That was the question facing Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, global head of corporate communications at the consumer goods company, as she sought to reach out to talented students and people early on in their career. She was looking for a way to show these audiences how Reckitt Benckiser operates, demonstrate its global nature, and underline its unique corporate culture.

 

Ultimately, she and her team hit on an innovative way of engaging potential recruits: a Facebook game that tests marketing skills and strategic prowess.

 

Aimed at graduates and undergraduates in the 18-30 age bracket, the game – poweRBrands – has been developed in partnership with Euro RSCG Riley and Nudge Social Media.

Designed to mirror the real life experiences of being a marketing executive, the game doubles as an introduction to Reckitt Benckiser and its portfolio of brands.

 

Once players have signed up in Facebook they then begin their progression from ‘green’ marketing executive to global president. How well they do is entirely driven by the strategic choices and tactical decisions players make along the way as they move up the corporate ladder. Tasks get progressively harder and points more difficult to accrue to make players really think about the decisions and risks they are taking as they move from task to task.

 

Although not a direct recruitment tool, poweRBrands is a key part of Reckitt Benckiser’s profile-raising activity among students and early careers sales people and marketers. Moreover, it is intended to encourage some of them to look further at its website and other career information.

 

The game is supported by a Facebook fan page where players will be able to exchange news, and catch up on game changes and innovations. They’ll also be able to give feedback, provide ideas for new themes, and get all the latest information on poweRBrands.

 

“It’s been great to develop something so innovative and new,” says Dawson Shepherd. “We had no precedents. We knew we were really creating something from scratch.

“PoweRBrands is a way of asking: ‘Are you on RB person?’ As well as being fun, it’s something you can learn from and find out what RB thinks of things. Many of our potential recruits, especially students, don’t know the company well at all. This is a way to raise awareness of both Reckitt Benckiser and of working in FMCG.”

 

The game has recently gone live with an online marketing campaign that will run across the summer and into the autumn. Launched in Asia, Europe, the US and Latin America (with versions in several languages), the game, says Dawson-Shepherd, “enables like-minded people across the globe to connect virally”.

 

At the time of writing, hundreds of players had signed up. “Anecdotally, feedback has been extremely positive,” says Dawson-Shepherd. “Players really get into it. They love the ability to customise their own virtual office, and the fact they can receive instant feedback.”

 

Rather than being a finished article, RB plans to update the game regularly so that players can continue to stay involved. As Dawson-Shepherd says, “It’s about creating longevity and keeping people engaged.”