mini-case 1-430-463 December 7, 2015

Arm & Hammer: Extending a Trusted Brand

Scenario:

Church & Dwight Company, Inc., is the world’s largest producer of sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda. Its Arm & Hammer® logo (see Exhibit 1) is one of the most recognizable trademarks in the United States, having earned the trust of consumers for over 150 years.

Church & Dwight consists of two divisions. Its specialty products division develops and markets sodium bicarbonate-based products and technologies for a variety of industrial, agricultural, and commercial uses. Its Armex brand of abrasives, for example, is used in cleaning, de-greasing, and de-painting applications.

Its consumer products division develops and markets a range of products sold within grocery, mass merchandiser, and drug store channels. Many of the products (household cleaners, pet care products, deodorants and antiperspirants, laundry products, and household deodorizers) carry the Arm & Hammer® name. However, it has also achieved prominence in several other product categories with such product lines as Trojan® condoms, Nair® hair remover, Brillo® scrubbing pads, and First Response® pregnancy kits.

However, research and development with sodium bicarbonate-based products remain the cornerstone of Church & Dwight. Consequently, the company is constantly attempting to exploit its significant product development and marketing expertise in order to launch new consumer products under the Arm & Hammer® brand.

Exhibit 1

Arm and Hammer Logo

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Source: Wikimedia Commons. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Arm_%26_Hammer_logo.svg>

Published by WDI Publishing, a division of the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan.

©2015 John Branch. This case was written by John Branch, Lecturer of Marketing and Strategy, at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. This case was created to be a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either the effective or ineffective handling of a situation.=

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