Indiantelevision.com Team

(1 July 2006 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Euro RSCG Worldwide has bagged the global creative account of Reckitt Benckiser's entire brand portfolio. In 2004 Reckitt Benckiser invested $1.3 billion in advertising, a 32.2 per cent increase on the previous year.

The Euro RSCG win marks the conclusion of a review process that included incumbents JWT, McCann Erickson and Euro RSCG.

As a result of this global alignment, in India too Euro RSCG has also been entrusted with the Reckitt Benckiser account, which were with JWT and McCann Erickson.

The review was conducted in an effort to reduce the agency roster, enlarged by the recent Reckitt Benckiser purchase of Boots Healthcare International, whose creative responsibilities were then held by McCann. With this win, Euro RSCG gains Lysol, Dettol, Harpic, Veet, Gaviscon, Easy Off, Old English, Lemsip, Nurofen and Strepsils in addition to its previous responsibilities for brands including Airwick, Electrasol, Vanish, Jet DrY, French's Mustard, Vanish, Finish, Woolite and Spray'n Wash.

Euro RSCG Global CEO David Jones led the agency's pitch, working closely with Kate Robertson, the current account chief and chairwoman of Euro RSCG UK.

Reckitt Benckiser is particularly close to Jones as he himself returned from Euro RSCG Australia in 2002, when the agency won the business, specifically to take charge of the account. After becoming the CEO of Euro RSCG New York and subsequently, Global CEO, he continued his personal stewardship of the business.

"I am personally, and on behalf of the agency, overjoyed to be expanding our relationship with Reckitt Benckiser. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our work and our services to clients. We are never satisfied with the status quo and in that respect we are very similar to Reckitt Benckiser. We share their belief in innovation and ideas and recognise one another as genuinely entrepreneurial. Pitch or no pitch we always strive to give it our best. Reckitt Benckiser is one of the most successful and innovative companies in the world and we are incredibly proud to be seen as partners in that innovation," said Jones.