POP/POD and Positioning Conundrum – Sensodyne

Positioning is always tricky. Brands quite often get confused about what to position, how to position, and so forth. However, the success of brands depends upon how you place the brand in the minds of the consumers. In a crowded FMCG sector, the positioning conundrum is highly visible. The toothpaste industry gives us a classic case of POP/POD, Positioning conundrum.

Colgate Palmolive and HUL dominate the toothpaste industry in India for years. Colgate, with a market share of 58%, enjoys being the leader in the category with Pepsodent, Close – Up, Patanjali, Dabur, Sensodyne, etc. follow the race. On observing the industry, I wonder why Competitive Positioning is essential? Unlike other industries, the brand loyalty of toothpaste is very high. One can find families using Colgate for generations. Then why brands always run behind competitors?

Sensodyne, a GSK global No.1 brand entered the Indian market in the year 2011. The launch was not smooth as the core benefit of the brand i.e., reducing teeth sensitivity, was not accepted by people. The more significant insight is that consumer awareness of such a condition is inferior. So it was imperative for the brand to first turn attention to Point – of – Parity(POP). The taste and foaming(significant drivers of consumer buying decisions of toothpaste) were adjusted to suit the Indian market. The Point – of – Difference(POD) was reducing tooth Sensitivity(Benefit Positioning). When the whole industry was aggressive and widely used red ocean strategy, Sensodyne marched in a different route.

Herding behaviour is present in all sectors. Cause-related advertisement is a trend today. All companies now bet for a cause. Why this herding behaviour? In the toothpaste sector, Smile is the new positioning normal. Competitive Positioning is not new, but I consider it a waste of money. Why brands like Colgate, which enjoy high brand loyalty goes for herding? This always amuses me. A challenger brand using competitive positioning is understandable, but can’t they travel in a different route i.e., rely on POD.

The last company in the sector to show herding is Sensodyne. They have given away their sensitivity proposition from the latest ads. They also now rely on competitive positioning. But Why? I think there is a shift of focus from being a specialist brand to a mass-market brand. Being a mass brand can, of course, attract more new users and increase usage. I doubt the success of this positioning as we know Sensodyne only as an expert. Now a change in approach makes the brand susceptible. When Xerox tried to change the positioning from a photo copier to a ultimate communications provider, the brand failed miserably. The brand IGNIS of Maruti launched through Nexa Outlets confused people. This is the classic positioning conundrum I was discussing here. Will this approach succeed? Wait for time to say something.