Oral Care Products

Case Analysis and Marketing Plan

1. CURRENT MARKET SITUATION

A. Macroenvironment

Politico-legal

        Oral care products are part of a larger industry group of personal care products and is made up of certain ingredients and chemicals further productions and accreditations of the products requires the approval Bureau of Food and Drugs.

Economic

No matter how much the inflation rate is and with prices soaring off, oral care products are considered as a basic need. No matter what the market situation are the demand for this kind of products are inherent.

Socio-cultural

        Pilipino people value hygiene and cleanliness. Having a fresh and minty breath is an essential even for the lowliest of the social ladder. High demands and sales of hygienic products especially toothpastes and soap is to be expected.

Technological

        Technological aspects play a larger role in this kind of industry. Certain chemicals are needed for the productions of the toothpaste alone. Special materials for the productions of the tubes and plastic for the sachets should also be considered. Consistency and compatibility of the products and the packaging should also noted.

B. Microenvironment         

Industry profile

        Toothpastes are classified according to their attributes and there were two general classes namely therapeutic and cosmetic. Therapeutic main attributes and focuses on tooth decay and cavity prevention. Cosmetic toothpastes on the other hand position themselves as products that enhance the user’s oral appearance.

The Company

Alert Toothpaste is manufactured by Pewipp Philippines, which is a member of LTD Group of Companies. LTS is a diversified firm which have business dealings in real estate development, personal care products, apparel manufacturing and home care products.

Market situation (Product, Place, Price, Promotion)

        Alert Toothpastes is available at 50, 100 and 150 ml sachet sizes and came in three different flavours. Alert offers 3 to 8 percent lower than their competitors and is priced far lower than Colgate which is the market leader.  Media advertisement for alert was present at the beginning but due to a problem in stock supplies it was discontinued. TV Materials and advertisements were only present for short period of time but it was not sustained. At present promotions are limited only to radio and print ads.

        Warehouses were maintained in Manila, Cebu and Davao however despite its distributions through wholesalers and retailers, Alert is hardly visible at retail level.

Competition

Alert Toothpaste has been in the market for two years, but it has only captured a market share of less than two percent. The main competitors for Alert Toothpaste are those companies that belonged to the lower priced rungs of the industry.

The toothpaste industry in the Philippines is dominated by the Brand Colgate (Colgate-Palmolive Phils.), which hold up 50% of the market followed by the brand Close Up (Unilver) at 25% market share, then Hapee Toothpaste (Lamoyan Corp.) holds 20% of the market share. The remaining 5% was shared by Pepsodent, Beam and Alert Toothpaste.

1. OPPORTUNITIES AND ISSUE ANALYSIS

III.        MARKETING OBJECTIVES (major financial and marketing goals)

1. To be able to improve the efficiency of product distribution
2. To increase the market presence of Alert Toothpaste in retail stores
3. To increase the market share of Alert Toothpaste

1. MARKETING STRATEGY

Market positioning

        Alert is originally positioned as the smarter alternative to the leading brands. It is therapeutic toothpaste whose main benefit is tooth decay prevention. It promises dental protections that gives the same benefits as the leading brand at a lower price

Target market/s

        The target market are perceive to be those that belongs to the C, D and  E income groups and since Alert sold for a relatively low price, price sensitive consumers are drawn to this brand.