Dentonic - Case Study

Abstract

The Dentonic case study aims to point out a positioning error made by Ala Chemicals and their folly in pursuing an “upward-line-stretch” with a brand name whose association is with a lower end product. This case is meant for a course in Marketing Management.

Key words in the case study:

Positioning, Over-Postioning, Brand Extension, Product Strategy, Brand Extension.

Dentonic: looking for new horizons

Syed Amiruddin Alavi, (normally addressed as Mr. Alavi), Director and Founder of Ala Chemicals mused over the recent changing trends in the dental care business and its impact on his brand Dentonic, the indisputable leader in the tooth powder category over almost five decades, and its  extension strategy into the to the tooth paste category.

While Dentonic powder and its relatively recent line extension Dentonic Plus were highly successful and proved to be cash cows for the company, Dentonic tooth paste did not seem to have made the same impact on the market.  

Dentonic powder had been so successful that it had become a generic name in the tooth powder category, Mr. Alavi had been therefore very confident that the same pattern would be observed in the case of Dentonic tooth paste. Market acceptance, he thought, would logically be as smooth as it had been for the powder.

However the story that unfolded for Dentonic toothpaste was far from what he had visualized. Dentonic tooth paste had not met with much success. In fact some premium stores had discontinued providing shelf space to the brand, and some that did agree were unwilling to carry the complete portfolio - only the larger packs of Dentonic powder (170mgs and 200mgs) were accepted.

Mr. Alavi was quite baffled, as the quality of the toothpaste was comparable to any premium toothpaste brand in the market. He could not understand what had prevented Dentonic toothpaste from achieving the success it deserved. He wondered why the strong brand equity of Dentonic tooth powder did not immediately rub off on Dentonic tooth paste.

Mr. Alavi recalled the time when he had first launched Dentonic Tooth Powder in 1961 and the boom period from 1963 to 1996. He looked at the note his elder son Sagheer Alavi had sent him confirming that Dentonic powder has finished 2011 with 80% market share.

Evolution of brand Dentonic

In his office Mr. Sagheer Alavi was finalizing his sales and marketing strategy for the Dentonic line of products for 2012. He had understood the reaction of his father to the 2011 year-end sales figures when they had met to review the year’s performance.

He recalled his father saying that it was back in 1958, when he, a young man of 25 had been suffering from a severe dental disease called Gingivitis. His father had tried all remedies available, and had even consulted several qualified dentists but to no avail. He spent sleepless nights because of the severe pain in his teeth and bloody gums.

Mr. Alavi used to work for a sugar mill in Bangladesh at the time, and that is where he came across his Messiah - a humble dentist who gave him a powder to use. After using it for about 5-8 days he saw a significant difference in his condition. Within a matter of months he was completely cured of the disease. It was then that it occurred to him that he could market the powder as a branded product, as it had so efficiently cured his Gingivitis and felt good for daily use as well. The dentist was a generous man, who saw the spark in Mr. Alavi’s eye and agreed to part with the formula. Mr. Alavi wasted little time in having the formula patented. That was the beginning of the journey of Ala Chemicals  and the Dentonic brand.

Ala Chemicals started on 26th September, 1963, with an initial capital of only Rs.6,000. At first Dentonic tooth powder was only bought by few people. Other toothpowders available in the market at the time were Dentogene marketed by the Dentogene Laboratory, and Tibet a product of Kohinoor Chemicals, but neither seemed to draw many consumers of dental hygiene products. People were not accustomed to using tooth powder and home-made dental cleaning powder made out of powdered charcoal or Dandasa, a chewing stick plucked off a Neem tree were generally preferred. They believed branded tooth powder had “lime” (a mineral composed of different calcium salts, the majority being calcium carbonate - CaCO3) as the base and had some essential oils.

The product was positioned as a superior teeth cleaning agent. Advertising of Dentonic tooth powder was based on an emotional appeal and used humour as well. In fact, the company was the first to use an animated cartoon character in its advertisement for tooth powder. The advertisement initially produced in the US remains as an icon among advertisement used in the country. The same character was used on billboards, posters and print advertising as well as on Dentonic packaging as a part of its iconic composite logo.    

The tagline that Mr. Alavi chose was based on his company’s mission i.e. “to provide good dental hygiene to all segments of the society at an affordable price.”It read as: “Sabse behtar sabse aala – Dentonic”. 

Dentonic powder was targeted primarily towards the blue collar working class comprising families in the lower to middle income brackets. Apart from Dandasa, this particular class of customers used products like Luqmani Manjan, a black tooth powder. Dentonic’s value proposition was a ‘high quality dental care solution at an economical price. A poster in Sagheer Alavi’s room had a bold caption which said: “Dentonic for a beautiful healthy smile!”

Ala Chemicals was also a pioneer in the packaging of tooth powders. Apart from introducing tooth-powder in a plastic container, it was also the first to introduce tooth powder in sachets at a nominal price of 10 paisas. The sachets allowed potential customers to try out the product and realize its worth before buying a larger pack. This proved to be a success.

Dentonic powder thus continued to grow from strength to strength and became the oft-quoted success story among local brands. The product was also endorsed by independent bodies. Two prestigious dental hygiene institutions, such as the Hamdard Dental College and Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, reported on the basis of tests they conducted that the use of Dentonic powder showed a significant reduction in plaque accumulation and Gingivitis. Dentonic was also the first tooth powder company to be ISO 9000 certified and the product has been approved for use by the Dental Association of Pakistan.