Reckitt Benckiser appoints Advocacy to build WOM strategy

The FMCG marketing giant is looking to build engagement with consumers beyond TV media in the market. Reckitt Benckiser’s general manager for China, Aditya Seghal, noted that TV media costs had increased dramatically in recent years, making traditional marketing methods more challenging.

“To manage marketing costs, we [have been] spending the bulk of our media budget on 15-second ads as opposed to traditional 30-second ads,” explained Seghal. “However, this impacts the depth of our brands’ engagement with consumers. Adding consumer advocacy to our mix has potential to accelerate our brand growth efficiently as we expand into more cities.”

Asit Gupta (pictured), chief executive and co-founder of Advocacy, said that interest in holistic WOM marketing was growing among clients in China as a more cost efficient alternative to mainstream media. However, he added that the common perception of WOM as being the same as online social media was flawed.

“Most WOM is face-to-face,” Gupta said. “WOM marketing is much more than a one-off digital social media campaign creating page views and impressions.”

Gupta said his agency aimed to “offer brand owners in China the ability to harness the power of genuine consumer advocacy in a rigorous, measurable and continuous manner”.

Advocacy was founded in the market last year by Gupta and Sina Farzaneh. Gupta is a former head of marketing for British American Tobacco (BAT) across Greater China, and was most recently head of planning at DDB in Shanghai.