Dettol softens the pain of an advertising pitch

“Dettol creative agency challenge in India,” says the headline of a press release that Dettol, the flagship brand of Reckitt Benckiser in India, sent to us. “The gold standard brand in germ protection, is carrying out a creative challenge in India. The brand is currently supported by Havas Worldwide,” the release adds. Why have they announced this ‘challenge’? “Given the ambition to further strengthen communication across the brand portfolio, Dettol aims to explore new partners through the creative challenge process.

Why have they announced this ‘challenge’? “Given the ambition to further strengthen communication across the brand portfolio, Dettol aims to explore new partners through the creative challenge process. The challenge process is being managed for Dettol by Agency Assessments International (AAI),” is the answer.

What does Agency Assessments International do?

According to their website, they “advise marketing and procurement experts worldwide on” agency search and selection, on negotiating remuneration and servicing structures and on optimising the relationship to achieve exceptional performance.

Shorn of the gobbledygook and the jargon, AAI is a pitch consultant.

Shorn of the gobbledygook and the jargon, the “creative agency challenge” is a pitch.

Reckitt manages, somehow, to get their pitches into the headlines - and not always for the right reasons. In 2010, in a first for the industry, Reckitt asked agencies to pay a fee if they wanted to be a part of the pitch. “A bitter fight has erupted between Reckitt and the advertising industry in India over the past month, after the consumer goods company’s decision to impose a pitch fee for its media buying business. The country’s biggest media buying agencies have rejected Reckitt’s demands for up to US$10,000 to pitch, as well as compensation deals for subsequent drops in TV ratings and the payment of commissions for the first 12 to 18 months of the business. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has already advised agencies against pitching for the account,” Campaign India reported .

However, at that time, Reckitt did not use the sanitized “challenge”. They called it straight - they said it was a pitch.

Written by Anant Rangaswami

Anant Rangaswami was, until recently, the editor of Campaign India magazine, of which Anant was also the founding editor. Campaign India is now arguably India's most respected publication in the advertising and media space. Anant has over 20 years experience in media and advertising. He began in Madras, for STAR TV, moving on as Regional Manager, South for Sony’s SET and finally as Chief Manager at BCCL’s Times Television and Times FM. He then moved to advertising, rising to the post of Associate Vice President at TBWA India. Anant then made the leap into journalism, taking over as editor of what is now Campaign India's competitive publication, Impact. Anant teaches regularly and is a prolific blogger and author of Watching from the sidelines. see more