Marketing Plan-

Cottle Taylor: Expanding the Oral Care

Group in India

Group-12
Anirudh Agrawal - 19021141018
Amiangshu Dutta - 19021141017
Ritam Chakraborty - 19021141086
Samujjal Sonowal - 19021141098
Sushant Bhondekar - 19021141119

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Target Market: Rural & Urban Areas

The three messages that the company focused upon as follows and through which the entire
marketing plan has been deceived:

● Message 1: Persuade customers to brush for the first time

● Message 2: Increase the incidence of brushing
● Message 3: Persuade consumers to upgrade to mid-range or premium products.

Through our marketing plan, we would target the rural market through the first two messages as
the data below will take us through the reason for the same. Message 3
would be aligned with the urban areas.

Through an in-depth analysis of the case, we can see that the three messages would connect with
the mentioned percentage of rural population:

● Message 1 - 60% of the rural population

● Message 2 -30% of the population
● Message 3 - 10% of the population

In the case of urban areas, the three messages would connect with the mentioned percentage of
population:

● Message 1 - 10% of the population

● Message 2- 40% of the population
● Message 3 - 50% of the population

Product
There are three types of products that are being offered to the target market. The following are
below:
● Low-End Manual
○ The Complete
○ The Sensitooth
○ The FreshGum
○ The Surround
○ The Kidsie
● Medium Range Manual
○ The Zagger
○ Directionflex
● Battery Operated
○ The Swirl

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 ○ Swirl refills

Price
Retail Pricing of each product category:
● Low-End Manual - $0.22 - $0.35 (Average) ; Manufacturer Gross Margin: 47% - 50%
● Medium Range Manual - $0.52 - $0.98; Manufacturer Gross Margin: 40% - 52%
● Battery Operated - $11.64; Manufacturer Gross Margin: 40%
The cost of refills in battery-operated toothbrush was $1.02, Manufacturer Gross Margin: 60%.

Place

Promotion

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As per our marketing plan, we would be focusing on both the strategies which are as
follows:

Above the line marketing strategy: Through the above line marketing strategy the company
would use advertising tools such as television, radio, billboards, and print advertisement.

Cottle ATL strategy:

● Television & Billboards: Through the ATL strategy, Cottle would focus mainly on the
urban areas, and through television and billboards, they would focus on promoting the
mid-range and battery-operated toothbrushes.

● Celebrity Advertisement: Along with that, we could focus on celebrity advertisement to

target the mass. Through this ATL strategy, we would be able to target a huge number of
urban populations and hence be able to achieve the company objectives.

Below the line marketing strategy: A non-marketing campaign is extremely important to target
the rural market in India. For cottle this strategy would help them establish themselves in rural
India.

Cottle BTL Strategy:

● Tie up with NGO’s in rural India and focus upon oral hygiene and create awareness in
terms of oral health problems
● Initially provide free samples to the rural people that would ensure that they would try the
product.
● Cottle could also set up free health check-ups in schools and nearby facilities in order to
educate the people in rural India in terms of oral healthcare.

Below is the breakdown of our advertising expenditure breakdown for the marketing plan:

● Television: 40%
● Billboards:25%
● Print Advertisement:15%
● Radio Advertisement:20%

Expected Revenue generation as per Patel Vs. Lang for 2010:

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In 2009, the revenue generated was $70.1 mn. According to Patel, after increase in 20%unit sale
and 20% price/unit the total revenue will be $100.921 mn as shown in the above table. From,
Lang’s proposition 16%, 120% and 25%, the total revenue will be $117.2231 mn.

Sales Projection:

Above mentioned table shows the product mix allocation and that shows Lang’s projection was
no close to the Thailand’s model while it is closer to Patel’s projection. Moreover, in Lang’s
projection more focus is on mid-range manual while Patel is focusing on low end manual. Lang’s
words are in no match to his numbers.

Income Statement:

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The above table shows the income statement of 2009 and 2010(Expected). The operating income
in 2009 is $12.618 mn while for 2010(E) Patel - $18.17 mn and Lang - $17.58 mn. Clearly we
can see that if they follow Patel’s marketing plan, they can earn higher operational profit.
Note: 12% of sales is the advertising budget in Lang’s projection, as a result 15% of sales is the
profit from operations.

Conclusion:
Through the marketing plan displayed it can be observed that the profit achieved through the
predicted numbers as displayed in the above table has made it clear that the plan selected by
Brinda Patel would be the most viable option. It is seen that the profit from operations is
comparatively higher, hence we can say that focusing our attention on the first 2 messages would
be beneficial to the company. Through these 2 messages we would be able to capture the rural
market which in the near future would be extremely beneficial for the company. Along with that
through the 2 marketing strategies in terms of ATL & BTL we would be able to change our plans
in terms of the demographics of the target audience. Through ATL our urban market is captured
and the medium level and battery-operated products are marketed. Through BTL rural India is
targeted by marketing the low-end products. Looking at the numbers mentioned in the above
table it would be advisable to market the low-end products as it is covering nearly 86% of the
product mix. Hence, we can conclude that capturing the rural markets in India will be a game
changer for Cottle.

Testimonial: Sushant Bhondekar

I have been using the battery-operated toothbrush since 2018 and so far, my experience with
battery operated toothbrush is quite good. It is quite convenient to use but the cost of using the
battery-operated toothbrush is high. I have to change the head of the brush every three months
and to find the head of the toothbrush is not easy, it is only available in selected stores.