I never thought I would get to write that as a headline – but that’s exactly what happened in Chennai this month! Working in the scientific services group, one of our roles is to support claims, demonstrations and approve marketing communications for the brands we support. Demonstrations are a really powerful tool in communicating with our consumer. It’s easy to be sceptical about claims made in TV advertising, it’s a lot harder to disregard when you see it with your own eyes!

This month marketing organised a “Great stain-off” which included use of a 20foot cloth, lots of messy stains and numerous packs of Vanish! We invited residents to throw wine, iodine, ketchup, juices, tea and coffee at 4 targets on our 20ft cloth. 3 stains successfully within the target won residents a prize – I’m sure you can guess what that was !

After a messy hour, the yellow cloth was looking a bit worse for wear and it was definitely time to bring out the Vanish. Taking half the cloth for washing, residents looked on as Vanish got to work. Everyone was intrigued by the oxygen action you could see and had lots of burning questions. The Grande finale was revealed when washing was complete and the cloth was hung next to its messy counterpart.

I think the results speak for themselves!

To briefly reintroduce myself, my name is Matt Dubow and I am a campus brand manager at the Pennsylvania State University. Hopefully you caught my first blog post, “Why does RB matter to college students?” I want to keep this post a bit more informal, but more importantly much more interactive. Walking around campus I often find great pleasure in the creativity students have in their use of Reckitt Benckiser’s Powerbrands. The products are embedded in college students’ daily routines and lifestyles, providing the value we look for on a budget, combined with powerful and effective results. As you become more dependent on Reckitt Benckiser to get you through your days, you may realize that a company with such reliable products may be a good fit as a potential employer!

With that being said, let’s take a look at the “5 Ways RB Solves College Problems!”

1. Cooking –

Stuck on campus and sick of the same dining hall food? I hear complaints every year about the lackluster food that is served at many universities, not to mention how our unpolished culinary skills don’t come close to filling the void from your family’s home cooking. One popular remedy to the bland culinary offerings at the university dining hall is the variety of Frank’s Red Hot Sauces and French’s Mustards. With so many flavors – Honey, Spicy Brown, Yellow, and Horseradish mustards and seven different varieties of Frank’s Red Hot sauces including Sweet Chili, Chili & Lime, Buffalo – your cooking combinations can sky rocket! Trust me – I know some terrible student cooks, but take that horrendous omelet and add a different RB condiment flavor everyday to make those teasing thoughts of Mom’s cooking a thing of the past.

2. Beauty –

Students have busy schedules so hitting the gym in between classes is a popular way to stay active. Penn State’s University fitness facilities see over one million student visitors a year! But with exercise comes sweat, and with sweat comes the acne that all college students dread! Clearasil’s Daily Wash is a convenient way to clean up after a quick exercise session, washing away your face’s dirt, oil, and bacteria so your face doesn’t suffer from your sweaty lifestyle! Short on time but absolutely need to shave to finish your perfect appearance? Veet provides “superior to shaving” smoothness with less of the hassle.

3. Cleaning –

Let’s face it, college students can be messy. From cluttered dorm rooms to old college houses, there are plenty of other ways students would rather spend their time than cleaning. Unfortunately the dishes pile up, bathrooms get dirty, and even though you are trying to hold off on doing your laundry, your hamper can’t take any more traffic. RB has a quick solution to these dreaded collegiate issues: add one Finish “power ball” to your dishwasher and those dirty plates that have been haunting your sink will be a thing of the past, use Lysol products to tackle those messy countertops and toilets, and Resolve for that funky stain on your carpet. These Powerbrands make the cleaning process simpler so college students can focus on their schoolwork . . . or tailgating the big game.

4. Health –

As the sun rises, you awake to that terrible nagging cold you haven’t been able to shake. Students are often short on sleep which leads to prolonged effects of sickness. Even worse, imagine you have a huge mid-term tomorrow but are tossing and turning with a terrible cough and cold. Delsym is there to play the hero – with day and nighttime varieties to help you make it through those long study sessions in the library or the nighttime jitters without fighting sickness. Need more power to clear up your chest? Try a Mucinex product – it helps loosen and thin out the mucus that causes congestion, so you can get rid of it.

5. Laundry -

It is a bit of a shock when college students move out on their own, and are soon forced to face the ever-growing mountain of dirty laundry. By the way, just throwing your stained jeans into your hamper doesn’t solve the problem. Just remain calm! Woolite and Vanish (or Spray “N” Wash), make laundry worries a thing of the past. Woolite effectively cleans and cares for all your clothes during washing without shape loss or fading. So now that sweatshirt will let you keep your university pride on display without the added color of that French’s mustard stain.

What are the ways Reckitt Benckiser makes your life easier? Have you been creative with any of these products? College students are always looking for suggestions – recipes, techniques, or new applications for RB products. Share your stories and your go-to products!

Innovation is a widely used term across the professional industry, but what exactly is it?

‘The creation of new ideas or things, forward looking and ahead of current thinking.’

RB takes pride at being at the forefront of innovation, 40% of our net revenue is generated from products launched in the last 3 years. At RB, innovation leads our performance; we encourage bold thinking and creative ideas. However, innovation is much more than just thinking of new product ideas, it is utilised in every role, whether that be formulating solutions in the test labs or exploring new research tools.

A few months ago I was luckily enough to attend a consumer panel, listening and analysing consumers discussing the Strepsils brand. The insights were very interesting and it was very beneficial for me in understanding a consumer mindset. At RB we are always in contact with consumers, we listen, watch and interact with them. Our innovation strives on consumer insight, which in turn creates products that meet their needs and requirements.

As a result we encourage ideas, products and technologies from outside the company. Idea Link is just one effective tool to allow external sources to input. Every day we receive ideas and inventions and it is our job to turn those in to relevant consumer solutions.

So why is RB so innovative?

‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower’ – Steve Jobs, Apple CEO.

As a consumer driven company, RB must not only meet the obvious identified needs, but aims to create products that solve problems consumers didn’t know existed. To achieve this RB must innovative above and beyond the current market, looking to the future and setting the pace for others to follow.

RB’s successful innovation isn’t a result of a process or technique within the company, it relies on attitude, RB folk have innovation embedded in to them, utilizing their creativity, passion and energy at every possible moment.

So if you have innovation, talent and drive that needs sharing, check out the latest opportunities suited to you – careers.

Hi there, I’m Kathryn and I’m a Campus Brand Manager for RB based at the University of Birmingham in the UK.
I’m going to be blogging here to tell you how I’m developing this exciting chance to be an ambassador for RB and spreading the word about the career opportunities available here.
You can read my full profile and follow me on Twitter too.

When starting out as a Campus Brand Manager the last thing I would have expected to come out of the role was to be asked ‘are you the flip- flop girl?’.
But having been given 300 pairs of RB branded Havaiana flip-flops at my disposal, perhaps I should have guessed that would have been the case.
I discovered that through my activities I was starting to create a buzz around RB. Creating awareness within a student population, especially with freebees, isn’t hard as long as you come up with creative, interesting and fun ways to do so.

And even though my role has been hard work so far  it has also been hugely rewarding and great fun!

My first idea was inspired by the mass congregation of Birmingham University students to their student union night. Where better to target my market with RB branded flip-flops then girls in high heels after a long night out?I managed to create an enchanting flip-flop Cinderella moment as well as raising the awareness of RB!

Now, ask yourself this question: if you saw a free pair of flip-flops would you take them?
I wanted to see if the students at the University of Birmingham would take the opportunity. I placed the flip flops where I knew students would be walking past, then strategically placed myself so I could not be seen.
Then I recorded their reactions to the free RB ‘gifts’.  You can see the large variety of responses for yourself on this video:

For the University of Birmingham’s football team, they jetted off to Newquay for their yearly tour!

So I thought what better opportunity to raise awareness than to give a pair of flip-flops to each of the players that went. This reached a wider audience as well as making the flip-flops an exclusive extra for the tour! They produced some very amusing pictures which can be found on the University of Birmingham Reckitt Benckiser’s Facebook group.

This role has given me the opportunity to push myself. I have been left to my own devices to use my initiative, to think creatively and to take on new challenges. Students’ lifestyles are high paced and very demanding; they keep me on my toes to come up with original ideas.

As a Campus Brand Manager for Reckitt Benckiser, raising awareness is central to my aim.
I am looking forward to putting into place the many other ideas that I have up my sleeve which I know will continue the buzz around RB  at the University of Birmingham.

It’s a word we hear thrown around all the time these days by companies.
But what does it mean in the business world? And HOW do you actually go about making it an intrinsic part of a company?

And what can it mean for YOU as an employee?

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RB is driven by innovation.
It’s not just a part of who we are, it is our primary objective. Our company culture is steeped in it. It is what has made us the success story we are to date.

We are the world’s fastest growing company in household cleaning, health and personal care and it is our systematic approach to innovation which holds the key to this success. Nearly 40 % of our sales come from products launched in the past 3 years.
And everyone, from the CEO down, is motivated to drive innovation.

This is something which was recognised by The Economist when RB was given their Innovation Award.
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The power behind RBs innovation is its people – both the consumers and the employees.
Consumers are put at the very centre of our decision-making – RB wants to discover the small ways we can make life better for them. And then give it to them.
And so we build consumers into our product development – we spend time with them to discover their insights at every step.

But it’s also about the people who work here.

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Even during the recession RB showed strong sales and profit growth – quite an achievement. But this was all down to the strength of our innovative and  entrepreneurial company culture.
Talented people don’t want to work in an environment where they feel bogged down with bureaucracy. They want to get things done; to work somewhere where their ideas are accepted.
And for innovation speed is crucial. And this is why we are a ‘principle’ oriented company rather than a ‘process’ oriented one.

It’s all about letting people have ownership of their ideas and not putting too many decision layers in their way.

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Of course, this kind of life isn’t for everyone. But those who love it really love it. It’s exciting, fast paced and challenging. You are learning very quickly and there is a buzz about your career.

You can also check out our IdeaLink website which enables us to work with innovators outside the company.