Product Innovation - December 2004

The Consumer Goods Technology 2004 award winner for Product Innovation earned its place in the spotlight not only for its recent success in both recognizing and satisfying a consumer need, but for doing so within a collaborative alliance. For year's now, Procter & Gamble consumers have grown to expect innovative products born from the company's will to engage its competition as allies. In November 2002, P&G and the Clorox Company impressed consumers when they finalized a joint venture in food and trash bags, containers and wraps under the Glad, GladWare and related products.

This year, P&G has done it again. In March 2005, the company will introduce to consumers an innovative new approach to oral hygiene with the IntelliClean System. This system is a first-of-its-kind integrated toothbrush that combines Royal Philips Electronics patented sonic technology and high-speed bristle motion with P&G's specifically formulated Crest liquid toothpaste designed for a deep clean that's one step closer to daily flossing.

"We are always looking for ways to bring meaningful innovations to consumers, and the IntelliClean System combines technology and experience of two leading oral care brands...," says Ayman Ismail, general manager, Global Oral Care for P&G. "We continue to look for new business models to provide healthy, beautiful smiles for life. This alliance with Philips Oral Healthcare underscores our commitment to consumers."

The Choice to Collaborate
Even though P&G and Philips both operate in the power toothbrush market, they do not consider themselves competitors per say. Their alliance was formed in 2000, bringing Philip's expertise in electric oral care appliances together with P&G's expertise in oral care chemistry.

P&G choose Philips as its collaborator for its reputation as an innovative leader in the development of breakthrough technologies. With Sonicare, Philips established a leading position in the premium sector of the power toothbrush category. Sonicare is also the power toothbrush brand used and recommended most by U.S. dental professionals.

P&G brings to the alliance expertise in understanding consumers and consumer product launches. With the Crest brand, P&G has established market leadership position in oral healthcare. Previous successful product launches for Crest include Crest Spinbrush, Crest Whitestrips and Crest Night Effects.

Driving Innovation
Ask any dental professional and they will say that daily flossing with brushing is the gold standard in oral health care regimens, however, few customers do this on a regular basis.

"A recent survey shows that 85 percent of people think flossing makes a positive difference in their oral health," says Sarah Stimson, associate marketing director, P&G. "Studies have also shown, however, that only 13 percent actually floss daily."

Through extensive research (30 long and short-term randomized, controlled clinical studies for technical and clinical efficacy, and consumer in-use tests with multiple prototypes), P&G and Philips discovered that integrating the toothbrush with toothpaste could provide consumers a greater benefit than brushing manually.

The IntelliClean System has been proven to remove significantly more plaque from between teeth and along the gum line than a manual toothbrush to reduce gingivitis and promote healthier gums. When using the IntelliClean System, twice as many consumers reported brushing for the dentist-recommended two minutes twice daily as compared to using their previous method.

P&G and Philips plan a comprehensive marketing campaign including both print, TV, online advertising, public relations and extensive dental professional education program. The IntelliClean System will be sold on retail shelves for $139.99 to $149.99 this coming spring.