Pepsodent: marketing strategy at the

bottom of the pyramid

Gerard Tocquer

In 2014, Parisa Oh was appointed Unilever Brand Manager for Oral care category covering Gerard Tocquer is
both the Cambodia and Lao markets. She joined Unilever in 2009 after graduating with a Adjunct Professor at the
master’s degree from Mahidol University, Thailand. She felt proud to participate during the College of Management
first three years to Unilever “Future Leaders” program and to share experience with senior Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand.
managers from different functions. The leadership program gave her a better idea about
the challenges and the complexities of the role of a brand manager in South East Asia.
With the integration of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) economies in 2015,
her first international assignment was to increase market share and leverage Pepsodent
brand equity in Cambodia. Not an easy task but at least a challenging one that might boost
her marketing career.

Unilever company background

Unilever, the Anglo Dutch multinational is one of the world’s leading suppliers of
fast-moving consumer goods. The company’s strong portfolio of foods, home and personal
care brands is trusted by consumers the world over. In 2013, on any given day, more
Unilever products were used by over 2 billion people in over 170 countries worldwide.
Leadings brands include Breeze, Omo, Comfort, Sunlight, Sunsilk, Clear, Dove, Lux,
Vaseline, Citra, Vim, Skippy, Pond’s, Close-up, Axe, Rexona, Knorr, Best Foods, Wall’s,
Lipton and Aviance. The company vision is “we work to create a better future every day”.
In 2010, the company declared “Sustainable Living Plan” which was one of the most
challenging purposes for world and resource sustainability. Unilever set a target to improve
the quality of life, health and living of more than 1 billion consumers within the year 2020.
The company envisaged sourcing all raw materials from farms that had no impact on
environment and halve the environmental impact from its operations and products
(Unilever, 2015).
Unilever Thai Trading Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever. The company was first The author would like to thank
Dr Peter De Mayer, Assistant
established in Thailand in 1932 as Siam Industries Ltd, a manufacturer of soaps, candles Professor, College of
and edible oils and fats. In 2014, Unilever Thai Trading covered Thailand, Myanmar, Management Mahidol
University, for his critical
Cambodia, Laos and Mongolian markets. comments, and Dr Brian Hunt,
for reviewing the case
Pepsodent brand history
Disclaimer. This case is written
solely for educational
In the mid-twentieth century, Pepsodent was a popular brand of toothpaste. It was first purposes and is not intended
introduced in the early years of the twentieth century as a dentifrice, first as a powder, and to represent successful or
unsuccessful managerial
later as a paste. Advertisements for Pepsodent emphasized the toothpaste’s distinguishing decision-making. The authors
features. It had a minty flavor that was derived from sassafras, an ingredient found in some may have disguised names;
financial and other
varieties of tea and such soft drinks as root beer and sarsaparilla. Advertisements also recognisable information to
pointed out the presence of “irium” (otherwise known as sodium lauryl sulfate) as a protect confidentiality.

DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-05-2016-0101 VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017, pp. 1-16, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 1
 mechanism for fighting tooth decay, and to an ingredient known as IMP for preventing tooth
decay (Fidlin, 2015).
Throughout the 1950s, Pepsodent was one of the most popular toothpaste brands in the
USA. The brand promised that the product would improve users’ teeth within 10 days by
giving users a white smile, removing any film on their teeth. The Pepsodent success story
is attributed to Claude C. Hopkins, one of America’s renowned advertising executives who
developed an appealing idea[1].
Very soon, cities were plastered with Pepsodent print advertising. One read: “Just run your
tongue across your teeth. You’ll feel a film – that’s what makes your teeth look ‘off color’ and
invites decay”. “Note how many pretty teeth are seen everywhere”, read another. “Millions
are using a new method of teeth cleansing. Why would any woman have dingy film on her
teeth? Pepsodent removes the film!” Such emotive words spread like wild fire across the
entire nation! It was huge hit! (Duhigg, 2014).
Few years later, competitors Colgate and Crest were adding a new ingredient “fluoride”
when it was discovered that this chemical compound helped prevent cavities. Heading into
the 1960s, Pepsodent had not yet added fluoride, and sales were waning. The brand had
lost its relevance.
An Ad Age survey of US toothpaste market conducted around the turn of the twenty-first
century found Colgate and Crest brands the market leaders, jointly sharing 60 per cent of
the market. Pepsodent was placed 10th, with 1 per cent of the market, even though it was
usually sold as a “value brand”, meaning it was much cheaper than bigger brands. Despite
efforts to change the ingredients and improve the toothpaste, the brand Pepsodent in the
USA never recovered from the wane in sales (Phebe, 2011).
In 2003, the household products manufacturer Church & Dwight purchased the Pepsodent
brand rights in the USA from Unilever. Unilever hold the rights outside the US market.

Oral health issues in Cambodia

In Cambodia, the toothpaste product category has a low penetration rate. In 2013, it was
estimated at 20 per cent in rural area and around 55 per cent in cities. As a result, many
Cambodians suffered from oral health issues. On average, a six-year-old child had nine
decaying teeth compared with only two in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. “Adults
generally had a lot of dental problems, not only tooth decay but also gum disease, and the
third issue we saw was oral cancer, which is one of the top five cancers in Cambodia. The
use of tobacco and betel leaf were the greatest risk factors for oral cancer among adults,
while tooth decay in children was caused largely by poor diets laden with cheap sweets
and the traditional practice of women breastfeeding toddlers late at night”, said Dr Durward
(Robertson and Dara, 2014).Head of the Department of Dentistry at Puthisastra University.
Dr Durward, who has worked in Cambodia for many years and who is also the dental
director the One2One Charitable Trust, a New Zealand-based organization running several
dental projects in Cambodia, says there is actually no shortage of dentists in the country.
“I don’t think that treatment is really the answer – prevention is the answer”. Dr Durward said
adding “The duration of the dental school training was 7 years in Cambodia representing
for students a huge personal investment, therefore many graduated would like to work in
Phnom Penh and not in rural area where was the oral needs were huge” (Robertson and
Dara, 2014).
In reality, in Cambodia, dental services are minimal with most of the care provided being
for the relief of pain. The situation borders on the tragic and the role of NGOs and other
organizations are critical in educating families and children about the importance of healthy
teeth.

PAGE 2 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017

Cambodia market and Pepsodent
In 2014, Cambodia was ranked 30th of the poorest countries in the world based on GDP
per capita by the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook. The GDP per
capita was US$946 in 2012 compared with a GDP per capita of US$5917 for
Thailand[2].
The country had a total population of 14.3 million with 1.4 per cent annual growth rate, one
of the highest in South East Asia. In 2012, around 18 per cent of the population were still
living under the poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
The average monthly income per inhabitant was US$75 in 2013. Only 20 per cent of its
population lived in cities. In the past five years, the urban segment has grown at 2.5 per
cent annually in contrast to the rural growth rate of only 1.5 per cent. The country has a
young population with an average age of 21 years. In total, 34 per cent are below 14 years
old; the group 15-30 years age represents 25 per cent of the population, while seniors (over
65years) represent only 4.5 per cent. The traditional pillars of the Cambodian economy are
the garment, tourism and construction industries. However, more than 70 per cent of
Cambodians depend on agriculture for their livelihood. The sector provides the largest
source of income for Cambodians, although its share has decreased as industry and
services have expanded. In 2013, the agricultural sector represented around 32 per cent
of the economy.
In Cambodia, 80 per cent of the consumers live in rural and outlying areas; it was critical
for companies to properly manage their supply logistics to reach consumers where they
were located. Multinational companies fully understood this issue.
Modern trade represents only 10 per cent of total market in 2013. The capital, Phnom Penh,
has few supermarkets, including local brands like Lucky Supermarkets, Bayon, ThaiHuot.
However, European retailers and other convenience stores like 7-Eleven were planned to
open in late 2015.
Most consumers shopped at covered markets where they could find food and beverages,
personal care and some household goods (Exhibit 1).
The average size of a shop was around 9 square meters. However, the retail environment
was set to change with the arrivals of new international shopping malls such as the
Japanese owned Aeon Mall. The general population perceived supermarkets as expensive
stores for local elites and expats, and preferred to shop at traditional shops. Most FMCG
goods come from Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia has a significant smuggling problem
that affects all segments of the economy.
Without doubt, over the past 5 years Cambodia has seen the emergence of a
middle-class (with daily revenues over US$14) in the major cities, which explains the
booming economy.
In 2013, Media consumption showed a high penetration of TV at 93 per cent, while Radio
was stable at 60 per cent and print media declined. Among female consumers, CTN, MyTV
followed by Bayon TV dominated TV viewing mainly driven by drama series and game
shows with a peak period from 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. As in other ASEAN countries, internet
use was increasing with the opening of many internet cafes and the emergence of smart
phone. In 2012, male users (61 per cent of users) were twice female users. By 2014, smart
phone penetration had increased to 26.1 per cent and was expected to reach to 40 per
cent in 2015. Around 50 per cent of mobile phone users used the Khmer language script
(Mobile Phone and Internet in Cambodia, 2015).
Internet use was growing but penetration remained low at 25 per cent (Baliga, 2015).
Around 70 per cent of internet users were aged between 15 and 24 years, 60 per cent lived
in Phnom Penh and 60 per cent were students. In 2013, 70 per cent visited Facebook, 44

VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 3

 per cent YouTube and 33 per cent Google. The youth market had obviously different
characteristics in terms of media consumption (Media Habits and Information Sources of
Youth in Cambodia, 2014). More than 90 per cent of young people had accessed to mobile
phone, but they were not using it extensively. In total, 40 per cent of them mentioned they
used it for less than 10 min a day.
Parisa Oh’s first initiative was to uncover existing market data regarding the Toothpaste
category in Cambodia. Information came mainly from secondary data and from various
sources. While it was somewhat difficult to put all the pieces together, this exercise was a
good start to understanding Cambodian consumers. Pepsodent was launched in
Cambodia in 2005 under the responsibility of Unilever Thai Trading that also carried a
second brand Close-Up in its toothpaste portfolio. Close-Up was positioned in Asia as a
younger and a trendier brand.
Toothpaste penetration in Cambodia was very low. Around 50 per cent of households used
one toothpaste per family. In only 32 per cent of households, each person used their own
tube and 15 per cent of households said that their children used a different type of product.
It was mostly in urban areas that consumers used more than one toothpaste. With a family
sharing toothpaste, the brand had to be able to satisfy the needs of all family members. In
a family, Mom was always the purchaser and 60 per cent of them bought toothpaste at least
twice a month.
In 2013, ten toothpaste brands competed in the Cambodian market. The top four brands
including Colgate, Twin Lotus, Close-Up and Darlie which captured 90 per cent of the
market. Colgate was the leading brand with 64 per cent market share. The Colgate product
line was the undisputable leader in the category and covered many oral care needs from
decay prevention to whitening. Colgate used extensively TVC’s for building its brand
thereby creating a clutter for other brands. Therefore, it was difficult for other brands to be
heard. Colgate’s key messages to Cambodian customers are illustrated in the following
Youtube videos[3].
The Colgate brand was also strongly associated with dentists, and consequently, it was a
brand that consumers trusted. The market was quite stable and a change in brand share
was not much anticipated.
The only primary research available was one study, conducted at the end of 2013 that
measured awareness and brand recognition. Sources of toothpaste brand awareness were
mostly from TVC’s. Nationwide, more than half of consumers knew Pepsodent, but the
brand was not the uppermost in their mind. Parisa Oh observed that Pepsodent had a
higher brand recall in urban areas but was still weak in the minds of consumers. Although
brand recall was high in urban areas, only 5 per cent of urban consumers claimed to use
Pepsodent. By comparison, Darlie brand usage in urban area was double.
The toothpaste market in Cambodia was driven by concerns for overall decay prevention
and teeth whitening. Nationally, the key trigger was the prevention of cavities.
An analysis of toothpaste brands image in urban areas showed that Pepsodent was not
strong in any attribute except in preventing bad breath. It performed badly as a brand for
sensitive teeth and kindness to gums. In rural markets, the brand was not seen as a trusted
brand. In both urban and rural areas, Pepsodent was positioned in the economy segment
(Exhibit 2).

Pepsodent marketing mix in Cambodia in 2014

As in Thailand, the toothpaste market in Cambodia was segmented both on price level
and customer needs. Brands target different benefit groups. They were brands for each
benefit sought by customers such as tartar and plaque control, fresh breath, cavity
protection, natural, i.e. herbal or tea, whitening and gum care. Some brands such as

PAGE 4 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017

Colgate claimed a “total care” benefit. The Pepsodent brand promises to Cambodia
consumers focused on functional benefits mainly on decay prevention. The brand
marketing mix was:
 Product. Variants, pack size included both big and small packs.
 Big pack. Pepsodent Advance Cavity Protection 160 g and Pepsodent Herbal, 190 g
 Small Pack. Pepsodent Advanced Cavity Protection 40 g and Pepsodent Herbal, 75 g.
Appendix 2 illustrates the different packaging offered on the market.
 Price.
Both variants covered the Economy segment.
Big packs. For any variant, price was the same 98 cents (USA).
Small pack price was US$0.29S for advanced cavity protection and 30 cents (USA) for the
herbal variants.
Table EI illustrates the product line for each of the toothpaste brands in Cambodia with
packaging information and price for each variant. The Cambodia Riel is the currency in
Cambodia and the exchange rate in 2014 was roughly US$1 ⫽ 4,000 Riels.
 Distribution
In 2014, Cambodia’s outdoor and covered markets remained the main points of sale for
Pepsodent products over stores and shops. Such retailers maintained small inventories
and carried few brands. When consumers decided to buy toothpaste or any oral care
products, they expected their desired product to be available immediately for purchase.
Out of stock represented a loss of business not only for Unilever but also for the small shop
owners. This was a main concern for Pepsodent managers who provided specific trade
support activities to help small shops to develop their business as, for example, by offering
small independent retailers products package in mixes of dozens and providing good
customer services like fast response times.
 Marketing communications
TV advertising was the most widely used promotional tools for many FMCG brands in
Cambodia. Like many other FMCG firms, Pepsodent used TVC’s[4] to build its brand
awareness in Cambodia. TV commercials were important to introduce brands to
Cambodian consumers, whether urban or rural. Cambodian leading TV broadcasters
advertising rates were cheap compared to Thailand. At prime time, the rate was about
US$300 per 30 s. Many toothpaste brands were using partnerships with NGO’s not only
to increase their brand penetration but also to improve the national health situation.
Pepsodent partnered with the Cambodian Dental Associations to improve the oral
health of schoolchildren through a behavior change program that aimed to make twice
daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste, a commonly practiced habit to sales.

Pepsodent marketing strategy in 2015

With all this information in mind, Parisa Oh and her team were ready to invest more time to
get a deeper understanding of the Cambodia market. She had learnt during her
participation in the Unilever “Future Leaders” program that a clever brand and marketing
strategy were always based on a good understanding of both consumers’ needs and the
competitive environment. Ironically, she also learnt that it was always difficult to find good
quality research data in new emerging markets to support effective marketing decisions.
While in Thailand, she was able to access to AC Nielsen’s scanner panel data, such a panel
was not yet available in Cambodia where a large segment of the population shops at mom
and pop traditional retailers.

VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 5

 Pepsodent’s business objective was to achieve 8 per cent market share in 2015. In 2013,
Pepsodent’s share was only 3.2 per cent and the first quarter in 2014 did not show any
improvement. The introduction of GSK Aquafresh brand[5] in Cambodia in 2013 showed
her how difficult it was for a new brand to earn even a tiny market share. Aquafresh was
launched with a print advertising campaign that highlighted the brand three functional
benefits: healthy gums, strong teeth and fresh breath. The message also mentioned that
Aquafresh was a high-quality brand from the USA.
Parisa Oh faced two dilemmas. The first of these was about deciding to conduct new
consumer research in Cambodia to have a better understanding of consumers, and to do
this before her meeting in Bangkok. The second dilemma was key. What was the best
option for Pepsodent? Segmenting the Cambodian market and selecting a specific
segment (s) to position the brand relatively to its main competitors or to use a penetration
strategy without any initial market segmentation. The point here was that the Cambodia
market was small and targeting only one or two segments would probably not help
Pepsodent achieve its market share target.
Parisa Oh had to move forward and with the help of her staff to prepare a 30-min
presentation to Unilever marketing team in Bangkok on October 2, 2014. She did not have
any constraints. Her recommendations might be a sound decision, i.e. revitalizing
Pepsodent using a new positioning, or withdrawing the brand from Cambodia, a decision
that might provide an opportunity to its competitors or even launching a new brand, but this
latter option would require more risky investment.
Her presentation must include the following:
 Pepsodent target markets (s) description;
 A list of Pepsodent main competitors on each segment and their brand promises
(unique benefits);
 A brand positioning that specifies the brand uniqueness (its points of differences and
Keywords: points of parity) and relevant promise. A promise was vital to articulate a “crystal clear”
Marketing, positioning.
Globalization,  Using brand positioning as a guideline, she should also include Pepsodent’s new
International marketing,
marketing-mix in Cambodia with the marketing objective in mind (8 per cent market share).
Marketing strategy/methods,
International branding, Building brand equity took time and was not only about a battle for consumers’ minds but
Market segmentation/target also a fight for winning consumers’ hearts. She felt to be in the position of David (the
markets underdog Pepsodent) against Goliath (Colgate as a strong giant) with an unlikely victory.

Notes
1. See Pepsodent ads at: www.ehow.com/about_5246020_history-pepsodent-toothpaste.html and
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess_BH2371/
2. available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD (accessed April 2015).
3. available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v⫽MVH2azw6Ae4 (accessed April 2016); available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v⫽U5Kk1hKv2Bs and available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v⫽23xqu
99eUFE (accessed April 2016).
4. available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v⫽oK4h6fs7hhs (accessed April 2016).
5. available at: http://champagne-communications.com/work-item/aquafresh-artwork/ (Accessed
May 2015).
6. Available at: www.marketingweek.com/2015/10/13/the-top-100-companies-for-brand-purpose/
(accessed May 2016).
7. Available at: www.greenbookblog.org/2015/11/05/fame-feeling-and-fluency-when-brand-
tracking-meets-behavioral-science/ (accessed May 2016).

PAGE 6 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017

References
Baliga, A. (2015), “Cambodians flock to the net”, The Phnom Penh Post, available at: www.
phnompenhpost.com/cambodians-flock-net (accessed May 2015).

Fidlin, D. (2015), “The history of pepsodent toothpaste”, available at: www.ehow.com/about_5246020_

history-pepsodent-toothpaste.html (accessed November 2015).

Duhigg, C. (2014), The Power of Habit, Random House Trade Paperback Edition.

Media Habits and Information Sources of Youth in Cambodia (2014), available at: www.kh.undp.org/
content/dam/cambodia/docs/DemoGov/Media%20Habits%20and%20Information%20Sources%20of
%20Youth%20in%20Cambodia.pdf (accessed November 2014).

Mobile Phone and Internet in Cambodia (2015), available at: https://asiafoundation.org/resources/

pdfs/MobilePhonesinCB2015.pdf (accessed April 2016).

Phebe (2011), “The history of pepsodent toothpaste”, available at: www.intelligentdental.com/2011/

09/22/the-history-of-pepsodent-toothpaste/ (accessed July 2014).

Robertson, H. and Dara, M. (2014), “NGO’s begin to stop the rot of Cambodian teeth”, The Cambodia
Daily, 24 May.

Unilever (2015), “Unilever sees sustainability supporting growth”, available at: www.unilever.com/
news/press-releases/2015/Unilever-sees-sustainability-supporting-growth.html (accessed May 2015).

VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 7

 Exhibit 1. Covered markets in Cambodia

Plate E1

Exhibit 2. Product line for each brand. Cambodia 2014

Table EI Product line for each brand. Cambodia 2014

Big pack Close up Pepsodent Colgate Darlie Twin lotus

Premium PI ⬎ 250 Sensitive, 100 g 8,500 R

Mid PI 150-250 Total 12 Advance Fresh,
160 g, 8,000 R
Low PI 100-150 Advanced Whitening, Lemon Mint White, Regular,
160 g, 6,000 R 160 g 5,500 R 150 g
5,500 R
Fresh Max Fresh Mint, All Shiny White,
133 g 4,500 R 160 g 5,500 R
Hydra Fresh Gel,
160 g 5,500 R
Economy PI ⬍ 100 Red Hot 160 g, 4,500 R Advanced Cavity Double Cool Strip, 160 Double Action,
Protection, 160 g g, 4,500 R 225 g, 6,500 R
4,000 R
Menthol Chill, 160 g, Herbal, 190 g 4,000 R Salt Herbal, 180 g,
4,500 R 5,000 R
Great Regular Flavor,
200 g, 4,500 R
Fresh Cool Mint, 200 g
4,500 R
Note: Mark: Variant, pack size, consumer price

PAGE 8 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017

Table EII Product line for each brand. Cambodia 2014
Big pack Saltz Aquafresh 2080 ⫹Dentiste’

Premium PI ⬎ 250 Plus White, 120 g 17,500 R

Mid PI 150-250
Low PI 100-150 Original, 160 g 5,500 R Regular 7,000 R Cavity Protection 6,500 R
Economy PI ⬍ 100
Note: Mark: Variant, pack size, consumer price

Table EIII Product line for each brand. Cambodia 2014

Small pack Closeup Pepsodent Colgate Darlie Twin lotus

Premium PI ⬎ 250 Sensitive, 40 g 4,500

R
Mid PI 150-250
Low PI 100-150 Lemon Mint White, Regular 40 g
40 g 1,400 R 1,600 R
Fresh Max Fresh Mint, All Shiny White, 40
32 g 1,200 R g 1,400 R
Hydra Fresh Gel,
40 g 1500 R
Economy PI ⬍ 100 Red Hot 40 g 1,200 R Advanced Cavity Double Cool Strip, Double Action, 75
Protection, 40 g 1,300 R g 2,500 R
1,200 R
Menthol Chill, 40 g Herbal, 75 g 1,200 R Salt Herbal, 40 g
1,200 R 1,400 R
Great Regular Flavor,
1,500 R
Fresh Cool Mint, 50 g
1,400 R
Note: Mark: Variant, pack size, consumer price

Table EIV Product line for each brand. Cambodia 2014

Small pack Salz Aquafresh 2080 ⫹Dentiste’

Premium PI ⬎ 250 Plus White, 60 g 12,000 R

Mid PI 150-250
Low PI 100-150 Original, 40 g 1,500 R
Economy PI ⬍ 100
Note: Mark: Variant, pack size, consumer price

Corresponding author
Gerard Tocquer can be contacted at: [email protected]

VOL. 7 NO. 4 2017 EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES PAGE 9