Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Launches Online "Free Runner" Game for a Heart-Pounding Thrill

PARSIPPANY, N.J., April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the leading global household, health and personal care company (with U.S. headquarters in Parsippany, NJ) and parent of Clearasil, Lysol, Woolite and other iconic brands, today announced the launch of UrbAN THRILL, an online free runner-themed game available today. The game, available on RB.com for free, allows users to mimic the fast-paced, risk-taking and dynamic environment of the FMCG company by completing free runner challenges across nine countries. The launch of UrbAN THRILL is a significant component of RB's corporate brand campaign, which was designed to create awareness among graduates and people early on in their business careers.

Free running is a form of urban acrobatics in which participants, known as free runners, use the city and rural landscape to perform athletic movements through its structures.

The game allows a global team of free runners to complete challenges over nine of the world's most dynamic urban settings. From London in the UK, through USA, Brazil, Australia, India, Russia, Germany, Italy and France, runners are pushed to the limit to collect RB Kites in the hardest to reach places across the globe, with each city visited providing six kites. The game and characters will be branded with RB and its 19 Powerbrands including Lysol, Finish, Durex and Frank's Red Hot Sauce, French's and Clearasil. Both free running as an athletic pursuit – and the UrbAN THRILL game itself – are designed to push players to the outer-reaches of their ability, and reward them with the sense of achievement that comes with being at the top of their game.  

The game concept was developed in partnership with The Workroom and viral game and social media specialists TAMBA, who also designed and built the game. They used free running professionals as official consultants. Brendan Riley, free runner ambassador from EMP Parkour comments:  "UrbAN THRILL is a dynamic online game which takes the essence of the Arts of Movement and applies that same spirit as a metaphor to describe what it's like to work at RB – a unique and trail-blazing company with fantastic brands that provides an inspiring work environment of self-expression and tenacity to all of its' employees each day."

The game builds on past successes of a number of RB's social media initiatives. Last year's success of the "poweRBrands" game on Facebook showcased how social media games are a great way to raise corporate brand awareness among graduates and early-careerists. The game enabled players to work in a consumer goods company and rise to become global president.

UrbAN THRILL can be found on www.rb.com/urbanthrill and is being supported by a social media seeding strategy which targets relevant gaming portals, news groups and communities. As part of the game, RB is offering players the chance to win a flight for two and over $3,000 in pocket money to one of the nine destinations. To enter, play the game and leave your score on the leaderboard.

"RB has a unique culture that's most suitable for adventurous young professionals who enjoy freedom to act, coupled with a fast-paced and agile environment," stated Rob de Groot, RB's executive vice president for North America and Australia. "Our decision to use an extreme sport like free running to capture the essence of working at RB underscores our desire to showcase the spirit of our corporate culture in a fun way.  To continue our rapid global growth, we're always looking for ways to increase brand awareness among the next generation of young professionals."

About RB

Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is a world leader in household, health and personal care.

It is a FTSE top 25 company and since 2000 net revenues have doubled and the market cap has quadrupled.  Today it is the global No 1 or No 2 in the majority of its fast-growing categories, driven by an exceptional rate of innovation – typically about 35% of net revenue comes from innovations launched in the prior 3 years. It has a strong portfolio led by 19 global powerbrands which are: Finish, Lysol, Dettol, Vanish, Woolite, Durex, Calgon, Airwick, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Veet, Nurofen, Clearasil, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Scholl and French's, and they account for 69% of  net revenue.

RB people are at the heart of the company's success. They have an intense drive for progress and action and a desire to outperform wherever they focus, including in CSR where the company has the most ambitious corporate responsibility programme in the industry through its Carbon 20 initiative.

Headquarters in the United Kingdom, the company employs about 27,000 people worldwide, with operations in over 60 countries and sales in almost 200 countries.

For more information visit RB.COM

About The Workroom – www.workroom.co.uk

The Workroom is an award-winning strategic branding consultancy. The agency has been in business since 1990 working on brand positioning, identity creation, marketing and communications campaigns, websites and digital communications.

About TAMBA – www.tamba.co.uk

TAMBA is a multi-award-winning viral, social media and digital marketing agency. TAMBA recently won the Digital Strategy category in The Drum Marketing Awards 2010 and has previously won an NMA Effectiveness Award and a Y Design Award at the London Design Festival.

Contact:
Sabrina Michaeli
Porter Novelli
212-601-8163
[email protected]

SOURCE Reckitt Benckiser (RB)