£10m Reckitt account goes to CBJWT
Lemsip: one of Reckitt's best known brands.
Global healthcare and cleaning product manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser has moved the £10m advertising account for its Healthcare division out of McCann-Erickson Manchester and into CheethamBell JWT.The move comes as part of a global repositioning which has seen Reckitt Benckiser move its entire global account out of the McCann-Erickson network and into the WPP-owned J Walter Thompson Group.
The Healthcare account was previously held by McCann Manchester’s specialist Healthcare division, and sources within the industry have said that the agency has already been forced to make staff cutbacks as a result of the loss. It is believed that some of the staff have been recruited by CheethamBell JWT. Myra Hodgkinson, managing director of McCann Healthcare, was unavailable to comment on this speculation.
CheethamBell JWT will now be responsible for handling the advertising for Reckitt’s household healthcare brand names such as Lemsip, Bonjela, Gaviscon, Disprin and Senokot.
JWT London will handle the company’s cleaning brands, which include Mr Sheen, Dettol and Vanish.
Reckitt Benckiser was formed in 1999 with the merger of British company Reckitt & Coleman and Netherlands-based Benckiser. The company now has operations in 60 countries, selling products to 180. Its annual net revenue clocks in at over £3 billion.
Neither Kate Newton, marketing manager of Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare, or David Bell, CEO of CheethamBell JWT, were available for comment as The Marketeer went to press.
The account was won without a pitch, a fact that may be seen by many as vindication of Cheetham Bell’s decision to become part of the JWT network early last year.