Reckitt Benckiser

A Sound Investment

It is no accident that we have one of the highest media investment levels and one of the highest growth rates in the industry. We do not like the accounting terminology of media spend as we truly believe that investment in communication with our consumers is one of the best ways to drive growth in our business.

The bulk of our media investment goes into supporting the Power Brands, with planned and structured programmes that create trial, build loyalty, drive market share, support brand rollouts into new markets and tell consumers just what our latest innovations can do for them. Why? Because it’s a proven and effective way to grow the brands which grow the business. After the BHI acquisition, we greatly increased the level of media investment for the former BHI brands: Nurofen, Strepsils and Clearasil. That extra support gave us an excellent return, with the BHI business growing by 10%, well ahead of original expectations and fully fuelled by the three Power Brands.

Effective marketing is not just about productive media investment though; it’s also about getting the right messages across to consumers at the very point they decide to buy our products. So our medical detailing teams are out educating pharmacists and healthcare professionals about how and why our brands are effective, so they in turn can relay that understanding to consumers. Meanwhile, our Vanish pink teams are great brand ambassadors, engaging with people at the supermarket shelf and proving its amazing stain removal, right before their eyes.

While traditional TV advertising is still a key way to people’s hearts, changes in media habits are creating new opportunities to build relationships with people. We’re responding to those changes by going increasingly multi-media with rapidly increasing investment in online communication.

We might be changing where we invest our media monies, but our central belief remains, that investment in communication with our consumers is one of the best ways to drive growth for Reckitt Benckiser.