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Gillette Innovation Case Study 17 Oct 2011

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Michael Smurfit UCD Graduate Business School University College Dublin Frank Bradley 17 October 2011 GILLETTE INNOVATION Gillette with over 70 percent market share in the wet shave market in both the US and Europe dominated the category. This dominance was born from a relentless pursuit of better shaving technology, a willingness to invest whatever was needed to manufacture its products effectively, and a formulaic, integrated marketing strategy. Gillette prided itself on its innovations in shaving technology and its ability to persuade consumers to trade up as new improved versions of existing razors were launched. In 1990, the Gillette Sensor represented a breakthrough in shaving systems technology with its twin blade cartridge. This …show more content…

Company executives believed that Gillette became a truly global brand company with the introduction of the Gillette Sensor in 1990, when it sold in 200 countries and territories and manufactured in 28 countries. Although some of the packaging and ways of selling it products were customized, Gillette sold a universal product. It was the company’s belief that shaving systems offered the same benefits, regardless of where in the world they were sold. This gave the company vast economies of scale in manufacturing and distribution. Advertisements were filmed identically across the globe and shot in the US. According to David Bashaw, Gillette’s marketing manager for northern Europe „Locally, TV spots are bought, and it's the same film with the odd phrase modified from Asia to the UK. The PR may be tweaked, so that radio gets more weight in the UK than say in Germany, and everything is tested locally before it's rolled out, but it's pretty much homogenous and that's what has worked before,' (Marketing, 1 October 1998): The company’s global marketing budget was estimated to be approximately $600 million annually at the turn of the century. Gillette's Competitors Gillette had two principal competitors, Wilkinson Sword and Schick and a third competitor, Bic, mainly in the disposable sector. Wilkinson Sword: For some time Wilkinson was regarded as Gillette's poor relation. Its market share dropped from 26% in 1986 to 19% in 1990 against the background of an advertising

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