Reckitt Benckiser UK invests in online video ads
Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the owner of household brands including Cillit Bang, Air Wick and Vanish, is moving a significant part of its global marketing budget into online video advertising.
The shift in strategy follows the investment the US arm made last year in video ads. RB stated last week that it intends to spend $40m this year in the US on online advertising and it is understood to be looking at a spend of £4.3m for the UK.
UK marketing director Phil Thomas, who is overseeing the UK strategy, told Marketing Week: “The strategy is designed to reach consumers where they consume media.”
“RB will run its online video ads in harmony with its TV ads,” says Thomas. “While it is a departure, it’s not a case of taking money out of TV but looking at online as another channel.”
He adds that the company is able to invest in online without reducing its TV investment because TV deflation has freed up marketing budget.
The company will air the same commercials it runs on TV for its brands but will build interactivity into the online version to “get better engagement and greater effectiveness”.
Thomas says that online video ads are low cost and can be measured effectively so the ROI is “extremely effective”.
He concedes that it is “still an emerging discipline” and there is still a way to go before online video ad targeting is as robust as traditional media.
However, the channel gives even greater scale and RB is working with media agency ZenithOptimedia to “figure out the most effective way to reach its target audience”.
