Our commitment to “Do the right thing, always” lies at the centre of everything we do. We believe that good intentions are not good enough, and that we can only achieve our goals through being a responsible business and following responsible marketing principles. We want to be a business which has a positive impact on society and the environment in which it operates, for now and for the future. Reckitt seeks to be a business which is transparent and builds trust and engagement with our stakeholders including consumers and partners and recognises that the nature of our commercial activities and marketing is continuously evolving.
We feel an imperative to guide our employees and partners on responsible marketing. Central to this approach is our commitment to comply with relevant local, national or international marketing standards, laws and regulations, including being guided by industry self-regulatory best practices.
When our existing Ethical Marketing Principles were initially created in 2015, we had not yet embedded brand Purpose and Sustainability into Reckitt, as we have today. Nor had we fully foreseen the growing importance of Digital, and its multiple channels for marketers to speak with consumers.
Brands now have far greater amounts of consumer information, with the responsibility to source and sort this data responsibly to ensure consumer trust, which our new Responsible Marketing Principles and Policy recognise.
Our new Responsible Marketing Principles and Policy also acknowledge that our marketers can now move beyond traditional marketing tools and techniques, adopting a more Entrepreneurial approach to their craft, where partnering with third parties is even more key.
Against this ever-evolving marketing backdrop, Reckitt has also introduced a new Purpose, Fight and Compass in 2020, and we launched our new Sustainability Ambitions in 2021.
It is therefore time to update our Ethical Marketing Principles, which remained in place from their creation in 2015 until this evolution into new Responsible Marketing Principles. These link to and reinforce relevant Reckitt policies (for example our Privacy Policy) and our Code of Conduct. In addition, we are taking the opportunity to introduce a new policy written with our marketing colleagues in mind: the Responsible Marketing Policy.
Our Responsible Marketing Principles capture the core guidance of how our Compass, Purpose, Fight, Code of Conduct and Leadership Behaviours translate into how we approach marketing. They are designed to help people understand the most important considerations in carrying out their daily work.
Our Responsible Marketing Policy takes these Principles and translates them into clear requirements for anyone involved in preparing marketing communications and activities. Colleagues across the business are being trained on the new Responsible Marketing Policy. Compliance with the Responsible Marketing Policy will be monitored and our progress presented in our Annual Reports.
The new Responsible Marketing Principles and Responsible Marketing Policy will apply to everyone – whether this is our marketers, other employees, or anyone else we may engage externally in carrying out marketing communications or activities on our behalf. For example, influencers, marketing agencies, suppliers, product innovation partners, non-governmental organisations, governments, academic institutions, retailers, advertising and media partners.
These apply to all communications or activities irrespective of nature or media type such as sponsorships, promotions, packaging, in store, on or offline, TV, radio, print, outdoor, cinema, websites, blogs, influencer marketing, social media or sponsored content, AI, connected packaging, banners, educational material.
They apply to all brands, whether global like Dettol, Lysol, Harpic, Finish, Durex, Enfamil, or local heroes, and across all product categories such as aircare, surface care, fabric treatment, infant formula, medicines, medical devices, food supplements and personal care products.
They apply irrespective of audience, whether consumers, patients, parents, care givers, businesses, NGOs, HCPs and any others.
We are committed to the roll out of the new Responsible Marketing Principles and Responsible Marketing Policy and ensuring effective adoption. This is why we’re investing in a robust training and change management module, so that the employees impacted by this Policy understand what is required of them. Completion of the Responsible Marketing Policy training will be mandatory to all marketeers and available to all Reckitt employees.
We’ll systematically measure compliance of the Policy through established key performance indicators. We continue to process and monitor on an ongoing basis consumer, customer and employee feedback on our marketing, for example through our consumer care lines or our Speak Up Line.