Reckitt Benckiser reviews £800m global media business

Thu, 28 May 2009 | Updated: Fri, 29 May 2009 2:21 pm | By Camille Alarcon

Reckitt Benckiser, owner of global brands including Airwick, Dettol and Veet, is reviewing its estimated £800m global media planning and buying business.

In the UK OMD handles its media account. The FMCG company’s roster of agencies, which includes MPG and ZenithOptimedia will also be involved in the review. However, it is believed that discussions could be opened up to other agencies.

Reckitt Benckiser worldwide media director, Ian Hutchinson, says: “The profile and direction of Reckitt Benckiser’s spend has changed over the last few years and as part of this the type of service and skills we require both internally, and from our agencies has also changed.

“We are always exploring with our partners, better ways to support our brands and always pushing for higher creativity in content and delivery.”

In February, Reckitt Benckiser increased its marketing investment in media by 25% in the last quarter of 2008 and saw like for like net revenue grow 8 %†for the three months to December 21†

The FMCG company also reported that its spend in “other consumer marketing significantly outpaced” its media spend for the quarter due to brand-building initiatives.

Like-for-like revenue rose by 10% in its full year results, with net revenue growing by 7% in Europe, slightly higher than in North America and Australia.