Storyboard18 Exclusive: Wavemaker India wins Reckitt Benckiser's Rs 1600 Cr media business

GroupM-owned media agency Wavemaker has won Reckitt Benckiser's (RB) media business in India. Company sources have confirmed the news to Storyboard18. On May 8, 2023, Storyboard18 was the first to report that RB India initiated a media pitch. Agencies from IPG Mediabrands, GroupM, and Dentsu participated in the pitch. The account size is estimated at Rs 1600 crore. The incumbent agency is Dentsu X which has been handling the account since 2020.

RB, the FMCG multinational has marquee brands namely, Dettol, Durex, Mortein, Strepsils, Harpic, among others, in its portfolio. With operations across 60 countries, RB has been actively rolling out sustainability movements across many countries including India.

In 2022, Oxford Economics published an independent analysis of the significant economic impact Reckitt has brought to the Indian economy and society. For instance, the Dettol Banega Swasth India Campaign, which works towards improving people’s behaviours around health and hygiene, has reached over 116 million people since its launch in 2014. The Dettol School Hygiene Education Programme teaches children hygiene behaviours and has educated 20 million children in five critical hygiene settings – at home, school, within neighbourhoods, personally and during illness. The Reach Each Child Programme has saved 6,500 children from death and illness from malnutrition.

The Harpic World Toilet College Programme, which provides India’s sanitation workers with greater economic prosperity, increased dignity, and a safer working environment, has trained over 15,800 workers. RB contributed INR78.8 billion (£775 million) to India’s GDP in 2021.

In 2022, according to a report by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research, RB India was the biggest advertiser on television.

Read more: Storyboard18 Exclusive: Dettol and Durex-maker Reckitt Benckiser India calls for media pitch