Beiersdorf taps Hill & Knowlton

Cosmetics giant Beiersdorf Inc. has tapped Hill & Knowlton Inc. as its agency of record to create awareness in the media and with key target audiences for products including Nivea Body, Nivea Visage, Nivea for Men, Eucerin and Aquaphor.

Blue Sky, New York, was the incumbent agency. The number of agencies pitching for the business and the fees were not disclosed.

"The mandate basically is to elevate their profile in terms of what they're doing with their brands," said MaryLee Sachs, U.S. chairman of Hill & Knowlton, New York.

The plan calls for targeting beauty and lifestyle media, blogger outreach, rich media experiences online and experiential marketing.

About the importance of online promotion, "we're joined at the hip," Ms. Sachs said. "It's a critical piece."

Hill & Knowlton has already begun work on supporting the Nivea Body and Nivea for Men lines with online pushes integrated with media coverage, influencers and testimonials.

"The challenge for us is getting into new places, for example, broadcast media and basically just in the face of the consumers," Ms. Sachs said.