Grayling Healthcare lands Bayer PR brief

Bayer Consumer Care has consolidated its PR, and appointed Grayling Healthcare to handle all the work. Fees are over pounds 100,000 and two other agencies pitched for the business: Ruder Finn and Biss Lancaster.

The brands concerned are fungal infection treatment range Canesten; antiseptic cream Germolene; Germoloids, which is used to treat haemorrhoids; antacid and pain relief medicine Alka-Seltzer; and personal insect repellent Autan.

Bayer had been planning to hand all its consumer healthcare business to a sole agency for some time, and invited the agencies working across its brands to pitch for the work.

Canesten was formerly held by Biss Lancaster, while Ruder Finn has worked on Germolene and Germoloids, both recent acquisitions for Bayer. Grayling already handled Alka Seltzer and Autan.

The work will be spread between Grayling's consumer and healthcare divisions. Kristine Nudds, associate director, and Peter Holden, director, head the account. They report to Bayer marketing manager Darren Brown.

Nudds said the focus would be on raising awareness of products and the conditions they treat. For example, there could be an education campaign about thrush, for which Canesten is a treatment, or tackling the taboo of haemorrhoids.

The aim is to educate consumers to ask for the products. 'With Alka-Seltzer and Autan there will be more of a consumer focus,' she said.

Bayer Consumer Care is an independent group within the Bayer organisation. It operates in more than 90 countries, with over 5,000 employees.

Bayer bought Germolene from SmithKline Beecham in December 1999, and a month later it acquired Germoloids from the same company.