Reckitt Benckiser

According to Ad Age, Reckitt Benckiser has an identity problem.  If you’re reading this and thinking “Reckitt Who?” you’re probably not alone.  But, you have likely heard of many of the brands in their portfolio, such as French’s Mustard, Airwick, Lysol, Clearasil, to name a few. 

So, why does RB care if consumers don’t know their corporate brand?  And more importantly, why are they willing to spend precious marketing dollars to address this “problem”? This is known affectionately as ego-tripping.  Consumers don’t buy packaged goods because of the parent company. How often do you hear about consumer loyalty to P&G or Unilever? But, because of their perceived differentiated benefits, we all know about loyalty to product brands like Tide, Colgate, and Dettol(especially for my West Indian brethren).

A little Reason for you, RB -- instead of spending budget on increasing awareness of the parent company; seek out ways to deepen your relationship with consumers.  Focus your efforts and dollars on making sure your brands stay relevant and a part of their lives. Want specifics? I have some ideas… give me a shout.  

Comments

[Tara @ RB]

Hi Jeff
I am actually working with Reckitt Benckiser on this project and thought it would be useful to clarify some background and facts on this for you.

This is not, and never has been, a corporate brand awareness campaign aimed at consumers.
The AdAge comment: 'Reckitt Benckiser is trying to combat low awareness of its corporate brand by targeting younger consumers and challenging them to come up with ideas for a new product' is actually misplaced and has been taken out of context.

RB completely agrees with you that it is important to connect with consumers, focusing on their brands. They certainly aren't interested in throwing money at efforts to ensure consumers know the corporate brand behind the products they use.
This is an awareness campaign which has never been about trying to communicate with consumers, it is actually targeting early career professionals so that they are aware of, and better understand, RB the employer.
RB wants to attract entrepreneurial people to the business to ensure it continues to develop innovative products that meet clear consumer needs and are delivered to the market quickly and effectively.

So yes, they want to increase their corporate brand awareness, but amongst early career professionals so they can better understand how RB operates - which obviously goes towards ensuring they attract the right people.