When most people hear GILLETTE, one thing comes to mindRazors.

Thats to be expected, since safety razors were invented by King C. Gillette in 1903, and the product in various forms has been the core of the companys business ever since. Few firms have dominated an industry so completely and for so long. Wet-razor shaving (as distinct from electric razors) is a $900 million market. Gillettes share is 62 percent, with the remainder divided among SCHICK15 per cent, BIC11 percent, WILKINSON sword2 percent, and a number of private brands. Gillette would like to achieve a similar position in the mens toiletries with a new line of products called the GILLETTE Series. However, its record that market is spotty at best. One Gillette success, Right Guard Deodorant, was market leader in the 1960s. Right Guard was one of the first Aerosols, and it became a family product which was used both by men and women. However, the product has not changed although the deodorant market has become fragmented with the introduction of antiperspirants, various product forms and applicators, and many different scents. As a result, Gillette slipped to third position in deodorant sales behind P & G and Colgate Palmolive. An even more embarrassing situation is Gillettes foamy shaving cream, a natural fit with the razor business. S. C Johnson and Sons Edge Gel have supplanted that brand as the leading seller. These experiences created frustration at Gillette. Despite its pre-eminence in razors and blades, the company has been unable to sustain a leading position across the full range of toiletries. Gillette is using its most recent success, the sensor razor, as a springboard for its new toiletries. The Sensor story provides the background necessary to understand the marketing of the Gillette Series, and also offers some insight into Gillettes marketing prowess. Sensor- a high technology cartridge razor- was a gamble for Gillette because it ran counter to consumers buying preferences. Disposable razors, which were produced by the French firm BIC in 1974, had gained control in nearly 80 % of the razor market by 1990. Gillettes analysis showed that disposables provide a worse shave than a cartridge blade, cost more to make than a blade and are sold at a lower profit margin. Despite its disdain for the product, competitive pressure forced Gillette to introduce its own disposable, Good News As concern about the squeeze that disposables were putting on profit margins grew, Gillette began looking for a way to displace them. The company spent $ 300 million to develop a technology to significantly improve on the three attributes desired in shaving- closeness, comfort and safety. They came up with the Sensor, a razor with independently moving twin blades. The Sensor produces a superior shave, but it is also more expensive to produce than a disposable. So Gillettes gamble was that a better shave would be enough to justify a premium price, and in the process, displace the successful but not a very comfortable disposable razor. In addition to the R & D investment, Gillette spent $ 110 in the first year to advertise Sensor. The strategy paid off. Estimated 1992 sales for the brand was $ 390 million, and equally important, the share of the market held by the disposables has gone down to 42%. Gillette then moved to capitalize on the success of Sensor. The company had a line of toiletries in development, and the decision was made to tie them closely to sensor. The line consists of 14 items: 1. two shaving gels for sensitive and regular skin 2. two shaving creams 3. two concentrated shaving gels 4. a clear gel anti- perspirant

5. a clear gel deodorant 6. an anti- perspiring stick 7. a deodorant stick 8. An after- shave gel 9. An after-shave lotion 10. An anti- perspiring aerosol and a deodorant body spray available only in Europe. The products in the Gillette series were developed over a three year period at a cost of $ 75 million. They were tested on 70000 consumers. An indication of their newness is the fact that Gillette has 20 patents pending with them. Consideration had been given to introducing the line in 1992, but the introduction was cancelled by Gillettes CEO, Alfred Zeien. He insisted that the line not be launched until consumer tests showed that each of the 14 products was preferred to the best- performing brand in its category. All the products have a common fragrance that Gillette calls Cool Wave. They come in silver and blue packages like the Sensor, and the black lines on the packages match the grooved sides of the Sensor Razor handle. The items retail at $ 2.69 each, 10- 20 % higher than the prices of major competing items. As was the case with Sensor, Gillette hopes that the products innovation will convince men to switch brands and pay the higher prices. During the Gillette Series first year, the company spent $ 60 million on a joint advertising campaign with Sensor. Just like Sensor, the line was to introduce in January with ads on the Super Bowl. The campaign uses the same theme as Sensor. The Best a man can get. Initial TV commercials were one minute in length. They started with 15 seconds on shaving gels, and cream, followed by 30 seconds on Sensor and 15 seconds on aftershaves. The deodorants are advertised separately. The Gillette series faces two major problems: Convincing consumers that the line is actually better and the higher price justified will be more difficult than with SENSOR. With the razor, Gillette had name recognition as the dominant firm in the industry. In addition, the design differences the sensor were visible, and a consumer can directly enjoy a closer shave. With the toiletries, Gillette does not have a strong position in the consumers minds, nor are the benefits provided by the products obvious. Furthermore, the mens toiletries market is extremely competitive. Powerful firms with proven marketing skills have taken a greater interest un this category. P & G has acquired Old Spice and Noxzema; Colgate owns Mennen, and Unilever purchased Brut. Its unlikely the rest of the firms in the market will sit back and ignore Gillettes activity. Gillette is tying, the new product line to the Sensor but using a different brand name. If consumers do not associate the Gillette Series with the innovativeness and success of Sensor, the new line may just be another brand in an already cluttered market. According to a Gillette Vice President, one of the most compelling aspects of the Gillette series is its synergy with the companys core businessrazors. If the new line is successful, Gillette anticipates adding other mens grooming products such as hair sprays and shampoos. The firms CEO, Zeien says, were already the worldwide leader in blades, Will we be the world leader in other (toiletries) or not? Thats our goal.

QUESTIONS:
Q.1. How is the Gillette Series being positioned with respect to (a) competitors, (b) the target market, (c) the product class, (d) price and quality? What other positioning possibilities are there? a. Competitors: Premium to competition was given by Gillette to other competitors for positioning their products. 1) It has given a good range of razors like Mach 3, Atra plus, twin blade, sensor excel, etc. 2) They not only limited their products to men but they also introduced a range of product in Women line like Daisy (women shaver), women Shaving crme etc. The two main competitors for Gillette in the toiletries business are: P& G, especially by acquiring Old Spice and Noxzema

Old Spice is one of the top brands across world in the shaving products category. In the shaving cream market it has a good hold over the perception of the consumers. It is recognised by its fragrance and is seen as a macho brand. It is has products in all the three categories (cream, gel and foam). Old Spice is also present in after shave market and its after shave product is very dominant in the market. It has a lot of products in the shaving products market. This also makes the brand much stronger than its competitor. Colgate-Palmolive, especially by owning Mennen

Colgate-Palmolive is one of the largest companies in the FMCG sector. The Company has launched its International Palmolive Shave Gel and Palmolive Shave Foam in the in response to growing consumer interest in skin conditioning benefits. The company's strategy for Personal Care is to remain in top niches. Every year, they intend to take 3-4 initiatives. Colpal has shaving products under the brand name Palmolive shaving cream. It has three variants in the shaving cream/gel/foam category.

b. Target Market :Gillette has five major lines of business: blades and razors, toiletries and cosmetics, stationery products, Braun appliances, and Oral-B dental products. Blades and razors contributed over 60% of Gillette's profits through most of the 1970s and 1980s. This performance let the company meet its stated goal of "sustained profitable growth." This tradition of profitable growth was challenged when profits on blades and razors faltered and the price of Gillette's stock stagnated. The diversification strategy that distracted management's attention from blades and razors had diluted the valuable Gillette brand name by associating it with non-shaving products. The introduction of a line of men's toiletries (Gillette Series) that was years in development represent a risky, perhaps final, attempt by Gillette to fix its flagging toiletries operation. The trouble: Despite its pre-eminence in razors and blades, Gillette has had difficulty persuading men to stock other Gillette goods in their medicine cabinets. In part, that's because its offerings, including Right Guard deodorant and Foamy shaving cream, have suffered from unfocused marketing and commodity pricing. Gillette has put across its brand very elegantly in both Men and Women Segment. In men Segment they have targeted each class right from Rich class to higher middle and lower middle class. Apart from this they had kept a range of products for men like shaving gels for sensitive and regular skin, clear gel deodorant etc. However, to beat the cut throat competition in market they didnt limit their target market to Men. They introduced a Blue Ocean. This is yet another aspect of Gillette's excellent brand management. In doing so, they have created a huge new potential market for themselves - 50% of the population that was out of bounds for them as long as they were dealing with men alone. True, the market is nascent and a small chunk of their revenues; however the market itself has very few branded players, and even they are scattered in numerous categories - epilators, hair removal creams, etc. Considering that majority of women around the world (esp. the developing countries) still rely on waxing for body hair removal, Gillette has rightly recognized the potential in this market. C. Price: Gillette has priced its "Gillette Series" well above the industry average. The Perceived-value pricing strategy suggests that Gillette is leveraging its customer loyalty (i.e. the consumers who are brand loyal to Gillette razors). Gillette has been using Perceived-value pricing strategy for its toiletries products based on the buyer's image of the product performance (Gillette's quality perceived image), the channel deliverables and Gillette's reputation, trustworthiness and esteem. This strategy has not been working well for Gillette in the toiletries category as this segment's customers are price-sensitive because they are frequent users of this category of items. Gillette has failed to convince the customer that it offers the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) so far. Value pricing strategy would be better for Gillette because the toiletries is a highly price sensitive and low price stimulus market growth industry. Its advantages is that production and distribution costs fall with accumulated production and a low price discourages actual and potential competition, in addition to maximising market share in this category. Value Pricing is aimed at winning loyal customers by charging fairly low price for a high-quality offering. It isn't a matter of simply setting lower prices; it's a matter of reengineering the Gillette's operations to become low-cost producer without sacrificing quality - a strategy already adopted in the razor's category to attract a large number of value-conscious customers. Disadvantages would be the risk of getting trapped in to either, low-quality trap, fragile-market-share trap or price-war trap. In addition, Gillette has to be willing to make a commitment to have and be able to operate with lower ratios of expense than everybody else.

d. Differentiated on functional attributes through innovation Gillette has always been an industry innovator, with ample budget allocation for R & D.

Consumer-driven innovation may sound obvious, but the latest technological discoveries are often what drive innovation in many companies (including Gillette). Yet technology-driven innovation is only successful if it fulfils an unmet consumer need. So by starting with a clear understanding of what the consumer desires and allowing that understanding to guide the search for innovation, the company increases its chance for success. Yesterday's passive consumer is today's engaged consumer: A company should not underestimate the importance of consumer-driven innovation in an environment where healthcare consumers are better informed and more demanding.

e. What other positioning possibilities are there? Market Positioning Possibilities for Gillette can be proposed in variety of products. It can break into a range of products like 1) Shaving line 2) Deodorant line 3) Aftershave line

The shaving line can further be divided into the shaving cream and razor. In this scenario there can be 3 distinct positioning that Gillette can take up in the consumers minds. If Gillett is one Brand, then the positioning should be the same as for the other series of mens grooming products. Apart from this, Gillette has always been on it toes when it comes to introducing latest technology product and has thus reaped the benefits of being the first entrant in introducing the new products. There are many other positioning possibilities for a Brand. Gillette can position the various products it has separately, or treat Gillette as a master Brand. If Gillett is one Brand, then the positioning should be the same as for the other series of mens grooming products. However if it breaks it into categories, then there is a shaving line, and then a deodorant line, and it can get into an aftershave line as well, unless it wishes to keep it aligned with the shaving category. In this scenario there can be 3 distinct positioning that Gillette can take up in the consumers minds.

Q. 2. Is Gillette making the best use of the brand equity that has been created with Sensor? Gillette's portfolio contains well established brands such as Gillette and Braun, Oral-B line and Duracell. It eases the introduction of new products, as consumers are already well acquainted with the names and more receptive to promises of improved user experiences. The strength and quality image of these brands allows the company to charge higher prices and achieve high margins. The Gillette brand needs to be carefully managed so that its value doesn't depreciate. Gillette brand equity can be reinforced by marketing actions that consistently convey the meaning of the brand in terms of: what products does the brand represent, what are the core benefits it supplies, how the brand makes the products superior, and which strong, favourable and unique brand associations should exist in the consumers' mind. This requires more innovation from Gillette and relevance throughout the marketing programme. The advantages are maintaining the brand equity value and ultimately supporting all the brand products. Disadvantages of this strategy are that Gillette has to maintain consistency in amount and kind, recognising the trade-offs between activities that fortify the brand and reinforce its meaning. Failure to reinforce at any point will diminish brand awareness and weaken brand image. Given that Gillett is attempting to make a name for itself and that Sensor has been its biggest success, it makes sense to use the impetus of that to tie into the rest of its line. With the razor, Gillette had name recognition as the dominant firm in the industry however the design differences in the Sensor were visible, and a consumer could directly experience the closer shave. The tagline of the best a man can get is a solid enough vague claim to make, and own. Since the equity was established for the 'the best a man can get' and not just Sensor, Gillette is making good use of this, since the Sensor can be seen as a product from Gillette, and one that works very well, at least as per consumer response. Sensor's position has proved easy to defend for much the same reason that the razor's launch was so successful: the new strength of the Gillette brand name. Shaving-products were indeed turning into a commodity market; but given Gillette's dominance of that market, the company itself was more than a little to blame. A Sensor may cost twice as much to use as a disposable razor but to many consumers, the amount is small enough not to matter. Given half a chance, they will buy what they know, or what they know to be best. Sensor was a giant hit because of Gillette's willingness to spend heavily on its own brand name - and its ability to deliver a product good enough to live up to it Also, given that for mens grooming, shaving is tied into the process very intricately, it is a logical next step to build onwards from shaving razor blade.

Q.3. What strategies do you propose to Gillette? Address the entire marketing mix.

Marketing Mix
Product Gillette products are currently fulfilling only the core and basic needs to some extent. But since the"Gillette Series" will target a new segment; it has to be very strong on attributes. Again, additional features need to be there to satisfy the basic and expected needs of the consumer. The "Series" should have superior fragrance and higher antiseptic attributes, in connection with "Sensor". Further, initially, the product will be launched with variants. The new Gillette Series would target the basic and core product consumers where Gillette has no presence so far. So, the customer values promised and delivered would also be different from that of the premium segment. The focus would be to 'Gillettifying' the product. This is important because we have to reach a larger, price sensitive, not so loyal segment of the market. So far, Gillette has only followed a dumping strategy with very little customisation. For the "Gillette Series", this strategy would not work well.

Pricing Value Pricing (Combination of high-low and everyday low pricing) Value pricing strategy would be better for Gillette because the toiletries is a highly price sensitive and low price stimulus market growth industry. Value Pricing is aimed at wining loyal customers by charging fairly low price for a high-quality offering. It isn't a matter of simply setting lower prices; it's a matter of reengineering the Gillette's operations to become low-cost producer without sacrificing quality - a strategy already adopted in the razor's category to attract a large number of value-conscious customers.

Place (Distribution) Hybrid Channels Gillette's major channel is Wal-Mart, which acts as a threat by having a buyer's bargaining power. By adopting a hybrid channel strategy and having direct-response Internet site, virtual mall, and thousands of links and affiliated sites, Gillette can reduce this threat. Gillette must make sure that these channels work well together and match each target customer's preferred ways of doing things. Customers expect channel integration to have features such as: the ability to order a product online and pick it up at a convenient retail location, the ability to return an online-ordered product to a nearby retailer and the right to receive discounts and promotional offers based on total online and off-line purchases. Advertising and Promotion The strategy of pitching men with a few extras while they're in the barber's chair is very old but shows no sign of dying out. Gillette should launch "Gillette Series" with its first male grooming collection by sending product samples to hair salons around the country. These should come with a complete with a detailed guide suggesting language, dress code and marketing strategies design to make men feel more comfortable when reaching for Gillette shampoo, gel or aftershave'.

Gillette is to rely on word of mouth and media coverage to attract customers. Choose authentic male role models. There are signs that the brand is shifting its focus away from technology and towards sponsorship. Celebrities and sports ambassadors of Gillette should be fully integrated into "Gillette Series" brand programmes as they did with "Sensor" and will be leveraged to the "Gillette Series" through multifaceted marketing initiatives, including global print and broadcast advertising, consumer promotions, point-ofsale materials, online and public relations in support of "Gillette Series" line. Crucially, it should also depend on women. One of the surprising discoveries is that women are the most influential source to men when it comes to buying toiletries. Sales could be driven by gift vouchers, and most of those are bought by women for Father's Day or birthdays (Never underestimate the influence of women). Communicating Value Gillette should adopt a push and pull strategy to communicate the abovementioned values. The ads would involve a sturdy, tough, smart man and project him as theGillette man (much like the Marlboro man). The focus would be on the "Gillette Series" though it will also co-advertise "Gillette Sensor".

Strategies proposed to Gillette:

Perhaps a more staggered approach would work better, from releasing the gels and after shaves, and then moving onto deodorant, since you do not want to put too many different variants out there. It takes time to build a powerful reason to believe in a product for a consumer, and diluting the equity of sensor with too many different product types would be a disaster. A better strategy would be to first gauge not just consumer reaction to product quality, but to gauge consumer understanding of the brand Gillette. If the Brand is best known for a smooth comfortable shaving razor, then it would be advisable to first build on that equity further and introduce more razors, and add in a shaving gel. Hence the products need to be staggered out. Secondly, to build on the Price, they have one premium product in the form of razors. However there is still room to build a pyramid within Gillette's razors and add in a further premium variant, as well as a discounted variant as well. The Gels and Deodorants, when they come in should follow a similar strategy come in at a similar premium of 110-120 and then build variants surrounding it. For example the Cool Wave series can be positioned at a 130 premium to competition. A further more niche variant can come in at a 150 index, and then a more standard variant series at a 100 index as the discounted variant series. Ownership of the category in the market is extremely important. The worst thing to do is to not take advantage of proper Placement. Globally companies such as Procter and Gamble as well as L'oreal have taken a space in the mind of the shopper through ownerships of shelves in store. It is important for Gillett series to be placed in a premium place, next to perhaps associated categories, and at eye level to most male consumers in the relevant age group. Shop shelf decoration is also important to announce the premium position. Finally, the promotional angle must not be discounted. It is the single biggest reason after the Product itself, and is the right call for the consumers to initially think of trial. To achieve this trial, the communication must incorporate the same tagline of Gillette sensor, i.e the Best a man can get, and build on the equity that was created by Sensor. In this manner using all the tools to cater further success.