Class:

BBA 8th

Topic: Case Study Gillette

Submitted to:

Mam Zoya Khan

Submitted by :

Zulkernain Mukhtar

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? Answer: (a) Competitors: The first thing which positioned Gillette series among their major competitors is that they are focusing on Technology. As it is mentioned in case study that a company spent 300 million dollar to develop a technology that can significantly improves 3 major attributes of shaving Closeness Comfort Safety

They also provide innovative ideas like introducing a razor with independently moving twin blades. The company also spent a good amount in advertising as it is mentioned in this case study that they spent 110 million dollars in the first year to advertise Sensor which help them to reduce the market percentage of disposables from 80% to 42% The company also shows that the customers always comes first for them as it is mentioned the introduction of a new product line was cancelled by the 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. So these are few main reasons due to which Gillette is able to be positioned among their competitors. (b) Target Market: The company produces blades and toiletries accessories and wanted to capture the big market of it as the companys CEO, Zeien says, were already the worldwide leader in blades, Will we be the world leader in other (toiletries) or not? Thats our goal. As it is mentioned in this case study that the companys goal is to become a number one leading company in toiletries market. Gillette mostly target men around the world. But not in the start of the company as it is shown in this case study that Gillettes success, Right Guard Deodorant was a 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. (c) Product class: Product class means group or range of products that may serve as substitutes for one another. Gillette introduces a wide range of new toiletries product which is based on quality and they try to convince the customers to switch brands and pay the higher prices. They produce Sensor razors for shaving which can be used in the place of disposable razors. Sensor razors gives much better shave then disposable razors. Sensor razors are quite expensive then disposable razors but they give much better shave then disposable razors so if the men want a good smooth shave then he must go for sensor razor. Similar to sensor razors Gillette many products like deodorants, after shave gels, after shave lotions etc can be used as substitute of the products made by other companies. (d) Price and Quality: Gillette always focuses on quality. Gillette main agenda is to convince the customers to switch the brand on the basis of quality not price. They spent a lot of investment in producing quality products that can give better performance like sensor razors which gives much better shave then the other razors although it is little bit expensive but it ensured quality shave. Similarly they spent nearly 75 million dollar in producing other quality products like shaving creams, shaving gels, after shaving gels, after shaving lotions etc which prices are 10- 20 % higher than the prices of major competing items. They target the quality oriented customers more then price oriented. And I think this is not a bad idea. (e) Other Positioning Possibilities for Gillette: Other positioning possibilities for Gillette is advertising and marketing. They spent about 60 million dollar in advertising their new product line with sensor. They come up with a different and very impressing tag line which is The Best a man can get. Now-a-days they are focusing more in marketing field as they select worlds best athletes and celebrities like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Thierry Henry, Micheal Clark as their brand ambassador.

2. Is Gillette making the best use of the brand equity that has been created with
Sensor? Answer: yes because Gillette is using its most recent success, the sensor razor, as a springboard for its new toiletries which is not a bad idea. The Sensor story provides the background necessary to understand the marketing of the Gillette Series, and also offers some insight into Gillettes marketing abilities. So they decided to use sensor as a springboard for other new product. The other toiletries products comes in silver and blue packages like the Sensor, and the black lines on the packages match the grooved sides of the Sensor Razor handle as well. The company also decided to spend $ 60 million on a joint advertising campaign with Sensor. 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. This is a good idea because it psychologically affects the mind of the customers. A normal person can think that these stuffs are related to each other if you can buy a Gillettes sensor razor then you have to buy Gillettes shaving gel and aftershave as well.

3. What strategies do you propose to Gillette? Address the entire marketing mix.
Answer: Marketing mix consists of 4ps. But there are some other Ps as well which is also considering being the important aspect of marketing. Gillette has to focus on all these 7ps of marketing in order to get advantage over their competitors. These 7ps are discuss below (1) Product Gillette is worldwide leader in blades they have to focus on other toiletries products for that purpose they introduce new product line deodorants, shaving cream, aftershave etc. They should focus on quality of the product as it is clear from this case study that Gillette normally target quality oriented customers. They should also introduce new products like sports watches, sports shoes, clothing, sports accessories etc as I think this can benefit a company a lot.

(2) Price Gillette normally target quality oriented people and their main target is to convince the customer to switch the brand on the basis of quality not price. But pricing strategy is very important in marketing. I think they should focus on penetration pricing strategy. It is used as a loyalty-building or market-entry tool. The penetration pricing strategy offers a high-quality product at a much lower than expected price. This combination helps the business enter a new market even when strong competitors exist, and it builds loyalty with new customers from the beginning. And I think this strategy suits Gillette because their main focus is quality and they want to ensure the customers that their products are of good quality and their prices are not very high.

(3) Place Gillette is usually using indirect distributing channels i-e their products normally found on general shops or stores. I think they also have to focus on direct distribution method as well like opening outlets which contains only Gillette products. This can also help them to improve their companys revenue.

(4) Promotion Promotion is considered to be the most important marketing mix among all. Promotion contains advertising which is very important aspect of marketing. The company has done well enough in this department for example recently in Pakistan they make famous pop music band STRINGS as their brand ambassador. By investing more money and by putting more effort the company can improve their promotion strategies.

(5) People Gillette has to make sure to the people that their product is made only to comfort them. The company must ensure their customer that people always comes first for them. This can help Gillette to increase the number of loyal customer. If the customer is satisfied with Gillettes this strategy then he or she can easily shift the brand without caring about price.

(6) Process The process of product and service delivery is crucial as it ensures that the same standard of service is repeatedly delivered to the customers. Gillette has to make sure that they provide best process of products or services delivery. They have to make strategies to make sure that their product is easily available to the people or customer.

(7) Physical Appearance It is also consider being the important part of marketing mix. Physical appearance is the first distinction of a product. Gillette has to make sure that their customer easily recognized their product form its physical appearance. They have done quit well in this field if we see their products like Mach Series, Fusion, sensor excel razors etc. they are all came in very stylish look. This helps them to attract the customer.