Reckitt Benckiser Launches Social Media Game

Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a leading global household, health and personal care company and parent of Clearasil, Lysol, Woolite and other iconic brands, announces the official launch and corresponding advertising/marketing campaign around its social media game, poweRBrands.

 

Aimed at 18 to 30 year olds, poweRBrands was beta-tested in July 2010 on Facebook. It's designed to mirror the real-life experience of being a marketing executive in a cutting-edge company such as RB.The first social media game of its kind, poweRBrands gives players the unique opportunity to test their marketing and business ability, learn strategy and decision-making skills, and be introduced to the unique culture and challenges that face RB marketers every day.

 

During its first month, poweRBrands boasted 40,000 players, 120,000 visits and 5,800 Facebook fans. The game is now also featured on the Careers section of Yahoo.com, and is the first game ever to be featured here.An online U.S. marketing campaign officially kicked off this week. This campaign includes ads on leading online properties such as Facebook, Adknowledge, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Hotjobs and LinkedIn.

 

Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, RB's global communications director, says: "Over the last two to three years, we have been placing increasing emphasis on recruiting top talent, and have developed a series of initiatives to reach out to gifted students and people early on in their career. We aim to show them how RB operates, demonstrate the global nature of our operation, and underline the RB culture and how it differs from most FMCG companies. We are looking to push the boundaries and find innovative, effective ways to communicate. The game is the logical 'next step' in building a strong online presence and it's totally in keeping with our commitment to continuing innovation."

 

Concurrent with the launch of poweRBrands, RB is kicking off its Campus Brand Manager program, whereby its former MBA interns descend upon campuses such as Columbia University, Penn State and the University of Michigan. Their charge is to market the RB brand on campus, and create buzz among students about what it's like to work at RB. Such an emphasis on reaching young people is unparalleled in the FMCG realm.