Sonicare launched at ADA Congress in Adelaide

Philips has finally launched its entrée into the power toothbrush market in Australia with the release of its premium Sonicare Elite product at the ADA Congress in Adelaide this month.

"The Sonicare is extremely popular in the U.S. and other markets," said Christine Scott, category manager for Sonicare at Philips. "So it's exciting to finally be able to launch it in Australia. We had a number of people come up to us at the Congress and said they had been using Sonicare for years, importing it themselves from overseas. So there is already a demand that we are glad to now be able to fill."

The new Sonicare Elite is an updated model for the Australian market and blends next-generation sonic technology with the latest in design to deliver a powerful cleaning action to help achieve superior oral healthcare results.

Over 1,300 people visited the Sonicare stand at the Congress and 1,179 Sonicare toothbrushes were given out as samples to dental professionals.

"We wanted to do more than just give product away at the Congress," Ms Scott said. "We wanted the dental profession to try Sonicare for the themselves. We believe that if you try it, you will notice the difference over manual brushing or using conventional power brushes. So we developed our stand design to facilitate this."

Visitors to the Sonicare stand were thus able to hear all about the features of the brush in theory before being handed over to a dental hygienist for practical instruction. Private brushing cubicles with sinks and mirrors approximating your own bathroom were part of the stand and were kept busy throughout the two and a half days of the exhibition.

Participants in the promotion were then able to walk away with their own Sonicare brush complete with travel case and accessories and two weeks of battery charge. As a follow-up, the chargers for the brushes were sent in the mail 3 weeks later.

According to Ms Scott, the launch exceeded their wildest expectations. "The dental profession responded very well to the launch of Sonicare and we believe it is through their advocacy and the quality of our product that we will enjoy similar success in Australia that we have in other markets.

Professional Sonicare packs are available through Gunz Dental. Consumer Sonicare packs will also be available from April in a range of consumer outlets including pharmacies and department stores.