Unilever said it plans to increase its use of the social media influencer world to help in the marketing of its products.
The maker of consumer products ranging from Dove to Domestos and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise to Magnum ice creams, in fact plans to hire ’20 times more influencers’ to boost the marketing of its popular range of products.
Unilever targets influencer future
This week Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez said in an interview with Barclays that the global conglomerate plans to increase its spend on social media from 30% to 50%.
“There are two things I will drive like hell: desirability at scale and marketing systems with what others say about our brands at scale,” Fernandez said.
“Our marketing spend has moved from 13% in 2022 to now close to 16% which we see as a competitive level.
“Our spend on social [media] will move from 30% to 50% of our total spend.
“We will work with 20 times more influencers.”
The switch-up to influencer marketing is part of an effort to re-engage consumers and build trust in the large stable of Unilever products around the world, where traditional advertising is found to be lacking.
Unilever, via its more than 400 brands and 30 odd “power brands”, is one of the world’s largest advertisers.
Commenting on the move, Alex Hill, Executive Creative Director and co-Founder at SHARE Creative, which is part of the SAMY Alliance, said: “The traditional consumer is dead, and Fernando knows it.
“As he puts it, they are now more “discerning and demanding”, and there is a clear expectation for brands to be more relevant, authentic, and adaptable – in their marketing and their actions.
“The move to increase influencer activity is a direct action to support his mission of desire and demand creation, as it’s a marketing and sales approach that prioritises human connection.
“It signals a clear shift in priority, and it’s a move that will make Unilever brands actually matter to their audiences.
Hill added: “How can he take this further? Expanding what ‘influencer’ means as a siloed channel, and building creators, community leaders, and storytellers into an end-to-end brand narrative, with diverse touch points, that is more natural, meaningful and un-manufactured.
“The scale of Unilever, its markets and range of audiences presents an exciting roll out challenge, but it’s a strategy that is more agile, scalable and effective than traditional ‘one size fits all’ approaches.”