IPG wins media duties of Reckitt Benckiser in India

Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a global FMCG company, has selected Initiative under IPG Mediabrands as its media agency in India. The agency will handle media planning and buying duties including digital for all the brands under RB. On the global front, Aegis, Havas Media, Publicis and Initiative networks made it to the roster of the company's media partners. While Havas Media and Publicis retained their relationship with the company, Aegis and Initiative were the new additions.

According to RB's official communiqué, it reviewed its global media agencies as it wanted the best strategic media planning and buying agencies across the nearly 60 markets where it advertises.

Speaking about the new media agency partners, Heather Allen, executive vice-president, global category development, Reckitt Benckiser, says, "We were delighted with the quality of the proposals we received from both our existing partners and the new ones, with whom we are excited to be working with for the first time on a global basis. Our media investment is critical for our brands to engage with consumers around the world."

Anamika Mehta, CEO, Initiative, says, "It's a moment of pride for us and we are delighted. Initiative has won RB's business in a lot of markets. It was a tough and long process for the last two months. But in the end, it was a mix of our strategy and understanding of the media environment that helped us win the account."

A few days ago, RB had declared initiating global review of its creative agency for its brands Finish (dishwashing product), Air Wick (air freshener) and Clearasil (skin care product). David Wethey of Agency Assessments International (AAI), a global management consulting firm, was handling the review process on behalf of RB.

For the record, RB is one of the top five FMCG advertisers in India. Some of the brands in RB's portfolio include Nurofen, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Lysol, Dettol, Clearasil, Veet, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Woolite, Calgon, Air Wick, and French's. Around half of the company's revenues are generated from emerging markets. Health and hygiene categories bring in more than 70 per cent of its revenues.

RB's headquarters are spread across UK, Singapore, Dubai and Amsterdam; it has operational presence in over 60 countries. The company has close to 36,000 employees across this network of countries.