Markomania Asks: Will Pepsodent's Open Challenge to Colgate Displace the Market Leader?

The oral care market is huge, approximately around Rs. 5,755 crore. Pepsodent has a 6.4% market share while Colgate leads the market with 29.4%. Comparatively, Pepsodent is a smaller brand. Since Pepsodent is a challenger brand, going head-to-head with the market leader has put it in the limelight. This is not the first time that a particular brand has attacked its rival directly. A while ago, Nestle had taken on Cadbury in a similar way.

As a rule, it is always the challenger brand that makes claims of superiority. In the case of Pepsodent, it has claimed that it has 130% more germ fighting power than Colgate.

Pepsodent’s attack strategy has been well-planned. Instead of challenging Colgate Total which highlights its germ-fighting ability, Pepsodent Germicheck has pitted itself against Colgate Strong Teeth, the largest selling product in the Colgate portfolio.

Direct comparative ads against the market leader attract a lot of media attention and also attract viewers. This time it is a fight between the titans and if there is a war, both will bleed.

Do you think Pepsodent has adopted the right strategy to challenge its competitor and get noticed by consumers?