Seeking to ‘sensitise’ customers

In the second part of an interview series of companies who stormed the norm in their respective industries, marketing veteran Anisha Motwani and innovation expert Ranjan Malik interview Charubala Seshadri, Area Marketing Director, ISC Oral Health, GSK Consumer Healthcare about how a toothpaste brand came out of nowhere and created a niche that even the category leaders could not ignore.

Stale markets have norms that have not changed for years, leading to commoditised offerings, mindless ritualised operations and wafer-thin margins. What was the stale norm in your category?

In the year 2010, when GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) decided to launch the Sensodyne brand in India, the Indian toothpaste market was at a basic benefit level where brands were mainly focusing on three benefits: freshness, cavity protection and germ-kill (80 per cent of the market, as per Nielsen Retail Audit, 2015) — which had become the norm. The market didn’t have a concept related to specialised oral-care products. There was no awareness about tooth sensitivity as a problem among consumers and, hence, they did not see the need for a product with sensitivity-relief benefits.

Stormers usually spot an obvious-in-hindsight suboptimal. How did you do it?

We undertook research to study the usage and attitude of Indians towards dental hygiene. Our research identified that the sensitivity-awareness index in India stood at a low of 17 per cent versus 33 per cent globally and only 4 per cent of Indians visited dentists, with most Indians not following proper oral care hygiene practices (like brushing twice daily). Further, it was identified that although people suffered from sensitivity, they were not aware of the condition and the solution.

What was your breakthrough and what insight was it based on?

Sensodyne was the first to identify the gap between the existence of tooth sensitivity and awareness about the condition and its solution. The larger insight was that consumers with sensitivity problems were not able to enjoy their favourite food and drinks.

Hence, Sensodyne focused itself on educating consumers around the condition of sensitivity. The rationale was simple — consumers weren’t aware of the problem called sensitivity and that there was a simple solution to the problem.

To become a true game-changer, the new concept must trigger a storm and for that, it must hit the critical mass at a certain pace. Any slower, and the concept could join the large number of ‘great ideas’ that almost made it. What did you do to hit the critical mass?

Sensodyne invested heavily in building awareness and educating consumers about sensitivity through its extensive consumer outreach programme — chill tests, at various high-footfall areas asking people to drink cold water. The simple, yet effective, tests made people realise that they unknowingly suffered from teeth sensitivity which prevented them from enjoying some foods and drinks, which they could have easily done. When engaged in a conversation with the brand promoters, people recalled that they had experienced short, sharp, sensations earlier too, but had never taken them seriously.

Once their curiosity was piqued, the brand promoters explained the benefits of Sensodyne to the sufferers.

In another significant outreach programme, Sensodyne also redefined “engagement” with its key stakeholders — the dentist community in India.

Sensodyne adopted a long-term engagement route with the dental community wherein its representatives visited the dentists more frequently and engaged with them more closely. This definitely helped the brand build a stronger dental equity.

What were the results?

With more than three years of unbeaten leadership, Sensodyne has been a clear example of how a strong consumer insight, coupled with a strong go-to-market strategy, can transform a brand into a success story.

A key success indicator was the significant rise in India’s sensitivity awareness index to global levels, moving from 17 per cent (2010) to 32 per cent (2013) (Source: TNS Sensitivity Research, 2013).

The brand aims to grow the category by touching more lives through consistent education. Sensodyne’s vision is focused and simple: to create a future where every life is sensitivity-free.

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