Lexis scoops toiletries brief

Consumer specialist Lexis has been called in by Church & Dwight. The agency will also promote brands including Pearl Drops, Femfresh and Nairas as part of a brief worth 'six figures' annually.

Lexis landed the account following a competitive pitch. Each brand will be assigned a separate brief with the new campaigns set to launch in January, covering both consumer and trade media.

Arm & Hammer will have its work cut out if it is to make headway into the UK toothpaste market.

According to market intelligence firm Mintel, Colgate-Palmolive has 46 per cent of the market share and GlaxoSmithKline has 39 per cent. Arm & Hammer does not figure in Mintel's most recent findings.

As well as promoting the company's oral hygiene products, a campaign for the Femfresh brand will run in tandem.

The comms drive for Femfresh will attempt to change perceptions of 'social awkwardness' surrounding feminine hygiene.

Lexis also revealed that Church & Dwight plans to launch new products in quarters one and two of 2011, which will be accompanied by PR drives, although details of these have not yet been finalised.

Lexis takes the business from PR4, which counted Church & Dwight as one of its biggest clients.

The London-based agency had held the account since 2003, launching Arm & Hammer's Enamel Care toothpaste and repositioning Pearl Drops as a beauty rather than a dental product.

The agency's MD and head of consumer PR, Christina Wright, said: 'We decided not to repitch for the account. We have handled the PR for seven years and it was time for a change. It was one of our biggest clients, but there will be no ramifications for the agency.'