
d. Anchor
e. Dabur

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Result and Analysis of BAV
(The details of analysis and the calculations are in excel sheet attached)

The percentile score of all the individual brands across differentiation, relevance, esteem and
knowledge was calculated and then converted into graphs. Then the graphs were compared
with the graph given below

to find out in which category( new, unrealized potential/niche, leadership, declining, eroded
and unfocused) do these brands lie. The brands that were analyzed were

Colgate
Pepsodent
Close up COMPETITORS
Anchor
Dabur

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As we can see from the graph that the score of Anchor is low across all 4 parameters.

Thus it is an Unfocused brand.

As we can see from the graph, that Close up is low on relevance but has scored average in
terms of knowledge, esteem and differentiation. Thus we can conclude that Close up is a
Declining brand.

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Pepsodent scored high in Brand Stature but a comparative low in Brand Strength.Thus
pepsodent can be termed as a Declining brand. (Declining from market leader)

As we can see from the graph, that Dabur is low on Brand Stature but has scored high in
Brand Strength. Respondents perceive it to be a highly differentiated brand. In the power grid
Dabur comes in the Unrealized Potential category.

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From the data collated we find that Colgate scores high across the 4 dimensions of BAV,
Colgate is considered a high earnings and high potential brand i.e. it falls in the Leadership
category.

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Brand Asset Valuator Power Grid

Colgate on BAV Model:

From the analysis it was found that Colgate is the market leader. Analysis of 4 pillars of BAV
(individually) is given below:

Brand Knowledge- In terms of brand knowledge, Colgate has a percentile score of
80. Here it follows pepsodent whose percentile score is 100. Hence Colgate is a well
known brand in this category.

Brand Esteem- Colgate has scored 100 percentile in terms of esteem. Thus it can be
concluded that, Colgate is a highly regarded and respected brand.

Brand Relevance- Colgate has a 100 percentile in relevance. This leads us to
realisation that the need identification process of Colgate is excellent which leads to
conclusion that the most important building block for a brand is in place Colgate.

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Brand Differentiation- Colgate has scored 80 percentile and is following Dabur
which has scored 100%. Colgate has been able to differentiate itself from others.

High Relevance, Low Differentiation- From the quantitative analysis, it is found
that Colgate has scored highest in relevance but a comparative low in differentiation.
The conclusion that can be drawn from here is “ need identification is done well by
Colgate but competitors are serving similar”

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Qualitative Research Model
Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique

ZMET (Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique)

ZMET (Zaltman, 1997; Zaltman & Coulter, 1995) is a method developed in the early 1990s
to understand customers by eliciting metaphors that reveal important aspects of their
underlying mental model. By incorporating laddering techniques into ZMET interviews,
ZMET is capable of building the connections found in a traditional laddering study. By using
the strength of metaphor elicitation, ZMET goes further to describe, in the voice of the
respondent, the meaning of the concepts and ideas in the mental model. Further, by using
metaphor as research tool, ZMET can help us understand more deeply the linkages
themselves that form the consumer's mental structure (of both thoughts and feelings).

This allows the researcher the opportunity to look at the data in a more varied and deeper
ways than through a traditional laddering study. A researcher using a ZMET approach can
develop a rather rich mental model and explore the meanings associated with specific
subsections of a hierarchical value map or a consensus map of consumers‟ mental models.

Why ZMET?
– The control is in respondent‟s hand, not the researcher
– Use of metaphor helps uncover the importance of non-visual sensory images
– Reduces problem of consistency
– Pays attention to cognitive and emotional sides of the brain

ZMET research provides fundamental understandings of consumers, by identifying a broad
set of meanings, at several levels of experience. It helps understand how unconscious and
conscious processes interact to creation of need and influencing & shaping the criteria's of
satisfying the needs, as well as judging the experiences.

ZMET uses visual and non-visual "images" gathered and/or generated by consumers to elicit
and probe the metaphors that represent consumer‟s thoughts and feelings about a topic.
The images provide a clear idea of what consumers really think and feel. The insights gained
by ZMET are far deeper and clearer than the insights to be gained from verbal discussions
alone. Images can be visual; many images can take other forms as well such Touch, smell and
sound. An image represents a feeling much more distinctly than words. Hence use of images
is referred to as a Metaphor.

In a ZMET interview, verbal descriptions of the thoughts and feelings are represented by
images to help understand their meaning. The verbal descriptions are far more complete and
far more useful to managers because they were stimulated initially by these images or
metaphors. In the interview, people collect images on their own, hence it gives them control
of the research and provides efficient involvement with the interview topic. Therefore, it
provides flexibility to the participant to express their opinions and feelings more accurately.

STEPS FOLLOWED IN THE QUANTITIVE RESEARCH

Samples of six respondents were selected and they were asked to collect ten images that best
convey their thoughts and feeling about Colgate. The respondents were given a duration of
two to three days to collect the images. They were then taken through a number of steps, all
of which intended to obtain stories about the images.

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Step 1: Storytelling
Olson and Zaltman referred the first step as the Storytelling step. In this step the respondents
were asked select eight images which they feel best describe their feeling and thought for
Colgate. Then they were asked to tell the story behind each image. During this process the
respondents conveys how they relate each image with Colgate. Further deep metaphors were
identified by probing the respondent.

Three probing techniques were used:

i. Basic elaboration: The statement used by the respondents was repeated in form of
questions
ii. Laddering Technique: It aims at identifying the ways in which the respondents link
the various concepts and thoughts
iii. Breaching: It was used as a probing technique when the respondents showed
resistance and found it difficult to articulate

Step 2: Missing Images
The respondents were then asked if they wanted to include any other image in the eight
selected image. If they answered yes then they were probed the reason behind it and were
asked to expand their thoughts and feeling behind the missing image. Describing the missing
image was similar to storytelling step.

Step 3: Triad Comparison
The Triad task seeks to identify concepts and distinctions at a higher level. The respondents
were shown three selected images out of the eight. They were then asked to indicate the
similarities between any two and how they were different from the third one. This step
provided more in depth concepts which were not collected in the first two steps.

Step 4: Metaphor Probe (Expanding the frame)
In this step the respondents were asked to widen their frame of thought and to describe what
else would they include in the picture frame that would reinforce the original idea. This step
uncovers the hidden meaning as well as the hidden un-described thoughts.

Step 5: Digital Imaging
The respondents were then asked to make a collage of the images selected. They were then
asked to give one word metaphor to each image as well as to the collage they created. This
brought out what they thought of as well as their feelings. This step was thus the summary to
the whole exercise and brought some new thoughts. But most of the thought were already
described the respondents initially.

ANALYSIS OF ZMET DATA

The transcript of each individual interview was read to identify the words, phrases and
sentences used by the respondents to articulate their thoughts and feeling. This provided the

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metaphors that were explicitly mentioned by the respondent during each interview. From
these explicit metaphors, deep metaphors were identified by probing. These deep metaphors
provided the hidden, deep concepts under which the explicit metaphors could be categorised.

RESULTS

The metaphors used by each respondent to articulate their thoughts and feeling during the
interview are as follows:

RESPONDENT 1 RESPONDENT 02 RESPONDENT 03

Satisfaction
Value for money
Positivity Motivation
Faith
Happy Faith
Heredity
Achievement Trust
Content
Pride Fascinating
Pride
Bright Rid of tiredness
Life Saviour
Attitude Healthy
Strong
Calm Hygiene
Social
Completeness Eye Opener
Self Satisfaction
Success Satisfaction
Trust
Hygiene Proud

RESPONDENT 04 RESPONDENT 05 RESPONDENT 06

Innocence
Satisfier Protective
Oldest Brand Happiness Love
Flavour Better Performance Care
Enjoy Energetic Peace
Affection Confidence Social
Whiteness Trust Happiness
Success Care Satisfying
Personality Love Trust
Trust Safe Completeness
Performance Calm Confidence
Protection Cheerful Friendship
Confidence Hope Strength
Fun Celebration Carefree
Value for money Fun

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COMMON THOUGHTS
Satisfaction
Faith
Pride
Hygiene
Value for money
Confidence
Performance
Protection
Enjoy
Care
Love
Social
Trust
Strong
Success
Happiness

DIFFERENTIATOR
When the respondents were asked to represent similarities between any two and how the two
images differ from the third image from the set of three selected images, the following
metaphor were obtained:

Cleanliness
Taste
Price
Degree of happiness obtained
Emotion attached to it
Happiness gained
Personification
Achievement
Confidence gained

These metaphors acts as a differentiator or distinction in the mind of the respondents
selected.

In order to structure the findings the deep metaphors were identified. These deep metaphors
were obtained by the process of laddering used during the process of interview.

Brushing teeth with Colgate brings smile and happiness
Some respondent described Colgate as a means to get happy smile which in
turn gives a feeling of fulfilment. Colgate was also compared with a person
who always smiles and hence, other characteristics of that person like
confidence were also related to Colgate

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Brushing teeth with Colgate gives satisfaction
Some respondent related Colgate with honesty which brings self satisfaction in
the person himself. Other related Colgate with something that brings
encouragement to work hard which in turn gives satisfaction

Brushing teeth gives peaceful sleep and relaxation
Colgate was related by some respondent to peaceful sleep. As per some
respondent, sleeping helped in getting rid of tiredness and gives relaxation.
Thus, Colgate was seen as a catalyst to get rid of tiredness

Colgate being an oldest brand is trustworthy
Few respondents described Colgate to be a trustworthy as it was the oldest
brands

Brushing teeth builds affection
This reflects some respondent‟s reason behind the use of Colgate. Its use gets
rid of bad breath which helps in building better relation and hence, increases
affection

Colgate gives confidence
Colgate was also described as something that brings confidence. In order to
illustrate confidence a respondent used an image of a cat seeing itself as a lion
in the mirror. Another respondent used the image of a father catching a child
to describe the confidence. It also showed the trust one has.

Using Colgate gives a feeling of “care”
Colgate is visualized as a care taking toothpaste. The care of Colgate was
compared by the care that a mother takes for her child.

Colgate is like a part of family
Some respondents described Colgate was like a family to them. Just like a
family stays together in good and bad times and they are much more
comfortable together, some respondent are comfortable using Colgate

Colgate is a part of “Journey of Life”
The collage of the images formed by a respondent represented it as a “Journey
of Life”. Thus, the respondent visualized Colgate as a part of his journey of
life.

Summarizing all the above obtained metaphors, as well as the Zaltman Story telling
approach, the brand identity of Colgate as per the respondent feedback can be interpreted as
follows:

Colgate is a brand that promises satisfaction, confidence, love and care and gives value
for money. It is a highly trusted brand which is considered as a part of a family.

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References

Prof. Srinivas Govindrajan’s PPTs

Marketing Management : Philip Kotler- 13th Edition

The Economic times: Brand Equity:28 sept 2011

Wikipedia.org

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/History/1991.cvsp

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/snapshots/101.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/30927697/Brand-Asset-Valuator

http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=7644

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