unilever case study marketing

Kabinet Tower, Surabaya JIn. Mayjen Yono Soewoyo AK 2 no.27, Surabaya, Indonesia 60256

Unilever Marketing Strategy: How They Dominate the Consumer Goods Market

• October 9, 2023
• Digital marketing

Unilever Marketing Strategy – Unilever , a multinational consumer goods corporation, has established its dominance in the market through its effective and innovative marketing strategies. By understanding the significance of a strong marketing strategy, Unilever has been able to solidify its position as a leader in the consumer goods industry.

With a global presence and a diverse portfolio of iconic brands, Unilever has successfully leveraged brand synergy, invested in product innovation, utilized digital marketing, formed strategic partnerships, built customer loyalty, and measured marketing impact. 

In this article, we will explore how Unilever Marketing Strategy has propelled them to become a dominant force in the consumer goods market.

Read More : FedEx Marketing Strategy: How They Continues to Revolutionize the Logistics Industry

Table of Contents

Overview of unilever’s prominent position in the consumer goods market.

Unilever marketing strategy – By understanding the needs and desires of consumers, Unilever has been able to develop effective marketing campaigns that resonate with their target audience. Through its extensive presence across various markets and a diverse portfolio of iconic brands, Unilever has established itself as a leader in the industry.

A. Unilever’s extensive presence across various markets

Unilever operates in more than 190 countries, making it a truly global company. This extensive presence allows Unilever to reach a wide range of consumers and adapt its Unilever Marketing Strategy to different cultural and economic contexts. 

By understanding the nuances of each market, Unilever is able to tailor its products and marketing messages to effectively connect with consumers.

B. Diverse portfolio of iconic brands

Unilever boasts a diverse portfolio of over 400 brands, ranging from food and beverages to personal care and home care products. Some of Unilever’s most prominent brands include Dove, Axe, Rexona, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Lux, and Sunsilk. These brands have become household names, known for their quality and reliability. 

Unilever’s extensive brand portfolio allows the company to cater to the diverse needs and preferences of consumers across the globe.

C. Leveraging brand synergy and cross-promotion

One of Unilever’s key strategies is leveraging brand synergy and cross-promotion. By promoting multiple brands within its portfolio simultaneously, Unilever is able to create a halo effect that boosts brand recognition and loyalty. 

For example, Unilever often pairs complementary products together in its marketing campaigns, such as promoting Dove body wash and Dove deodorant as a complete personal care package. This cross-promotion strategy not only increases sales for individual brands but also strengthens the overall Unilever brand.

Read More : Lego Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Global Toy Empire

Unilever’s Product Innovation and R&D

Unilever marketing strategy – By continuously introducing new products and adapting to changing consumer trends, Unilever has maintained its position as an industry leader.

A. Unilever’s focus on continuous product innovation

Unilever understands the importance of staying ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving market. Through a dedicated focus on product innovation, Unilever continuously develops new products that meet the changing needs and preferences of consumers. 

From introducing new flavors and variants to improving product formulations, Unilever’s commitment to innovation ensures that its brands remain relevant and appealing to consumers.

B. Investing in research and development

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever invests heavily in research and development to drive innovation and product improvement. By investing in cutting-edge technologies and collaborating with external partners, Unilever is able to stay at the forefront of industry trends. 

This investment in R&D allows Unilever to develop new products, improve existing ones, and enhance its overall product offering.

C. Meeting evolving consumer trends and preferences

Unilever recognizes the importance of staying in tune with evolving consumer trends and preferences. By conducting extensive market research and consumer insights analysis, Unilever is able to identify emerging trends and adapt its products accordingly. 

Whether it’s catering to the growing demand for natural and sustainable products or capitalizing on new dietary trends, Unilever ensures that its products align with consumer preferences.

Unilever’s Successful Use of Digital Marketing

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever has effectively embraced digital marketing to connect with consumers and drive brand awareness.

A. Memorable advertising campaigns

Unilever is known for its memorable advertising campaigns that resonate with consumers. By telling compelling stories and evoking emotions, Unilever’s advertising campaigns leave a lasting impact on consumers. 

Whether it’s Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign or Axe’s humorous and provocative commercials, Unilever’s advertising strategies create a strong brand presence and build brand loyalty.

B. Utilizing diverse digital platforms for brand presence

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever recognizes the power of digital platforms in reaching and engaging with consumers. Unilever maintains a strong presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where it interacts with consumers, shares product updates, and responds to customer feedback. 

Unilever also utilizes online advertising, search engine optimization, and influencer marketing to expand its digital reach and connect with a broader audience.

C. Storytelling and engaging narratives in marketing

Unilever understands the importance of storytelling in marketing. By crafting compelling narratives around its brands, Unilever is able to create deeper connections with consumers.

Whether it’s showcasing the impact of its sustainability initiatives or highlighting the positive social impact of its products, Unilever’s storytelling approach resonates with consumers and enhances brand loyalty.

D. E-commerce strategies and online retail partnerships

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever has embraced e-commerce as a key channel for reaching consumers. By partnering with online retailers and optimizing its e-commerce strategies, Unilever ensures that its products are easily accessible to consumers in the digital space. 

This includes creating user-friendly online shopping experiences, offering exclusive online promotions, and leveraging data analytics to personalize the online shopping journey.

Read More : IKEA Marketing Strategy: How They Built a Global Furniture Empire

Unilever’s Collaborations and Partnerships

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever understands the power of collaborations and partnerships in expanding its reach and building brand association.

A. Collaborations with influencers and celebrities

Unilever often collaborates with influencers and celebrities to promote its brands. By partnering with individuals who align with its brand values and target audience, Unilever is able to effectively reach and engage with consumers. 

These collaborations often involve product endorsements, social media campaigns, and exclusive brand collaborations, creating a buzz around Unilever’s products.

B. Strategic partnerships with other brands and organizations

Unilever forms strategic partnerships with other brands and organizations to expand its reach and build brand associations. These partnerships may involve co-branded products, joint marketing campaigns, or shared resources. 

By partnering with like-minded brands and organizations, Unilever is able to tap into new markets and create unique value propositions for consumers.

C. Expanding reach and brand association through partnerships

Unilever’s partnerships go beyond traditional marketing collaborations. The company actively seeks opportunities to collaborate with organizations and initiatives that align with its sustainability goals and social impact initiatives. 

By joining forces with non-profit organizations, government agencies, and industry associations, Unilever is able to amplify its message, drive positive change, and enhance its brand reputation.

How Unilever Builds Loyalty in Customers

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever recognizes the importance of building customer loyalty to drive repeat purchases and long-term brand advocacy. Through various strategies, Unilever engages with customers and fosters strong relationships.

A. Building customer relationships through loyalty programs

Unilever offers loyalty programs to incentivize repeat purchases and reward customer loyalty. These programs often involve earning points for purchases, exclusive discounts, personalized offers, and access to special events or experiences. 

By rewarding customers for their loyalty, Unilever strengthens the emotional connection between consumers and its brands.

B. Engaging customers through social media and digital channels

Unilever actively engages with customers through social media and digital channels. By responding to customer queries, addressing concerns, and sharing relevant content, Unilever creates a sense of community and fosters two-way communication with its customers. 

This engagement not only builds trust but also provides valuable insights that can inform future Unilever Marketing Strategy .

C. Listening to customer feedback and addressing concerns

Unilever recognizes the importance of listening to customer feedback and addressing concerns promptly. 

By actively monitoring social media platforms, online reviews, and customer service channels, Unilever can identify areas for improvement and take corrective actions. This responsiveness demonstrates Unilever’s commitment to customer satisfaction and builds trust with its consumers.

Measuring the Marketing Impact: Unilever’s Strategies for Assessing Performance

Unilever marketing strategy – Unilever understands the importance of measuring marketing impact to evaluate the effectiveness of its strategies and optimize future campaigns. 

A. Key performance indicators for evaluating marketing success

Unilever utilizes various KPIs to measure the success of its Unilever Marketing Strategy . These KPIs may include brand awareness, customer acquisition and retention rates, sales growth, market share, and customer satisfaction. 

By regularly monitoring these metrics, Unilever can identify areas of improvement and make data-driven decisions to enhance its marketing performance.

B. Analyzing brand awareness and perception

Unilever places a strong emphasis on brand awareness and perception. Through market research, surveys, and brand tracking studies, Unilever assesses consumer awareness and perception of its brands. 

This analysis helps Unilever understand how its marketing efforts are influencing brand perception and guides future marketing strategies.

C. Tracking sales growth and market share

Unilever closely monitors sales growth and market share to evaluate the impact of its Unilever Marketing Strategy . By analyzing sales data and market share trends, Unilever can assess the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns in driving consumer demand and capturing market share. 

This analysis allows Unilever to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation and marketing investments.

Read More : Honda Marketing Strategy: How They Remain a Leader in the Automotive Industry

In conclusion, Unilever marketing strategy has played a pivotal role in its dominance of the consumer goods market. Through its global presence, diverse brand portfolio, product innovation, digital marketing initiatives, strategic collaborations, customer loyalty programs, and performance measurement strategies, Unilever has established itself as a leader in the industry.

Businesses aspiring to excel in the consumer goods industry can learn valuable lessons from Unilever’s marketing success, including the importance of understanding consumer needs, embracing innovation, leveraging digital platforms, forming strategic partnerships, building customer loyalty, and measuring marketing impact. 

By adopting these Unilever marketing strategy , businesses can enhance their own marketing efforts and position themselves for success in the competitive consumer goods market.

Parker Casio Patty

Related posts.

Digital Marketing Strategies for Coffee Shops in Bali

• May 2, 2024

H&M Marketing Strategy Unveiled: A Blueprint for Fashion Entrepreneurs

• May 1, 2024

10 Effective Ways to Introduce New Business in Indonesia

• December 30, 2023

Unilever Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study

Unilever, a global consumer goods company, has established an effective marketing strategy that focuses on trust, transparency, and responsible practices. With over 400 brands operating across global markets, Unilever has successfully reached an astounding 2.5 billion people daily through its investment in brand management and advertising.

Unilever utilizes a combination of traditional and modern mediums for advertising, ensuring a diverse and engaging approach to reach its audience. The company’s branding strategy places a strong emphasis on trust, transparency, and consistency, creating a unified brand experience across its portfolio.

Key Takeaways:

• Unilever reaches 2.5 billion people daily through its investment in brand management and advertising.
• Unilever operates over 400 brands across global markets.
• Unilever’s branding strategy emphasizes trust, transparency, and consistency.
• Unilever utilizes traditional and modern mediums for advertising to engage with its audience.
• Unilever’s marketing approach aligns with responsible practices and adherence to industry codes.

Unilever’s History and Business Model

Unilever, a global consumer goods company, has a rich history that dates back to 1929 when Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie merged. Their business model is built upon key pillars, including consumer insights, manufacturing efficiency, logistics, marketing, sales, collaboration, innovation, and responsible sourcing.

Unilever recognizes the importance of consumer insights in shaping their operations. By gaining a deep understanding of consumer needs and preferences, Unilever is able to develop products and strategies that resonate with their target audience . This approach allows them to stay ahead in the market and meet consumer demands effectively.

The company also places a strong emphasis on manufacturing efficiency and logistics. By optimizing their manufacturing processes and supply chain, Unilever ensures that their products are delivered to consumers efficiently and cost-effectively. This streamlined approach contributes to their overall success in the industry.

In terms of marketing and sales, Unilever adopts a collaborative and innovative approach. They actively seek partnerships and collaborations to enhance their marketing efforts and reach a wider audience. By leveraging new technologies and platforms, such as digital marketing and e-commerce, Unilever is able to engage with consumers in innovative ways.

Furthermore, Unilever is committed to responsible sourcing throughout their supply chain. They prioritize ethical practices, sustainability, and the well-being of communities and the environment. By sourcing responsibly, Unilever aims to create a positive impact and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Overall, Unilever’s history and business model exemplify their commitment to delivering top-tier financial results, fostering growth, and operating with integrity. They prioritize consumer insights, manufacturing efficiency, logistics, marketing, sales, collaboration, innovation, and responsible sourcing to stay at the forefront of their industry and meet the evolving needs of their consumers.

Unilever’s Product Portfolio

Unilever’s success lies in its diverse product portfolio, which spans across multiple categories. The company boasts over 400 brands, covering personal care, home care, food and beverages, and even ice cream. Each division within Unilever’s product portfolio plays a crucial role in meeting the needs and preferences of consumers worldwide.

The Beauty & Personal Care segment is a significant contributor to Unilever’s revenue, with renowned brands such as Dove, a leader in skincare products, and Omo (Persil), a trusted name in laundry care. Unilever’s commitment to providing high-quality personal care products is evident in its emphasis on brand superiority, focusing on product attributes, proposition, packaging, place, promotion, and pricing. By continuously innovating and investing in these brands, Unilever maintains its market position and drives growth in this segment.

In the Foods & Refreshment division, Unilever offers a wide range of food and beverage products enjoyed by millions worldwide. Well-known brands like Knorr and Hellmann’s are household names, recognized for their quality and taste. Unilever’s marketing strategies for this segment revolve around emotional branding, purpose-driven marketing, and sustainability. By aligning with consumers’ values and creating meaningful connections, Unilever strengthens the bond with its customers and drives loyalty.

The Home Care segment encompasses brands such as Domestos, known for its impactful initiatives like World Toilet Day, and many others. Unilever’s commitment to responsible practices is demonstrated in its support for the development of international self-regulatory codes and the adoption of global guidelines to promote body positivity by avoiding the use of ‘size zero’ models or actors in advertising. Additionally, Unilever has specific commitments and principles for marketing foods and beverages to children, ensuring responsible advertising practices.

Unilever is also active in the Tea segment, offering popular tea brands like Lipton. As a company that recognizes the importance of sustainability, Unilever invests in renewable energy, sustainable packaging, and responsible sourcing. Moreover, Unilever’s marketing strategies extend to influencer collaborations, including partnerships with events like the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and social media campaigns like the #CleanTok Awards.

Unilever’s dedication to sustainable growth extends beyond its core business. The company focuses on four key priorities: climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods. By setting ambitious sustainability goals and implementing a short-term roadmap, Unilever takes a proactive approach to minimize its impact on the environment and contribute to a better future. Through its product portfolio and sustainable practices, Unilever continues to make a positive difference in the lives of millions of people around the world.

Unilever’s Branding Strategy

Unilever, a global leader in the consumer goods industry, has crafted a powerful branding strategy that revolves around trust, transparency, consistency, and the delivery of a unified brand experience. By embodying these core principles, Unilever has established itself as a reputable and reliable brand across the globe.

One of Unilever’s key focuses is on ensuring trust. This is achieved by consistently delivering high-quality products that meet consumer expectations. Unilever’s commitment to transparency allows consumers to have a clear understanding of the ingredients, sourcing, and manufacturing processes behind their beloved brands.

In addition to trust and transparency, Unilever places great importance on consistency. This means that consumers can rely on a consistent brand experience across Unilever’s vast portfolio of over 400 brands. By maintaining a consistent image and message, Unilever has created a sense of familiarity and reliability for consumers.

Unilever’s branding strategy also encompasses responsible business practices, sustainability, and social impact. As a company that operates in more than 190 countries, Unilever understands the importance of catering to the diverse needs and preferences of consumers while prioritizing the well-being of the planet and society. This commitment is reflected in their focus on climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods as their key sustainability priorities.

Unilever’s approach to branding extends beyond traditional marketing channels . The company embraces digital marketing, harnessing the power of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to connect with consumers and drive brand awareness. By leveraging e-commerce as a key channel, Unilever ensures that its brands are easily accessible to consumers.

Unilever’s extensive brand portfolio allows them to invest heavily in research and development, constantly driving innovation and product improvement. By collaborating with influencers and celebrities, Unilever maximizes its brand reach and engages with a wide audience. Furthermore, Unilever actively engages with customers through social media and digital channels, fostering a sense of community and connection.

Unilever’s Advertising Approach

Unilever is committed to responsible marketing practices and ethical advertising . They adhere to the International Chamber of Commerce code for advertising and marketing communication, ensuring transparency and ethical conduct in their advertising approach. Unilever’s advertising strategy promotes healthy body images and aims to combat harmful stereotypes.

Unilever has been a pioneer in responsible marketing, with a history of implementing principles for marketing foods and beverages to children. They have updated their Marketing to Children Principles to stop marketing to under-16s by January 2023. It is important to note that Unilever’s commitment to Principle 1 on marketing to children is focused on paid media.

In addition to promoting responsible marketing, Unilever recognizes the power of advertising to shape societal perceptions. They strive to create advertisements that are unstereotypical and progressive. In fact, in 2020, 98% of Unilever’s global advertisements tested were unstereotypical, and 60% were strongly progressive.

Unilever understands the impact that advertisements can have on consumer attitudes and beliefs. They acknowledge that nearly half of people from marginalized communities feel they have been stereotyped through advertising, and 71% of people believe that stereotypes in the media are harming the younger generation. Unilever is committed to creating advertising that breaks free from stereotypes and fosters a more inclusive and equitable society.

Unilever’s multi-channel advertising strategy allows them to reach a wide audience across various platforms and channels. They leverage traditional mediums such as television, print, and radio, as well as modern mediums like digital and social media. This multi-channel approach ensures that their advertising messages are accessible and impactful.

To further support their responsible marketing approach, Unilever has taken significant steps towards improving advertising practices. They have announced a 100% ban on any digital alteration that changes a person’s body shape, size, proportions, or skin color. This commitment reflects Unilever’s dedication to promoting healthy and realistic body images.

Unilever’s Advertising Approach at a Glance

Unilever’s advertising approach reflects their commitment to responsible marketing practices, ethical conduct, and promoting healthy body images. They understand the influence of advertising and strive to create progressive, unstereotypical ads that contribute to a more inclusive society.

Unilever’s Digital Marketing Strategy

In today’s digital landscape, Unilever understands the significance of utilizing digital marketing and social media platforms to engage with consumers effectively. By leveraging various digital channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Unilever can connect with its target audience, create engaging content, run targeted advertising campaigns, and build brand engagement.

Unilever’s digital marketing strategy focuses on delivering relevant and compelling content that resonates with its audience. Through storytelling and captivating visuals, Unilever aims to create deeper connections and foster brand loyalty. By embracing digital platforms, Unilever can reach a wide range of consumers globally and effectively communicate its brand message.

The use of targeted advertising is another crucial aspect of Unilever’s digital marketing strategy. By leveraging data-driven insights, Unilever can deliver personalized and relevant advertisements to its target audience, ensuring maximum impact and return on investment. This targeted approach allows Unilever to optimize its advertising spend and reach consumers who are most likely to be interested in its products.

Additionally, Unilever embraces e-commerce strategies and online retail partnerships to enhance customer accessibility. By providing customers with convenient and seamless online shopping experiences, Unilever ensures that its products are easily accessible, driving sales and customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, Unilever actively collaborates with influencers and celebrities to effectively promote its brands. Leveraging the influence and reach of these individuals, Unilever can expand its brand’s visibility and connect with new audiences. This partnership approach allows Unilever to tap into the power of influencer marketing and create authentic connections with consumers.

It’s important to note that Unilever is committed to responsible marketing practices and upholds ethical standards in its digital marketing efforts. By adhering to industry guidelines and regulations, such as the International Chamber of Commerce code, Unilever ensures that its digital marketing is transparent, ethical, and respects consumer privacy.

Unilever’s Digital Marketing Strategy at a Glance

Unilever’s digital marketing strategy is a key component of its overall marketing approach. By leveraging the power of digital platforms, Unilever can effectively engage with consumers, create meaningful connections, and drive brand growth in today’s digital-first world.

Unilever’s Growth Action Plan

Unilever has developed a comprehensive Growth Action Plan to deliver higher-quality growth and maximize its potential in the consumer goods industry. This strategy encompasses several key priorities, including productivity, simplicity, and a strong performance focus.

One of the main strategic moves highlighted by Unilever’s Growth Action Plan is the emphasis on focusing on its 30 Power Brands. By directing more resources and attention to these brands, Unilever aims to drive faster growth and consolidate its position in the market .

To ensure unmissable brand superiority, Unilever has implemented a robust measurement system for its brands. This system evaluates six key attributes including product, proposition, packaging, place, promotion, and pricing. By continuously monitoring and improving these aspects, Unilever aims to maintain a competitive edge and ensure customer satisfaction.

Investing in brand management and marketing is a crucial aspect of Unilever’s Growth Action Plan. The company recognizes the importance of brand investment and aims to increase returns by leveraging digital platforms. By focusing on digital channels, Unilever aims to connect with consumers on a deeper level and drive growth in the digital landscape.

Unilever also plans to leverage its strong science and technology platforms to scale multi-year innovations. By combining scientific advancements with consumer insights, Unilever aims to drive category growth and deliver innovative products that meet the evolving needs of consumers.

Portfolio optimization is another critical component of Unilever’s Growth Action Plan. The company is selectively optimizing its portfolio by divesting underperforming brands and pursuing transformational acquisitions cautiously. This strategic approach allows Unilever to focus on brands with the greatest growth potential and ensure long-term success.

Unilever aims to simplify its operating model and strengthen customer development roles by adopting a category-focused organization structure. This streamlined approach enhances efficiency and effectiveness, allowing the company to better serve its customers and meet their evolving demands.

In order to build back gross margin, Unilever is shifting its focus from gross savings to net productivity. This disciplined approach to restructuring and cost control will enable the company to achieve sustainable growth and improve its financial performance.

The Growth Action Plan places a strong emphasis on sustainability goals, including climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods. Unilever has set short-term roadmaps to drive progress towards these objectives, aligning their business goals with a commitment to a better future.

Unilever is dedicated to creating a performance culture within its organization. By setting clearer priorities, enhancing accountability, and aligning the reward framework with value creation, Unilever aims to foster a high-performance environment that drives growth and delivers consistent results.

Unilever’s Growth Action Plan sets ambitious targets for the company’s future performance. They expect underlying sales growth to be within the multi-year range of 3% to 5%, focusing on striking a balance between volume and price. With an anticipated modest improvement in underlying operating margin, driven by gross margin expansion and increased productivity, Unilever is poised for sustained growth and success.

In addition to these strategic initiatives, Unilever’s Growth Action Plan includes a focus on higher growth, higher-margin brands. By prioritizing these brands, Unilever aims to drive profitability and achieve sustained growth post-separation.

With its comprehensive Growth Action Plan, Unilever is committed to delivering higher-quality growth, driving productivity and simplicity, and maintaining a strong performance focus. By investing in brand management, optimizing its portfolio, and driving innovation, Unilever is well-positioned to achieve its growth goals and continue its success in the consumer goods industry.

Unilever’s Financial Performance

Unilever has demonstrated a strong financial performance, marked by a return to volume growth and a significant improvement in gross margin. In the full year, Unilever achieved underlying sales growth of 7.0%, driven by a positive volume growth of 0.2% and a substantial contribution of 6.8% from price.

By the fourth quarter, Unilever experienced a notable jump in volume growth, with a 3.9% increase attributed to the performance of the 30 Power Brands. This growth showcases Unilever’s successful brand management strategies and consumer appeal.

The company’s gross margin expanded by 200 basis points, reaching an impressive 42.2%. This improvement can be attributed to productivity gains achieved throughout the year, resulting in a gross margin expansion of 330 basis points in the second half of 2023.

Unilever’s commitment to investing in its brand and marketing efforts is evident in the reinvestment of over half of the gross margin expansion. This investment led to an increase in brand and marketing investment by 130 basis points, reaching 14.3%. This demonstrates Unilever’s focus on driving growth through effective marketing strategies and brand building.

Despite these positive financial indicators, Unilever acknowledges areas that require improvement, as reflected in the percentage of its business winning market share on a rolling 12-month basis, which stood at 37%. Unilever remains dedicated to continuously evolving and adapting its strategies to enhance its market position.

Unilever’s financial performance was also influenced by its presence in different markets. The emerging markets, accounting for 58% of Group turnover, recorded an underlying sales growth of 8.5%, primarily driven by a combination of volume growth (1.6%) and price growth (6.9%). On the other hand, developed markets, accounting for 42% of Group turnover, reported an underlying sales growth of 4.8%, largely driven by price growth (6.7%), partially offset by a decline in volume (-1.8%).

In terms of overall financial figures, Unilever’s turnover for the year reached €59.6 billion, marking a minor decline of -0.8% compared to the previous year. This decline can be attributed to adverse foreign exchange translation and disposals net of acquisitions.

Unilever’s underlying operating profit amounted to €9.9 billion, signifying a 2.6% increase compared to the previous year. The company also witnessed an improvement in its underlying operating margin, which increased by 60 basis points to 16.7%, showcasing enhanced profitability and operational efficiency.

In line with their growth strategy, Unilever executed strategic acquisitions in 2023 to expand their premium brand portfolio. This included the acquisition of Yasso Holdings, Inc., a premium frozen Greek yogurt brand, and K18, a premium biotech hair care brand. Moreover, divestments such as the Suave, Dollar Shave Club, and Elida Beauty brands were executed by Unilever to reallocate capital and further optimize their brand portfolio.

Unilever’s commitment to creating value for their shareholders is evident through their substantial returns. In 2023, shareholder returns amounted to €5.9 billion through dividends and share buybacks, underscoring the company’s dedication to rewarding their investors.

In terms of divisional performance, the Beauty & Wellbeing division experienced a strong underlying sales growth of 8.3%, with balanced growth between volume and price. Hair Care within the Beauty & Wellbeing division recorded growth in the mid-single digits, particularly in Latin America and Turkey.

Unilever’s focus on innovation and sustainability is evident in the Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing portfolios, which achieved double-digit growth in the US, outpacing the market.

The Personal Care division achieved an underlying sales growth of 8.9%, driven by a balanced combination of volume and price growth. Notably, the Deodorants segment within Personal Care experienced double-digit growth, particularly in Europe and Latin America. Additionally, Dove delivered double-digit growth supported by successful new product launches.

The Home Care division reported underlying sales growth of 5.9%, with a positive volume trend in the second half of the year. The Fabric Cleaning segment within Home Care exhibited mid-single-digit growth, primarily driven by high-single-digit growth in Latin America.

The Nutrition division reported underlying sales growth of 7.7%, primarily driven by the success of Knorr and Hellmann’s brands, which accounted for a significant portion (60%) of the division’s turnover in 2023. The Scratch Cooking Aids category, led by Knorr, achieved high-single-digit growth and reached €5 billion in turnover. Moreover, the Dressings segment experienced double-digit growth driven by price, showcasing Unilever’s commitment to sustainability foundations and innovative packaging.

The financial performance of Unilever reflects its strategic focus on growth, optimization, and sustainability. With a return to volume growth, gross margin expansion, and continued investments in brand and marketing, Unilever is poised for further success.

Unilever’s Sustainability Efforts

Unilever is committed to driving sustainable practices and making a positive impact on the environment and society. Their sustainability efforts focus on four key priorities: climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods.

For climate, Unilever aims to achieve net zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2039. They have set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, integrate solar solutions in their operations for energy savings, and actively participate in UN negotiations to end plastic pollution.

In terms of nature, Unilever has mapped 67 million hectares of forests and assessed thousands of palm estates to source deforestation-free suppliers. They invest in regenerative agricultural practices to store carbon, improve soil health, and reduce emissions from dairy production.

Unilever also places a strong emphasis on addressing the issue of plastics. They aim to end plastic pollution through reduction, circulation, and collaboration. By using sustainable packaging and promoting responsible consumption, Unilever has significantly reduced their distribution CO2 emissions by 83%.

Lastly, Unilever is dedicated to improving livelihoods. They prioritize ensuring a decent livelihood for people in their global value chain, including earning a living wage. Unilever invests in landscape programs to support sustainable palm oil sourcing, benefiting smallholder farmers, forests, wildlife, governments, businesses, and communities.

Overall, Unilever’s sustainability efforts are guided by their short-term roadmaps and long-term commitments. By integrating sustainable practices into their operations, Unilever is paving the way for a more sustainable and responsible future.

Sustainability Efforts Overview:

Unilever’s Team and Culture

Unilever, a global consumer goods company, recognizes that a strong team and culture are essential for driving success and achieving their goals. With a renewed team and new leaders at the helm, Unilever is addressing the opportunities and challenges of 2024 with urgency and decisiveness.

Unilever places a strong emphasis on cultivating a performance culture that encourages innovation, collaboration, and accountability. They believe that investing in their people is key to driving sustainable growth and delivering superior results.

To support their performance culture, Unilever has implemented a new reward framework that aligns with their values and goals. This framework recognizes and rewards individuals and teams for their contributions and achievements, fostering a sense of ownership and motivation.

Integrity and business integrity are integral to Unilever’s team and culture. They value integrity, respect, responsibility, and pioneering as guiding principles in all their business operations. Unilever expects all employees to uphold the highest ethical standards in their work.

Unilever’s leadership team plays a crucial role in shaping the company’s culture and driving performance. They lead by example, inspiring and empowering employees to reach their full potential and contribute to the company’s success.

To foster a diverse and inclusive culture, Unilever encourages collaboration and values different perspectives. They believe that a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and insights, leading to better decision-making and innovation.

Unilever’s commitment to team and culture extends beyond their internal operations. They strive to create a positive impact on society and the environment through their sustainable business practices and responsible sourcing.

Unilever’s team and culture are the backbone of their success. By prioritizing performance, integrity, and collaboration, Unilever is building a strong foundation for sustainable growth and continued excellence.

Unilever’s Leadership Team

Unilever’s leadership team, led by CEO Alan Jope and Chairman Nils Andersen, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to guide the company’s strategic direction. They are committed to upholding the values and principles that define Unilever’s team and culture.

Unilever’s marketing strategy for 2024 is built on trust, transparency, and responsible practices. With a diverse portfolio of over 400 brands, Unilever is well-positioned to cater to the diverse needs of consumers worldwide. By investing in research and development, Unilever continues to innovate its products and stay relevant in the ever-evolving consumer goods industry.

The company’s focus on building customer loyalty through loyalty programs and engagement strategies has resulted in strong relationships with consumers. Utilizing digital marketing and maintaining a strong presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Unilever effectively reaches and engages with its target audience.

Unilever actively listens to customer feedback, promptly addressing concerns to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. By measuring the impact of its marketing efforts, Unilever continuously evaluates the effectiveness of its strategies and optimizes them for success.

Operating in over 190 countries worldwide, Unilever’s commitment to sustainable growth, financial performance, and a strong team and culture sets the stage for continued success and business growth in the coming years.

What is Unilever’s approach to marketing?

What is the history of unilever, what is included in unilever’s product portfolio, what is unilever’s branding strategy, how does unilever approach advertising, what is unilever’s digital marketing strategy, what is unilever’s growth action plan, how has unilever’s financial performance been, what are unilever’s sustainability efforts, how does unilever prioritize team and culture, related posts:, starbucks marketing strategy 2024: a case study.

• Measuring and Improving Marketing Effectiveness
• Providing the Best Marketing Support for Clients
• Role of a Marketing Representative

Nina Sheridan is a seasoned author at Latterly.org, a blog renowned for its insightful exploration of the increasingly interconnected worlds of business, technology, and lifestyle. With a keen eye for the dynamic interplay between these sectors, Nina brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her writing. Her expertise lies in dissecting complex topics and presenting them in an accessible, engaging manner that resonates with a diverse audience.

Jollibee Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study

• Digital marketing at Unilever International

SINGAPORE, SEPTEMBER 2018. A Unilever internal venturing effort, UI was started in Singapore by Unilever veterans to substitute the rather inefficient operating companies’ (OpCos) export units with a dedicated group focused on exploiting the group’s “white spaces” – non-core brands, consumer segments (such as diasporas and religious sub-groups), new channels (such as airports and cruises) and geographies – not big enough to merit attention from the Unilever OpCos. The group proved quickly its value proposition, doubling the turnover it inherited in less than four years, with higher margins and growth rates than the mother company. By 2016, Aseem was entrusted with organizing the marketing function, setting up a 15-person team based at HQ. The team managed 10,000+ brand/country cells remotely and had to rely heavily on digital marketing, using 3rd party resources, including open talent platforms, to gain leverage, cut costs and grow faster. It conducted 250 launches in the previous 18 months, while reducing advertising and promotion costs by 20%. Now Aseem had to take digital marketing to the next level. Should he increase spending limits per brand/country?

• Discuss the tools and power of digital marketing
• Managing FMCG sales in a digital world
• Outsourcing key marketing functions
• Organizing marketing in a VUCA world
• Understanding the entrepreneurial mindset
• Maintaining agility in a large firm
• Leveraging the power of the internet
• ESAO framework (Eliminate, Simplify, Automate, Outsource)
• Intrapreneurs

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK Tel +44 (0)1234 750903 Email  [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600 Fax (617) 783-7666 Email  [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003 Tel +81 52 20 38 111 Email  [email protected]

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services .

Research Information & Knowledge Hub  for additional information on IMD publications

• Unilever International 3.0: Scaling the white spaces venturing effort
• Unilever: Opportunities in the white spaces

Julia Binder and Manuel Braun delve into why a circular approach to business can help build more resilience and boost profitability.

Arnaud Vaissié of International SOS shares how the firm’s resilience and innovation have driven its 40-year success amid crises, from financial sho...

Peter Lorange explains how artworks support his decision-making process and can also help new businesses thrive.

Demand Planning Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are frequently criticized for being too complex or irrelevant. However, an emerging approach is g...

FUCHS SE's journey in China shows how its FUCHS2025 strategy balances global ambitions with local agility, leveraging local expertise for global in...

Never heard of NIO? Those who haven't are set to become few and far between, as the electric vehicle (EV) maker continues its fast and furious rise...

The case study delves into strategic transformation and leadership transitions at Unilever since 2009. Unilever has been an industry leader of busi...

Understanding your organizational capacity for agility and responding to events accordingly is the key to success in the new business environment, ...

In a post-pandemic era shaped by wars, climate change, and new technologies, Maha Hosain Aziz outlines the main risks and shock events that could d...

There is much that organizations can learn from artists and designers, from turning ideas into innovation to creative problem-solving and better de...

Business Strategies that set FMCG giant “Unilever” a class apart

The first name that comes to mind as soon as somebody talks about the FMCG industry is Unilever. A century ago no one would have predicted that a company founded by a margarine owner and a soapmaker would years later become one of the most established and famous companies and one of the most desirable employers in the world .

As of 2020, it has a turnover of around €50.724 billion and has approximately 155,000 employees worldwide. Apart from financially doing well, it has also progressed towards achieving sustainable development goals. Unilever is one of the few companies which have achieved gender equality in the workplace (as of 2020).

Transformation of a merged operation to a renowned brand

Unilever was established in September 1929 by merger of Dutch-based company Margarine Unie and British soapmaker Lever Brothers. The name Unilever came up by blending the names of both the companies. It has emerged as one of the largest consumer brands owning around 400 brands. It is primarily known for its diversification and has three main divisions. 

1) Food and Refreshments

2) Home Care

3) Beauty and Personal Care

It was only in the late 20th century; the organization increasingly diversified from making oils and fats products to expanding its operations worldwide. It has made numerous corporate acquisitions with brands like Dove, Omo, Knorr, Lipton, Lux, Magnum, Rexona/Degree, Sunsilk, etc. 

We're proud to say our brands are known for being widely used around the world. Check out some of our leading products: https://t.co/xRZwMakuFM pic.twitter.com/d91MmjipCw — Unilever Global Careers (@CareersUnilever) January 5, 2018

Unilever is famously known for its U-Shaped logo. It was only in 2004 that the current logo was established, which was designed by Wolff Olins. The current logo is made up of 25 icons which represents an aspect of the company. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Unilever Global #StaySafe (@unilever)

Unilever’s Marketing Strategy: A brand with a purpose

One of the best business strategies used by Unilever is that it integrates its global strategies with the local community to attract consumers who are attracted to the products that are famous worldwide; however, it can hold on to its local essence.

For example, Hindustan Unilever, a subsidiary of Unilever in India, has established itself as one of the most loved brands by the Indian audience. For decades it has been one of the top five most valuable companies in India . The reason for the success of HUL in the Indian market is its association with middle-class values and old-fashioned essence. Although it has been changing with time simultaneously, HUL’s philosophy has remained rooted in the purpose and values of the consumers.

While promoting these brands, Unilever also focuses on achieving the upper hand in communication to the audience without compromising these brands’ delivery.

For instance, the Surf Excel tagline has been ‘dirt is good and has portrayed it in various forms. At the same time, the case of Brooke Bond Red Label depicted how a social conversation over a cup of tea (or perhaps just a sip) could bring a change in the social views of the tea lover. Therefore, due to such creative methods, Unilever’s brands, despite being one of the oldests, have continued to gain consumers’ confidence.

Unilever: A company that keeps sustainability at the heart of its business strategy

As of 2020, Unilever celebrated 10 years of the Sustainable Living Plan . The company had committed to providing sustainable living for 8 billion people worldwide and decided to address social inequality and climate changes. The company did not neglect these goals despite the occurrence of COVID-19. 

Unilever worked on the longer-term implications of global trends for its business. Thus, the adoption of the Sustainable Living Plan has been a game-changer. It understood the importance of Sustainability and accepted it as a cultural transformation journey by integrating the USLP targets into its core working practices and procedures.

At the corporate level, Unilever has been committed to gender equality for a long time. As of 2020, 50% of managerial positions are held by women as compared 2010 to 38%. The organization had set a goal in 2010 to have a 50/50 split in the employment and added a women-leadership program . It collected, reviewed, and analyzed the data for the past 10-years and used it to battle gender stereotypes every month.

Unilever focuses on eliminating inequality at the global level by removing stereotypes in its advertising and showing how fathers or husbands could contribute to society 

Even during COVID-19 for 3-months, it did not stop working on its sustainable development plan and gender equality. It stated that organizations measuring inequality now would be better positioned to improve business and equality post-Covid. It made progress slowly over the years and was one of the few companies to achieve a balance. In 2020 Unilever won the ‘Catalyst Award’ for achieving gender equality 

As of 2021…..Unilever is using sustainability as an opportunity…

Unilever has been honored as being the most environmentally responsible companies and topped the list back in 2017.

In its latest goals, Unilever further added that it would reduce food waste from the factory to the shelf by half by 2025, which is five years earlier than what the organization has committed as part of the 10x20x30 (i.e 200 companies pledge to reduce wastage by 2030) initiative. It further added to increase the plant-based sales to around 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) by the next 5-7years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from traditional animal-based agriculture.

Unilever : Building a customer-centric business strategy

The organization has a competitive advantage due to its continuously enhancing values amongst consumers globally. Furthermore, it possesses a diversified portfolio of the top brands, thus achieving a unique position and innovating with the consumers’ preferences globally.

It has also taken up initiatives in its Research and Development, which are heavily funded to align with changing consumer needs. It has its R&D operations in China, India, UK, the US, and the Netherlands. Due to its manufacturing facilities in around 270 locations globally, Unilever has been able to cut costs and achieve expertise in its distribution channels.

Unilever has been able to establish itself as the most significant FMCG due to its direct-to-consumer business model, i.e. by extensively understanding the needs of the consumers. Unilever also started its marketing campaign by forming a relationship between the consumer and the brand.

The most crucial element in the business strategy of Unilever is the R&D in its product development, while being on par with its marketing activities. Unilever understood changing needs of the consumers and implemented them in their development. In 2017 alone, Unilever invested more than 900 million euros in its R&D. 

It’s not easy to be a market leader for a century and that too by winning the hearts of its consumers. With its dedicated sustainable yet customer-centric business strategy, Unilever would continue to do so.

-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-START-

Also, check out our most loved stories below

Why did Michelin, a tire company, decide to rate restaurants?

Is ‘Michelin Star’ by the same Michelin that sells tires, yes, it is! But Why? How a tire company evaluations became most coveted in the culinary industry?

Johnnie Walker – The legend that keeps walking!

Johnnie Walker is a 200 years old brand but it is still going strong with its marketing strategies and bold attitude to challenge the conventional norms.

Starbucks prices products on value not cost. Why?

In value-based pricing, products are price based on the perceived value instead of cost. Starbucks has mastered the art of value-based pricing. How?

Nike doesn’t sell shoes. It sells an idea!!

Nike has built one of the most powerful brands in the world through its benefit based marketing strategy. What is this strategy and how Nike has used it?

Domino’s is not a pizza delivery company. What is it then?

How one step towards digital transformation completely changed the brand perception of Domino’s from a pizza delivery company to a technology company?

BlackRock, the story of the world’s largest shadow bank

BlackRock has $7.9 trillion worth of Asset Under Management which is equal to 91 sovereign wealth funds managed. What made it unknown but a massive banker?

Why does Tesla’s Zero Dollar Budget Marketing Strategy work?

Touted as the most valuable car company in the world, Tesla firmly sticks to its zero dollar marketing. Then what is Tesla’s marketing strategy?

The Nokia Saga – Rise, Fall and Return

Nokia is a perfect case study of a business that once invincible but failed to maintain leadership as it did not innovate as fast as its competitors did!

Yahoo! The story of strategic mistakes

Yahoo’s story or case study is full of strategic mistakes. From wrong to missed acquisitions, wrong CEOs, the list is endless. No matter how great the product was!!

Apple – A Unique Take on Social Media Strategy

Apple’s social media strategy is extremely unusual. In this piece, we connect Apple’s unique and successful take on social media to its core values.

-AMAZONPOLLY-ONLYWORDS-END-

Kashish M is an Undergraduate student from the Middle East. Apart from listening songs and learning new languages and exploring different culture over time she developed interests in writing and gained interest in exploring different parts of the accounting/finance world.

Related Posts

AI is Shattering the Chains of Traditional Procurement

Revolutionizing Supply Chain Planning with AI: The Future Unleashed

Is AI the death knell for traditional supply chain management?

Merchant-focused Business & Growth Strategy of Shopify

Business, Growth & Acquisition Strategy of Salesforce

Hybrid Business Strategy of IBM

Strategy Ingredients that make Natural Ice Cream a King

Investing in Consumer Staples: Profiting from Caution

Storytelling: The best strategy for brands

How Acquisitions Drive the Business Strategy of New York Times

Rely on Annual Planning at Your Peril

How does Vinted make money by selling Pre-Owned clothes?

N26 Business Model: Changing banking for the better

Sprinklr Business Model: Managing Unified Customer Experience

How does OpenTable make money | Business model

How does Paytm make money | Business Model

Write a comment cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Advanced Strategies
• Brand Marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Luxury Business
• Startup Strategies
• 1 Minute Strategy Stories
• Business Or Revenue Model
• Forward Thinking Strategies
• Infographics
• Publish & Promote Your Article
• Write Article
• Testimonials
• TSS Programs
• Fight Against Covid
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and condition
• Refund/Cancellation Policy
• Master Sessions
• Live Courses
• Playbook & Guides

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts
• Currently reading: Business school teaching case study: Unilever chief signals rethink on ESG
• Business school teaching case study: what does climate change mean for home insurance?
• Business school teaching case study: can biodiversity bonds save natural habitats?
• Business school teaching case study: can the fashion industry be more sustainable?
• Business school teaching case study: can green hydrogen’s potential be realised?
• Business school teaching case study: how electric vehicles pose tricky trade dilemmas
• Business school teaching case study: is private equity responsible for child labour violations?

Business school teaching case study: Unilever chief signals rethink on ESG

• Business school teaching case study: Unilever chief signals rethink on ESG on x (opens in a new window)
• Business school teaching case study: Unilever chief signals rethink on ESG on facebook (opens in a new window)
• Business school teaching case study: Unilever chief signals rethink on ESG on linkedin (opens in a new window)
• Business school teaching case study: Unilever chief signals rethink on ESG on whatsapp (opens in a new window)

Gabriela Salinas and Jeeva Somasundaram

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

In April this year, Hein Schumacher, chief executive of Unilever, announced that the company was entering a “new era for sustainability leadership”, and signalled a shift from the central priority promoted under his predecessor , Alan Jope.

While Jope saw lack of social purpose or environmental sustainability as the way to prune brands from the portfolio, Schumacher has adopted a more balanced approach between purpose and profit. He stresses that Unilever should deliver on both sustainability commitments and financial goals. This approach, which we dub “realistic sustainability”, aims to balance long- and short-term environmental goals, ambition, and delivery.

As a result, Unilever’s refreshed sustainability agenda focuses harder on fewer commitments that the company says remain “very stretching”. In practice, this entails extending deadlines for taking action as well as reducing the scale of its targets for environmental, social and governance measures.

Such backpedalling is becoming widespread — with many companies retracting their commitments to climate targets , for example. According to FactSet, a US financial data and software provider, the number of US companies in the S&P 500 index mentioning “ESG” on their earnings calls has declined sharply : from a peak of 155 in the fourth quarter 2021 to just 29 two years later. This trend towards playing down a company’s ESG efforts, from fear of greater scrutiny or of accusations of empty claims, even has a name: “greenhushing”.

Test yourself

This is the fourth in a series of monthly business school-style teaching case studies devoted to the responsible business dilemmas faced by organisations. Read the piece and FT articles suggested at the end before considering the questions raised.

About the authors: Gabriela Salinas is an adjunct professor of marketing at IE University; Jeeva Somasundaram is an assistant professor of decision sciences in operations and technology at IE University.

The series forms part of a wider collection of FT ‘instant teaching case studies ’, featured across our Business Education publications, that explore management challenges.

The change in approach is not limited to regulatory compliance and corporate reporting; it also affects consumer communications. While Jope believed that brands sold more when “guided by a purpose”, Schumacher argues that “we don’t want to force fit [purpose] on brands unnecessarily”.

His more nuanced view aligns with evidence that consumers’ responses to the sustainability and purpose communication attached to brand names depend on two key variables: the type of industry in which the brand operates; and the specific aspect of sustainability being communicated.

In terms of the sustainability message, research in the Journal of Business Ethics found consumers can be less interested when product functionality is key. Furthermore, a UK survey in 2022 found that about 15 per cent of consumers believed brands should support social causes, but nearly 60 per cent said they would rather see brand owners pay taxes and treat people fairly.

Among investors, too, “anti-purpose” and “anti-ESG” sentiment is growing. One (unnamed) leading bond fund manager even suggested to the FT that “ESG will be dead in five years”.

Media reports on the adverse impact of ESG controversies on investment are certainly now more frequent. For example, while Jope was still at the helm, the FT reported criticism of Unilever by influential fund manager Terry Smith for displaying sustainability credentials at the expense of managing the business.

Yet some executives feel under pressure to take a stand on environmental and social issues — in many cases believing they are morally obliged to do so or through a desire to improve their own reputations. This pressure may lead to a conflict with shareholders if sustainability becomes a promotional tool for managers, or for their personal social responsibility agenda, rather than creating business value .

Such opportunistic behaviours may lead to a perception that corporate sustainability policies are pursued only because of public image concerns.

Alison Taylor, at NYU Stern School of Business, recently described Unilever’s old materiality map — a visual representation of how companies assess which social and environmental factors matter most to them — to Sustainability magazine. She depicted it as an example of “baggy, vague, overambitious goals and self-aggrandising commitments that make little sense and falsely suggest a mayonnaise and soap company can solve intractable societal problems”.

In contrast, the “realism” approach of Schumacher is being promulgated as both more honest and more feasible. Former investment banker Alex Edmans, at London Business School, has coined the term “rational sustainability” to describe an approach that integrates financial principles into decision-making, and avoids using sustainability primarily for enhancing social image and reputation.

Such “rational sustainability” encompasses any business activity that creates long-term value — including product innovation, productivity enhancements, or corporate culture initiatives, regardless of whether they fall under the traditional ESG framework.

Similarly, Schumacher’s approach aims for fewer targets with greater impact, all while keeping financial objectives in sight.

Complex objectives, such as having a positive impact on the world, may be best achieved indirectly, as expounded by economist John Kay in his book, Obliquity . Schumacher’s “realistic sustainability” approach means focusing on long-term value creation, placing customers and investors to the fore. Saving the planet begins with meaningfully helping a company’s consumers and investors. Without their support, broader sustainability efforts risk failure.

Questions for discussion

Read: Unilever has ‘lost the plot’ by fixating on sustainability, says Terry Smith

Companies take step back from making climate target promises

The real impact of the ESG backlash

Unilever’s new chief says corporate purpose can be ‘unwelcome distraction ’

Unilever says new laxer environmental targets aim for ‘realism’

How should business executives incorporate ESG criteria in their commercial, investor, internal, and external communications? How can they strike a balance between purpose and profits?

How does purpose affect business and brand value? Under what circumstances or conditions can the impact of purpose be positive, neutral, or negative?

Are brands vehicles by which to drive social or environmental change? Is this the primary role of brands in the 21st century or do profits and clients’ needs come first?

Which categories or sectors might benefit most from strongly articulating and communicating a corporate purpose? Are there instances in which it might backfire?

In your opinion, is it necessary for brands to take a stance on social issues? Why or why not, and when?

Climate Capital

Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Explore the FT’s coverage here .

Are you curious about the FT’s environmental sustainability commitments? Find out more about our science-based targets here

Promoted Content

Explore the series.

Follow the topics in this article

• Sustainability Add to myFT
• Impact investing Add to myFT
• Corporate governance Add to myFT
• Corporate social responsibility Add to myFT
• Business school case Add to myFT

• About / Contact
• Privacy Policy
• Alphabetical List of Companies
• Business Analysis Topics

Unilever Five Forces Analysis (Porter Model) & Recommendations

This Five Forces analysis of Unilever shows the need to strategically prioritize competition and the bargaining power of customers in the multinational consumer goods company’s industry environment. Michael Porter’s Five Forces Analysis model is a management tool for understanding the impacts of external factors in a company’s competitive environment. In this Five Forces analysis of Unilever, competitive rivalry is viewed as one of the strongest external forces, along with the bargaining power of buyers. To ensure long-term success, the company must address the issues related to these forces. Unilever’s market position and organizational strengths are adequate to address such forces.

This Five Forces analysis of Unilever identifies competition and consumers as the most important forces. The external factors related to these forces impact the company’s financial performance in the consumer goods market. Thus, the competitive environment described in this Five Forces analysis influences the achievement of business goals linked to Unilever’s mission statement and vision statement .

Summary: Five Forces Analysis of Unilever

Unilever deals with a wide variety of external factors, considering the extent of its operations in the global consumer goods market. However, as shown in this Five Forces analysis, such external factors lead to variations in the intensities of the five forces impacting the business. The following are the intensities of the five forces affecting Unilever:

• Competitive rivalry or competition: Strong force
• Bargaining power of buyers or customers: Strong force
• Bargaining power of suppliers: Moderate force
• Threat of substitutes or substitution: Weak force
• Threat of new entrants or new entry: Weak force

This Five Forces analysis highlights competitive rivalry and the bargaining power of buyers as the issues of highest intensity affecting Unilever’s business. The bargaining power of suppliers is also important but has limited impact on the company. The threats of substitutes and new entry have a limited effect on Unilever and the consumer goods industry environment. In this regard, strategic action must prioritize competition and the bargaining power of customers. A recommendation is for Unilever to further build its competitive advantages through product innovation. For example, the company can increase its investment to produce better and more competitive variants of its current personal care and home care products. This effort should reflect Unilever’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies , which emphasize product uniqueness as a strategic approach. It is also recommended that the company enhance its customer relations to attract and retain more consumers. For example, in applying Unilever’s organizational culture in customer relations processes, higher quality in the processing of requests and complaints can improve consumers’ perception on the company and its brands. The company has the strengths needed to strategically address these issues, as discussed in the SWOT analysis of Unilever .

Competitive Rivalry or Competition with Unilever (Strong Force)

Competition is a major force in Unilever’s industry. This section of the Five Forces analysis identifies the external factors that present the impact of firms on each other. The strong force of competitive rivalry against Unilever is based on the following external factors and their intensities:

• High number of firms (strong force)
• High aggressiveness of firms (strong force)
• Low switching costs for consumers (strong force)

There are many competitors operating in the consumer goods industry, including Procter & Gamble (P&G) and PepsiCo . This external factor imposes a strong force on Unilever. In addition, these firms are generally aggressive, further adding to the intensity of competition. Unilever also experiences tough competition because of low switching costs. For example, it is easy for consumers to switch from one consumer goods company to another. Thus, a high level of competition is shown in this section of the Five Forces analysis, highlighting the need to consider competitive rivalry as a high-priority force in Unilever’s industry environment.

Bargaining Power of Unilever’s Customers/Buyers (Strong Force)

Unilever’s business and industry depend on the response of consumers to its products. The influence of buyers on business performance is considered in this section of the Five Forces analysis. Unilever must address the following external factors that lead to the strong force of the bargaining power of customers:

• Low switching costs (strong force)
• High quality of information (strong force)
• Small size of individual buyers (weak force)

The low switching costs make it easy for consumers to transfer from Unilever’s products to other companies’ products. This external factor contributes to the strong intensity of the bargaining power of buyers. In addition, consumers have access to high-quality information about consumer goods, making it even easier for them to decide when transferring from Unilever to other providers. For example, buyers can compare products based on online information. Moreover, the small size of an individual consumer’s purchases has minimal impact on Unilever’s profits. However, the low switching costs and high quality of information outweigh this third external factor in the industry environment. Based on this section of the Five Forces analysis, the bargaining power of customers is one of the strongest forces affecting the consumer goods business. Unilever’s marketing mix (4Ps) influences customer perception and contributes to the company’s effectiveness in managing the buyer power determined in this Five Forces analysis.

Bargaining Power of Unilever’s Suppliers (Moderate Force)

Suppliers impact Unilever’s industry environment by affecting the level of supply available to firms. This section of the Five Forces analysis presents the influence of suppliers on companies. The following are the external factors that contribute to the moderate force of the bargaining power of suppliers on Unilever:

• Moderate size of individual suppliers (moderate force)
• Moderate population of suppliers (moderate force)
• Moderate overall supply (moderate force)

While Unilever has large suppliers, like foreign firms that supply paper and oil, the average supplier is moderate in size. This external factor imposes a moderate-intensity force on the consumer goods industry environment. In addition, the moderate population of suppliers enables them to impose significant but limited influence on Unilever. Similarly, the moderate level of the overall supply adds to such a significant but limited influence of suppliers. For example, any supplier’s change in production levels leads to a significant but limited change in the availability of materials used in Unilever’s business. Other firms in the industry are similarly affected. As shown in this section of the Five Forces analysis of Unilever, the bargaining power of suppliers is a significant but moderate consideration in the consumer goods industry environment. The approaches used in Unilever’s operations management , particularly for supply chain management, help address the supplier power determined in this Five Forces analysis.

Threat of Substitutes or Substitution (Weak Force)

Substitutes can reduce Unilever’s revenues and the competitive strength of the company in the consumer goods industry. The impact of substitution is determined in this section of the Five Forces analysis. In Unilever’s case, the following external factors are responsible for the weak force of the threat of substitution:

• Low substitute availability (weak force)
• Low performance to price ratio of substitutes (weak force)

The low switching costs enable consumers to easily use substitutes instead of Unilever’s products. This external factor imposes a strong force on the company and the consumer goods industry environment. However, the overall impact of substitution is weakened because of the low availability of substitutes. For example, it is easier to access Unilever’s toothpaste from grocery stores than to obtain substitutes, like homemade organic dentifrices. In relation, most substitutes have low performance levels and a minimal or insignificant cost difference when compared to mass-produced consumer goods readily available in the market. This condition makes Unilever’s products more attractive than substitutes, thereby further weakening the intensity of the threat of substitution. This section of the Five Forces analysis of Unilever shows that the threat of substitutes is a minor business issue.

Threat of New Entrants or New Entry (Weak Force)

Unilever competes with established firms and new firms in the consumer goods market. This section of the Five Forces analysis considers the influence of new firms on the industry environment. The following external factors create the weak force of the threat of new entrants against Unilever:

• High cost of brand development (weak force)
• High economies of scale (weak force)

The low switching costs enable new entrants to impose a strong force against Unilever. For example, consumers can easily decide to try new products from new firms. However, it is costly to build strong brands, like Unilever’s. This external factor weakens the intensity of the threat of new entrants against the company. Also, Unilever takes advantage of high economies of scale, which support competitive pricing and high organizational efficiencies that new firms typically lack. As a result, the company remains strong despite new entrants. Based on this section of the Five Forces analysis, the threat of new entry is a minor concern in Unilever’s industry environment.

• Kostetska, N. (2022). M. Porter’s Five Forces model as a tool for industrial markets analysis. Innovative Economy , (4), 131-135.
• U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Consumer Goods Industry .
• Unilever PLC – Form 20-F .
• Unilever PLC – Our Strategy .
• Unilever PLC – Suppliers .
• Copyright by Panmore Institute - All rights reserved.
• This article may not be reproduced, distributed, or mirrored without written permission from Panmore Institute and its author/s.
• Educators, Researchers, and Students: You are permitted to quote or paraphrase parts of this article (not the entire article) for educational or research purposes, as long as the article is properly cited and referenced together with its URL/link.

Case study: Unilever

As one of the world’s largest FMCG companies, the social and environmental impact of Unilever’s business activities will always be huge relative to most other organisations. However, by 2020 it aims to halve the environmental footprint of its products, improve the welfare of 1 billion people and source all its agricultural products sustainably, while doubling its revenues.

Click here the read the cover feature: CSR – This time it’s profitable Click here to read about what Marks & Spencer is doing about CSR

There are two strands to this growth strategy, according to Unilever vice-president of sustainability Karen Hamilton: “We will sell more volume of product because a lot of our growth is going to be in developing and emerging markets. We will also develop products that are higher value.”

The environmental impact takes into account emissions, waste production and water use, but the majority of the impact comes from how products are used by consumers. As a result, marketing and design will play an important role in helping to change people’s behaviour.

Hamilton says: “We have done a very in-depth analysis that allows us to see that our direct manufacturing impacts are less than 5%. When it comes to greenhouse gases, for example, almost 70% of the lifecycle impacts are tied up in the way consumers use our products, so we are going to need to innovate.”

Though there are opportunities for cost reduction, there is also a need for investment. This is certainly the case when it comes to Unilever’s sourcing of agricultural products. “You need an initial outlay for setting up some of these schemes, such as for sustainable sourcing of palm oil,” says Hamilton.

Shareholders’ attitudes towards the way Unilever has communicated its new approach to CSR will need to be gauged as results emerge. The share price has been volatile in recent months, with movements both up and down in the days following the unveiling of the Sustainable Living plan.

Hamilton says that both the finance department of the company itself and its shareholders recognise that this is not a “nice-to-do”, but is necessary for protecting Unilever’s future profitability in an uncertain world economy.

Latest from Marketing Week

Currys on why a ‘one gang’ mentality fuels strong agency relationships

With a partnership spanning over a decade, Currys and AMV BBDO discuss how trust is formed by working towards a “common ambition”.

Data, financial literacy, AI: The skills that matter to B2B marketers in 2024

Data and analytics skills gaps might be worrying B2B marketers, but are they underestimating the importance of critical thinking, financial fluency and empathy?

Burberry appoints new CMO to ‘strengthen’ brand amid sales slump

Ex-Gucci CMO Jonathan Kiman will lead Burberry’s global marketing team as the brand attempts to turn around plunging sales.

‘Integration is key’: Bupa on its mission to ‘redefine’ healthcare

As part of its ‘Health Is’ brand platform created to bring cohesion across Bupa’s communications, the healthcare provider hopes to “challenge stereotypes” in its campaign for the Paralympic Games.

Search anything and hit ‘Enter’

• Marketing News
• Mark Ritson
• Helen Edwards
• Peter Weinberg & Jon Lombardo
• Helen James
• Richard Shotton
• Newsletters
• Festival of Marketing
• Knowledge Bank
• AI: Beyond the Hype
• Careers & Salaries
• Marketing Effectiveness
• Marketing Leadership
• Brand Positioning
• Customer Experience
• Design & Branding
• Market Research
• Price Strategy
• Product & Service Innovation
• Targeting & Segmentation
• Advertising
• Agency Relationships
• Content Marketing
• CRM & Loyalty
• Data & Analytics
• Influencer Marketing
• Programmatic Advertising
• Social Media Marketing
• Sponsorship & Experiential
• Career Development
• Skills & Training
• John Lewis & Partners
• Marks & Spencer
• Procter & Gamble
• About Marketing Week
• Partner with us

• Proctor and Gamble and Unilever Companies Marketing Words: 3300
• Unilever Company’s Marketing Strategy Words: 3473
• Service Marketing and Product Marketing Definition Words: 691
• Coca-Cola’s Marketing Strategy and Product Success Words: 2399
• Marketing Strategy: Sony TV Words: 2773
• Colgate Company’s Marketing Strategies Words: 2520
• Marketing Strategies for Launching a New Brand Words: 986
• Aldus Corporation’s Marketing Strategy Words: 3797
• Product Portfolio Management for Marketing Words: 2960
• Marketing Research Importance for New Product Words: 1963
• Pet Food Product Marketing Strategy Words: 840
• Snapple Juice Company Marketing Strategies Words: 1008

Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products

Introduction, strengths and opportunities, keys to success in the consumer product manufacturing industry, unilever’s strategies for competition in global markets, lessons learnt from unilever case study.

Unilever is a global company that deals with manufacture of consumer products. The company manufactures a wide range of products ranging from food to personal and home categories. The company’s engagement in production of different commodities has largely contributed to its growth in most parts of the world. The success of Unilever company relies on the ability to market its products and strategies to penetrate the market. This mainly involves proper marketing research and the need to meet customers’ requirements. Various aspects that contribute to the growth of Unilever as a consumer product company are discussed in the paper.

The growth of Unilever entirely depends on both the company’s internal and external analysis. The company’s prevalence in the consumer products market owes credit to the internal strengths and ability to utilize the opportunities in the outside environment. One of the major strengths for Unilever’s penetration in the global market is diversification of consumer products in markets all over the world. Diversification is the production of several varieties of goods with the aim of expansion to enjoy the market share of most product consumers in different regions (Graham, 2007).

The idea of diversification entitled the products managers in different regions with powers to make decisions on the marketing strategy of the products. This enabled proper distribution of products since the managers on the ground knew the most consumed products hence increasing its supplies in the regions. An additional strength of the company dwells in Unilever’s capability to foresee customers’ ways of product purchase and consumption of goods. This enables them to supply products according to market demand and needs of customers.

The ready market for consumer product purchase all over the world offers a great opportunity for Unilever company products. According to Fletcher (2010), new markets provide greater potential for an immense growth in product sales. Therefore, the introduction of Unilever products in new markets provides the opportunity for potential growth in sales. Such opportunities offer the advantages of enjoying the global market share of the product before other companies in the same category.

The success in consumer products industry owes credit to well planned marketing strategies, proper coordination between the internal and external factors of the company in the market share. Since the industry is very competitive, customer relationship also accounts for the growth and expansion in this industry. Consumer research is a vital subject for success in this industry. For the case of Unilever, extensive research is done to enable innovation of fresh products and improvement of existing products to fit the consumers’ needs. This involves rebranding and getting to customers in both local and international markets by smooth relations between the company and its customers. To achieve this, the company has to implement appropriate customer relationship management strategies (Waarts, 2005).

Implementation of culture difference strategy is another important factor towards success in consumer product industry. Unilever applies this strategy to penetrate into local markets. This contributes to expansion in different markets at a faster rate than companies that do not apply the strategy. The company combines this strategy with building correct leadership behavior to produce competent employees and managers. These produce responsible staff which engages in socio-cultural promotional programs in order to win the customers hence consumption of their products. Moreover, success in this industry requires efficient transformation in information technology (Hoskinsson, 2009). With the fast changing technology, companies need to keep track in order to apply e-commerce which enhances efficient and quick transactions between the consumers and the organization.

The main important strategy used by Unilever to compete for the market share in the industry is the global strategy. The strategy involves marketing of brands in local environments and maintaining the supply of similar products in these regions. The company also applies this strategy to produce new brands for marketing in different regions all over the world. This strategy is of benefit to the company since it improves the uniformity in the marketing operations at the same time building the product’s brand equity.

Unilever employs the cross- market strategy to succeed in getting customers from their competitors. This is done by providing their products in the market at a subsidized price which is normally lower than that of other competing companies. These strategies work for Unilever because most companies find it difficult to offer these services while maintaining high quality of products (Jones, 2002).

From the case study, it is observed that Unilever is a multinational company in production of consumer commodities. The ability of Unilever to use its strengths such as involvement in variety of products enables the company to utilize the available opportunities in expansion to international markets. Further more, the company’s strategies in market entry show that for success in such a business, one needs to use appropriate and effective marketing strategies in order to succeed in a competitive market (Fletcher, 2010). Therefore, it is important to plan well and carefully follow the appropriate strategies for success in the industry.

The success of Unilever in this category is based on the company’s marketing strategies. The ability of the company to introduce its commodities in new and emerging markets give it an advantage to grow in most parts of the world. The growth of the company is also observed as a result of its engagement in manufacture of different products. These strategies teach us the importance of well planned market strategies and the importance of diversification in brand marketing.

Fletcher, C. (2010). Unilever’s volume beats estimates, aided by Europe. Business Week, 6. Web.

Graham, J. L., & Cateora, R. P. (2007). International marketing . London: McGraw-Hill.

Hoskinsson, R. E., Ireland, D. R., & Hitt, A. M. (2009). Strategic management: competitiveness and globalization: Concepts & cases . Cambridge: Cengage Learning.

Jones, G. (2002). Control, performance, and knowledge transfers in large multinationals: Unilever in the United States. Business History Review, 76 (43-45).

Waarts, E. (2005). Competition as an inspirational marketing tool. European Business Forum , 12 ,(3-6).

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2021, December 29). Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products. https://studycorgi.com/unilever-case-study-marketing-strategy-of-the-products/

"Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products." StudyCorgi , 29 Dec. 2021, studycorgi.com/unilever-case-study-marketing-strategy-of-the-products/.

StudyCorgi . (2021) 'Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products'. 29 December.

1. StudyCorgi . "Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products." December 29, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/unilever-case-study-marketing-strategy-of-the-products/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products." December 29, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/unilever-case-study-marketing-strategy-of-the-products/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products." December 29, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/unilever-case-study-marketing-strategy-of-the-products/.

This paper, “Unilever Case Study: Marketing Strategy of the Products”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: November 8, 2023 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Share Podcast

How Unilever Is Preparing for the Future of Work

How should the consumer goods company upscale its global workforce for the future?

• Apple Podcasts

Launched in 2016, Unilever’s Future of Work initiative aimed to accelerate the speed of change throughout the organization and prepare its workforce for a digitalized and highly automated era. But despite its success over the last three years, the program still faces significant challenges in its implementation. How should Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, best prepare and upscale its workforce for the future? How should Unilever adapt and accelerate the speed of change throughout the organization? Is it even possible to lead a systematic, agile workforce transformation across several geographies while accounting for local context?

Harvard Business School professor and faculty co-chair of the Managing the Future of Work Project William Kerr and Patrick Hull , Unilever’s vice president of global learning and future of work, discuss how rapid advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation are changing the nature of work in the case, “ Unilever’s Response to the Future of Work .”

BRIAN KENNY: On November 30, 2022, OpenAI launched the latest version of ChatGPT, the largest and most powerful AI chatbot to date. Within a few days, more than a million people tested its ability to do the mundane things we really don’t like to do, such as writing emails, coding software, and scheduling meetings. Others upped the intelligence challenge by asking for sonnets and song lyrics, and even instructions on how to remove a peanut butter sandwich from a VCR in the style of King James. But once the novelty wore off, the reality set in. ChatGPT is a game changer, and yet another example of the potential for AI to change the way we live and work. And while we often view AI as improving how we live, we tend to think of it as destroying how we work, fears that are fueled by dire predictions of job eliminations in the tens of millions and the eradication of entire industries. And while it’s true that AI will continue to evolve and improve, eventually taking over many jobs that are currently performed by people, it will also create many work opportunities that don’t yet exist. Today on Cold Call , we welcome Professor William Kerr, joined by Patrick Hull of Unilever, to discuss the case, “Unilever’s Response to the Future of Work.” I’m your host, Brian Kenny, and you’re listening to Cold Call on the HBR Podcast Network. Professor Bill Kerr is the co-director of Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work initiative. His research centers on how companies and economies explore new opportunities and generate growth, and he is a fellow podcaster. He hosts a show called Managing the Future of Work . Bill, thanks for being here.

Bill Kerr: Thanks for having us.

BRIAN KENNY: And Patrick Hull is Unilever’s VP of Global Learning and Future of Work. He goes by Paddy. Paddy, thanks for joining us.

PATRICK HULL: Thank you very much for having me.

BRIAN KENNY: It’s great to have you both here today. I think people will really be interested in hearing this case and how Unilever is thinking about the future of work. So why don’t we just dive right in. And, Bill, I’m going to ask you to start by telling us what the central issue is in the case, and what your cold call is to start the discussion in class.

Bill Kerr: Well, Brian, I think your introduction clearly outlined the central issue, which is technology is really transforming the world of work. And that means, companies must learn how to do things different than what they’ve done over 50 or a hundred year history. And it also means they must transform the skill base in how they’re approaching employees and talent. I think we can simply say: that ain’t easy, and it’s also going to introduce significant challenges and tensions for organizations. A big company like Unilever is going to really want to appeal to employees, put the purpose of the company in front of employees, embrace that, but it’s also going to have to make challenging decisions regarding employees and their transition of skills and what’s the future workforce going to look like. So the most common cold call is a really simple question, which is: has Unilever, through its Future of Work Program, resolved the paradox of profit and purpose? And pretty quickly, the answer to that is, “no.” It hasn’t fully resolved that. I will occasionally get maybe one person that goes all the way there. So then we’ve got to start unpacking, okay, how close is it to resolving that? And are we very near the end point or are we farther away?

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. Simple question to you maybe, but probably not to others who are listening. That sounds like a pretty complex question. I mentioned your involvement with the Managing the Future of Work initiative here. So I know you think a lot about this. This is on your mind all the time. How did you hear about what Unilever was doing, and why was it important to you to write this case?

Bill Kerr: Well, it’s interesting. The history of the connection came through another case that we wrote. Very early in our project on Managing the Future of Work , we’re always very deliberate about putting the “managing” in front of the future of work, and that we want to think about how leading companies are reacting to the forces that are shaping the future, like digitization and demographic changes and so forth. So, we’ve written a case about Vodafone, which we did a Cold Call a while back. With Vittorio Colao. And Vittorio was on Unilever’s board and said, “You have got to go and meet this organization and see what they’re doing,” because they have one of the most comprehensive, well thought out programs for the future of work that he had come across. And in fact, that was the connection that then followed on. And yes, for a sector that Unilever’s working in that has end-to-end change going on from the manufacturers, all the way down through the consumers or the products, to be able to have an organization that’s thought very deeply about what pillars do we need to put into place to make the change occur is great. The other thing that was delightful about Unilever and writing this case study is that, a lot of times, companies want to talk about their programs, only after they know that it was a success. They would prefer to wait until they’ve… They’re like, wait another two years and then we’ll write the case study about this transformation. But Unilever’s been very upfront in saying, “The future of work’s a big challenge. We have to get in front of that. Here’s what we’re doing. We haven’t necessarily figured it all out yet, and some of this will prove wildly successful. Others may be challenging, but this is where we’re going.” And that’s been a great thing to really spark a lot of executives and students a conversation about, what will the future of work require, and how can we get there?

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. So, Patty, I have to ask, I have to start by asking you, what’s your job? Because your title’s very lofty. It basically calls you a visionary. You are the VP of Global Learning and Future of Work. So what do you do?

PATRICK HULL: I’ve got a funny answer to that question. Since the pandemic, and obviously, been working a lot from home, and I work in a slightly open area, so my wife gets to hear a little bit of what I’m talking about. She seems to think that what I do is laugh a lot and chat a lot to people. So that’s what-

BRIAN KENNY: Kind of like we’re doing today. So, she’s listening in…

PATRICK HULL: She says, “When do you do some real work?” But yes, I guess what I do is work with a really passionate, dedicated team of people who are looking at how are we preparing our organization, and our people in particular, for a future that is very different to what we’ve been experiencing in our traditional work models up to this point. You mentioned ChatGPT as well. I mean, that really is the talk of the town at the moment. And I guess we’ve been thinking for a bit of time, as Bill mentioned, about the impact of things like that on our business, and trying to get on the forefront of what’s our response to that. So I wouldn’t quite say visionary. I think, at this stage in business and what’s going on, it’s quite hard to be truly visionary, but trying to stay one or two steps slightly ahead of what’s going on in the world of work, that’s, I guess, what my job’s all about.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. That’s great. For our listeners who… I think most people have heard of Unilever, but for people who aren’t really aware of the scope and scale of Unilever, can you describe the business for us a little bit?

PATRICK HULL: Yes. So we’re a fast moving consumer goods business. So most of you will probably interact with one of our brands or products every day. In fact, we say that we serve 3.4 billion people every day. That’s how often someone buys one of our products or uses one of our products. We’ve got about 400 brands in 190 countries across the world, ranging from global brands like Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann’s, Rexona, all the way through to what we call local jewels like Marmite in the UK, which is one of those brands that you either love it or hate it.

BRIAN KENNY: How big is the workforce at Unilever?

PATRICK HULL: The workforce is about 149,000 people who are directly employed by us. But we always often speak about how we have an extended workforce of around 3 to 5 million people, who if you ask them who they work for, they would say Unilever, even though they’re actually employed by someone else.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. So we know Unilever well at Harvard Business School. We’ve had lots of cases written on over the years by our faculty, and we’ve actually talked about it on Cold Call before, particularly, the focus on sustainability. Unilever really stands out in this regard. And I wonder if you could talk a little bit about how important this is to the culture at Unilever.

PATRICK HULL: It is. I can’t tell you how important it is. In fact, when Paul Polman, previous CEO, came into the organization in 2009, he launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010. And he did this beautiful job when he launched it of reminding us that sustainability has been part of Unilever since day one. When Lord Leverhulme started selling Sunlight soap, his mission was to make cleanliness commonplace. That was back in the late 1800s. And what Paul did beautifully is he then simply shifted that a little bit and said, “We are now here to make sustainable living commonplace, because now we impact so many more people and so many more homes. If we can help every consumer out there make more sustainable choices with how they eat, how they clean, how they use plastic, how they use water, then we can have a massive impact, positive impact, on the planet and society, and that’s good for business.” That was the business model that we’ve ascribed to. So we hire on it. We are tracked on it. We develop on it. It’s definitely part of the way things get done here.

BRIAN KENNY: Bill, let me turn back to you for a second. The FMCG sector is fast moving, as it indicates. What are some of the forces that are putting pressure on that particular sector these days?

Bill Kerr: Yeah. The case outlines three forces, and let me walk through those and also say a little bit of, before I do that, why we think this sector’s amazing to watch. If you want to have a kind of front row seat as to how the future of work may play out in other sectors, I often direct them towards the fast moving consumer good sector because the technology forces, the demographic forces, the gig workplace force that we’ll talk about are all happening already. They’re deep into this sector, so we can learn a lot from it. So, the first one is clearly technology that links through all the way to our opening conversation. There’s many ways in which the touch points between consumers and the outlets and last mile delivery and drones possibly dropping off future packages reverberates all the way up through the supply chain to Unilever and its suppliers above. A simple kind of easy metric is, think about the speed that we now demand or expect of our package delivery. It’s no longer that we’re going to go to the store and pick this up and the store can replenish itself over a week-long horizon. It’s going to be, I just pressed the button in the app and I’m expecting it in the next five minutes to be handed to me. That puts a lot of demands on how an organization needs to function, and also increase the expectation about the customization and the personalized products that consumers will require. So, the technology requires Unilever to think differently. The second is a broader force, but equally as impactful, and even more predictable for the future, which is the role of aging populations and demographic change in the workplace that is quite different than the workplace of the 20th century, where many of the large companies today kind of got their grounding. One of the early kind of points that it makes is that, in the UK, about a third of the workforce currently is over the age of 50, and that’s true in most every advanced economy, as well as also, increasingly across East Asia and elsewhere, that we have older populations. We have workforces that are going to span many more generations in the workplace. And then the third one, which in our project, Managing the Future of Work , we think of as kind of an outcome of tech and demographics coming together is the gig workplace. Paddy talked about the extended workforce beyond Unilever, and the case tries to unpack some of the ways they’re approaching bringing people to work that aren’t the traditional full-time jobs that most companies got built up around. And the gig workplace is activated by that technology that lets us schedule and involve people in gig works. And also, as we think about low unemployment rates and older populations and tacked out and so forth, the degree that we can, as a company, attract in people that are currently not working or at the edge of working and tempt them to come work for us on projects is a very valuable labor supply to these organizations.

BRIAN KENNY: Paddy, you’re in it, literally. So what are you seeing as some of the things that have shifted over time?

PATRICK HULL: So, when I started, I’m going to give my age away here a little bit, but back in the 1990s, I remember us talking a lot about, how could we get direct to the consumer? Back in those days, we sold everything through big box retail, and it was all about maintaining those relationships, making sure you had great store shelf positioning and great relationships with those buyers. One of the most massive shifts is that direct to consumer is the channel now. Bill spoke about how we all just order stuff off Amazon directly. We don’t have any advantage anymore in terms of getting to consumers. You and I, any little startup, can throw some ads on Instagram, speak to a few influencers and start sending their products out. So the whole game has changed in terms of how are we reaching people.

BRIAN KENNY: And I can already imagine, just based on the examples you’ve both given, I’m already seeing areas where there would be churn in the workforce around some of these developments. So let’s talk a little bit about Unilever’s Future of Work plans. And there’s a framework that goes along with it. I wonder if you could describe that and talk about the three pillars that support that framework.

PATRICK HULL: Yes, our three pillars are: change the way we change, ignite lifelong learning, and redefining the Unilever system of work. And I’ll explain a little bit about each of those. So changing the way we change. The first one is, what we’ve realized is that change is continuous. Disruption is continuous in our organization. It’s not about standalone moments where we see that, oh, we need to shut down a factory or change something because of a dramatic shift. Change is happening all the time. All of our factories are rapidly automating all of our office processes, so we can’t stick to the old traditional model of change, which was a very slow moving consultative approach, and also, where management held its cards close to its chest until sort of the last moment and then announced, “This is happening.” We’ve realized that, really, to be true to our purpose around making sustainable living commonplace, we need to enter into a far more open, early, proactive dialogue with our people around the change that’s affecting our organization, and how to help start preparing them well in advance of any actual impact on them in terms of how they can prepare for that change. So that’s the first one, changing the way we change. The second one around igniting lifelong learning is about engaging with our people to make sure that they’re all equipped to thrive, both now and into the future, and that we are showing them a bit of what that future looks like and where they need to be focusing their attention. And then the third, redefining the whole system of work is a bit of what Bill was mentioning earlier. Here, we really want to embrace this notion of accessing talent rather than owning talent. We’ve felt that if we just keep on trying to hold onto all our FTEs and compete against everyone else with talent, we are never going to have the people and the skills in our organization that we need to take us forward into the future. So we really want to redefine new models of working, so it’s not just you’re either fixed or you’re a gig worker, but how can we find some flex in the middle that helps people transition out of this traditional life cycle of work, the kind of 40-hour, 40-week, 40-year traditional employment pattern, and help get them future fit for a hundred year life, where they may want to slowly move into retirement, where they may want to spend some time looking after their kids, where they may want to set up their side hustle. How do we create that sort of flexibility?

BRIAN KENNY: There’s definitely, and understandably, a lot of emotion involved with some of these things. And I’m wondering if maybe you could give our listeners a sense, based on all the research you’ve done in the initiative, about what kinds of jobs are going to go away, and what kinds of skills you think are going to be most important for people to think about in the future?

Bill Kerr: Well, Brian, I come back with, that we don’t think of jobs really going away. And I think it’s important to instead think of jobs as a collection of tasks. And certain tasks will be taken over by the machine and require less human input, as the technology gets more advanced. And that could be in a very manual kind of sense. It could also be with ChatGPT in a more cognitive relationship. And perhaps, the thing that we’re experiencing right now that’s very front and center in the world of work is, lots of ways that technology is coming in towards more cognitive tasks that are complex, they’re non-routine. They were not able to be done by the computer before, but artificial intelligence machine learning and so forth are able to take those off. So if you think about how supply chain forecasting will happen at Unilever, that’s going to be done in a fundamentally different way than it would’ve been even 10 years ago.

BRIAN KENNY: Sure.

Bill Kerr: But we always think about new tasks emerging, and it’s hard to predict exactly what those tasks will involve. When you think about the skills, we know that having digital fluency and also social skills are the two biggest things that you can put money on, bank on, those being important enough for the future. But there’s also going to be judgment, and there’s going to need to be innovativeness. So even if the computer starts to do a really good job at predicting about how salespeople should arrange the shelves or how they should approach consumers, you still have to think about, as an organization, what data are we feeding into the system? And where could Unilever develop a proprietary data advantage? And how would we collect those data streams and put them into it? So the technology will be there, it’s going to take over evermore parts of work as it has been for 150 years at this point, but there’ll also be places where humans will be complementing and helping to achieve the goals of the company.

BRIAN KENNY: So that’s an optimistic viewpoint, Paddy. And I’m wondering what the response is from people when you start to talk about these ideas with them. And how do you move them beyond just their own insecurity and concern for themselves, to really embrace learning new skills and thinking about a different way of working in the future?

PATRICK HULL: This is a fundamental dilemma facing us, Brian. I’m so glad you asked me that question. And whilst I don’t know if we’ve cracked it, I think we’ve got a really good hypothesis around what helps this. One of the things we know is, the way not to motivate people to learn new skills is to tell them, “You better re-skill or the robots are going to take your job away.” So we’ve taken the view that if we can help people to discover their purpose, what makes them unique, how do they approach work in their own way, and then start from that point and say, “Okay, when you are at your best, you are doing these things. How do we make sure that you are developing the skills in line with that, that are going to keep you future fit in an environment that is changing around you in terms of the nature of your job and how you work?” And we’ve found that when people come from that place of purpose, they do feel far more agency over it. They are far more motivated to learn new skills, to continue to be relevant, but it’s coming from a much more positive place. It’s not coming from that fight or flight or freeze sort of mode. It’s coming from a place of agency. And in fact, we partnered with some academic institutions to measure the impact of starting people thinking about purpose and then creating future fit plans from there. And we’ve found that it does lead to people being 25% more engaged in thinking about the future, in going the extra mile, in having this intrinsic motivation to take it on. And they’re 22% more productive, which is another great benefit to us.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. So, Bill, we’ve been through situations like this before. If you look back over the long arc of history, we’ve had movement from an agrarian society to an industrial society. We’ve had manufacturing sector turned on its head when a lot of manufacturing jobs have gone overseas. And I think each time we’ve done that, there’s been a portion of the workforce that’s just not been able to make the leap to the new mode of doing things. Unilever is talking about ensuring that 80% to 100% of their workforce can be transitioned in the right way. Is that too big of a promise to make?

Well, to their credit, I believe they stayed at the pretty top end of that range so far. And I think the workshops and so forth that Paddy just outlined are best in class for trying to stay up there. I do think, Brian, you see organizations, and I’m spanning out from Unilever at this point, that are trying to set a new contract with workers, both explicitly and implicitly, that says, “Our part of the bargain is, we’re going to give you great clarity as to what roles we see the company needing in the future, and help you kind of think about where you are today and what you would need to acquire skill-wise to get to that future point. And we’re going to give you the platform to acquire those skills. But your part of the bargain has to be to put the time and the investment in to be having those skills when that time comes.” And so I think we’re seeing a shift in a bit of the, we want to be a great place for you to have worked and developed your career, but we’re not going to be guaranteeing a lifelong employment. We’re going to focus on the skills that are needed and help you make the investments and choices that should be made.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. And what does that start to look like at Unilever, Paddy? What are some of the ways that you’re sort of redefining the systems of work there?

PATRICK HULL: So, one of the big initiatives that we’ve undertaken was this whole idea of, how do we help people create more flexibility in their roles, so that they can discover new ways of working, discover new skills, grow in new and different ways? And I mentioned to you earlier that we thought there’s this sort of gridlock that, on the one hand, you’ve got full-time employees, you’ve got lots of security, but no flexibility in terms of how and where they work. And on the other hand, you’ve got gig workers, freelancers, lots of flexibility, but not much security in terms of guaranteed income. And we’ve set ourselves a challenge of, how do we create this responsible alternative to the gig economy? And our idea was something called U-Work. U-Workers no longer have a job title. They work on gigs and projects in Unilever, but they are still 100% Unilever employees. They are not gig workers, so they’re not contractors or anything. In fact, they’re an internal pool of contractors, if you like, but they remain Unilever employees. They get a guaranteed retainer. They get a package of social care, pension benefits, healthcare benefits. And they get a learning stipend. But in return for that, they then only need to work on projects. They can set up their own business on the side. They can look after their kids or aging parents, or they can gradually move into retirement. And I think it’s this kind of thing that we need to continue to explore, as we see in the impact of automation and digitization, and also this trend or this desire for people to have more flexibility to choose how and when they work.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. It actually sounds kind of appealing. So you also get variety that goes along with that. You get to move from one project to another, and you’re not sort of locked in on the same kinds of things, all the time.

PATRICK HULL: And, Brian, the one thing, just to emphasize on that, people get very locked into the thing of, ah, does someone have the skill I need for the job? In fact, what we found is, one of the most important skills is knowing the organization. So U-Work is great because they are Unilever employees. They know the organization. They know how to get things done in Unilever. And we must never underestimate the power of that skill

BRIAN KENNY: Bill, it seems like anytime that we enter into one of these huge labor market transitions, manufacturing jobs, take it on the nose. And so I’m wondering, as you think about the implications for jobs in the future, what are the implications for manufacturing specifically?

Bill Kerr: Well, I think, Brian, we’re already been seeing that in motion for a while. Manufacturing has been at the forefront of technology adoption for decades. I think time will tell how it will continue to evolve. I would anticipate more skilled, more advanced, more technology enabled, but there could also be some interesting twists. It’s not the current case study that we’re talking about, but there’s another case study at Harvard Business School, done by Raj Choudhury, our colleague, with Unilever that’s about remote manufacturing. So how can the remote workforce be connected into the manufacturing sector? So we’ll see a lot of innovation towards the future.

BRIAN KENNY: And how is Unilever thinking about that, Paddy?

PATRICK HULL: So actually, the whole genesis of this future of work framework was done together, well, co-created together with our European Works Council actually, so our manufacturing representatives coming together with management to think about, how is the future of work impacting the manufacturing environment? So actually, our whole framework came from them. So, we very much see this as a critical way of addressing the impact of digitization and automation in the manufacturing environment. We’ve found some fantastic examples where we’ve started people thinking about their roles in future. And what we’ve found is, there’s quite a strong correlation between some of the skills our manufacturing workers have and lab assistants in our R&D labs. And funnily enough, we tend to have quite big R&D centers right next to our factories. So we’ve seen quite a bit of movement of people being able to re-skill from manufacturing environment into R&D labs in a way, a more sustainable future environment, all because they’ve identified, what’s the work that they really enjoy doing, what are they really good at, and then what are the skills required to go into the future?

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. That’s a huge win-win, right? For the worker and for the firm.

PATRICK HULL: Correct.

BRIAN KENNY: This has been a great conversation. I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m wondering if… I’ve got time for one question for each of you left here. So, I’m going to start with you, Paddy. How is Unilever going to know if they’re succeeding in this? Is there a sort of an end game in mind here?

PATRICK HULL: The big goal is obviously that we are proving that our sustainable business model is more effective than others in terms of driving superior performance. So the big number is still, how are we doing as an organization? I would say the key input metrics are things like, how well are we able to re-skill our people for the future? We really believe that re-skilling is the way forward. We know it’s cheaper than recruiting from outside. It’s better for our people. It’s a way of getting people who know our business to continue to do good things. So we do measure that. How many people are we helping to transition? And then it’s about, how attractive do we continue to be as an employer for new recruits and for the people within our organization? So we’ll track the traditional input metrics like engagement, attrition, our employer brand, how well people are collaborating going forward.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. It sounds like you’re off to a fantastic start. Bill, I’ll give you the last words, since you wrote the case. If there’s one thing you’d like people to remember about this case, what is it?

Bill Kerr: Well, let me go back. We started with the cold call, so let me tell you how I end the class. There’s a video of one of Paddy’s colleagues, Nick Dalton, who is quoting President Kennedy, who was in turn quoting an Irish writer named Frank O’Connor. And Kennedy was speaking about the space mission, and Frank O’Connor was describing, as a kid, when they would come to this orchard wall that was too high for them to climb over. They had no idea how they were going to do it. They would take their hats and they would throw them over the orchard wall, so that they just committed themselves to figuring it out. And Nick basically thought of the Unilever program as a bit of, “We’re throwing our hat over the wall. We don’t know exactly how we’re going to climb over this future of work wall, but we know we must do it. And this is our public commitment to making that happen.” And the thing I’d come back to listeners around this is, the future of work is scary. And we talked about job transitions and how quickly the new technologies are coming. This time last year, we had no thought of ChatGPT as being part of this Cold Call podcast, but now, it’s what we lead with. And so, hopefully, people can unfreeze a little bit and can start thinking about, regardless of what the twists and turns may lie ahead, they need to begin a journey with their employees. And Unilever is showing, here’s how we’re approaching that. Now, let’s all work on it together.

BRIAN KENNY: Yeah. Well, I suspect I’m not alone when I say we’re rooting for you. We hope that you get this right. There’s a lot at stake.

PATRICK HULL: Thanks, Brian.

BRIAN KENNY: Thank you both for joining me.

Bill Kerr: Thanks.

BRIAN KENNY: If you enjoy Cold Call , you might like our other podcasts, After Hours , Climate Rising , Deep Purpose, IdeaCast , Managing the Future of Work , Sk ydeck , and Women at Work . Find them on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen, and if you could take a minute to rate and review us, we’d be grateful. If you have any suggestions or just want to say hello, we want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] . Thanks again for joining us. I’m your host, Brian Kenny, and you’ve been listening to Cold Call , an official podcast of Harvard Business School and part of the HBR Podcast Network.

• Subscribe On:

Latest in this series

This article is about change management.

• Organizational change
• Mission statements
• Human resource services
• Retail and consumer goods

Partner Center

Consumer Packaged Goods

Unilever sees 150% increase in intent to purchase with UGC

Unilever sets the bar for user-generated content (UGC) success with a company-wide strategy for making the most of the voice of the customer.

At a Glance

Get more value from UGC.

Look beyond marketing impact to use UGC strategically across the business.

Increase revenue, loyalty, search traffic, customer insights, and product quality.

Purchase intent lift

Interaction with reviews drove a 150% increase in intent to purchase on SimpleSkincare.com

5 ways Unilever maximizes the power of UGC to drive purchase intent, search conversion, and innovation

With more than 400 brands across over 190 countries, Unilever is one of the largest customer products companies in the world. Its innovative use of user-generated content (UGC) goes beyond marketing. Here’s how the brand leverages Bazaarvoice solutions to build loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

1. Review volume is the foundation of UGC success

Unilever knows firsthand the benefits of UGC.

“Reviews instill a lot of trust among consumers and give them the confidence to make a purchase,” says Jenna Spivak Evans, Innovation and Digital Capabilities Manager at Unilever.

For example, customers who read reviews on the Simple Skincare website have a 150% greater intent to purchase and use the store locator feature.

And more reviews mean better results.

“We see a positive correlation between review volume and number of orders,” says Evans. “Increasing review volume can be as simple as asking yourself, ‘How am I already talking to my customers, what communications do I already have planned, and how can I layer on an ask for a review?’ It’s all about integrating your efforts into conversations you’re already having with consumers.” This approach is also cost-effective because it leverages existing investments. Unilever encourages reviews at multiple touchpoints, from emails to web banners to social media.

Bazaarvoice-powered sampling campaigns are another effective tactic: a recent campaign for Suave generated 5,000 reviews alone, and samples have driven hundreds of thousands of reviews across Unilever brands.

2. Recognizing UGC value beyond conversion

UGC is part of Unilever’s overall brand and marketing strategy. For example, it helps build organic search traffic and engagement.

“Because UGC delivers such rich content, you can see increases in search traffic of 15–25% as a result of using customer-generated content,” says Evans. “You will also see increases in website engagement metrics such as product page views per visit, average time spent onsite, and return-visitor rate.”

Online UGC also influences offline sales. Customers read online reviews before—and during—store visits, building loyalty and engagement throughout the customer journey.

3. Listening to customers and giving them what they want

Unilever acts on reviews to improve products and enhance the customer experience.

“Getting customer feedback provides an ongoing way to gather information about how a product is doing and where there’s room for improvement,” says Evans, who points to an example from the TRESemmé brand.

Reviewers of TRESemmé Keratin Smooth hair care mentioned using a dry shampoo the next day to maintain results—but Unilever had no Keratin Smooth dry shampoo. Unilever used this insight as an opportunity to promote other dry shampoos in its product lines alongside the Keratin Smooth shampoo.

4. Amplifying the voice of the customer

No matter how well a brand crafts its marketing content, it’s never as compelling as consumer content.

“Consumers really need a third party to legitimize the content they read on product detail pages,” according to Evans. “They see reviews as a trusted source for understanding how other consumers like them have experienced the product.”

Unilever’s own research reports that nearly half of shoppers trust user-generated text, video, and images more than brand-created content. In fact, consumers agreed that communication leveraging a review made them trust the Simple Skincare advertisement 38% more than when the same content was framed as a corporate claim.

“When we include reviews in social ads and display ads, we see about a 20–30% improvement in performance,” says Evans. “We also find that those customers are more likely to read other customer reviews of the product when they click through the product detail page.”

Unilever also uses UGC in print ads, inserts, and in-store displays.

5. Broadening the impact of UGC across the larger business

Unilever listens to the voice of the customer in reviews and responds proactively.

“All that customer feedback can provide an ongoing panel for informing R&D, customer service, quality teams, and others about how a product is performing,” says Evans.

In one case, the marketing department identified a trend of complaints about a reformulated product. The quality control department traced the issue to a bad batch, and Unilever provided a replacement to all customers who had reported an issue—along with information about the benefits of the reformulation.

The company is also integrating reviews with CRM for increased personalization.

“Integration of UGC into CRM will give us deeper demographic information and provide an incremental way to understand different customers’ needs,” says Evans.

It’s all part of Unilever’s never-ending quest to make products that people love so much that they want to share their experiences with the world.

Request a demo

About the company

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of food, home and personal care products, with more than 400 brands in over 190 countries reaching two billion customers a day. It has 172,000 employees and generated sales of 53.3 billion in 2015. Over half (57%) of the company footprint is in developing and emerging markets.

Client since 2013

Reviews instill a lot of trust among consumers and give them the confidence to make a purchase.

Jenna Spivak Evans

Innovation and Digital Capabilities Manager

More in this industry

Dole Packaged Foods collects over 2K reviews with new UGC strategy

The fresh fruit and packaged foods producer uses reviews to showcase new products, improve existing ones, and increase engagement with recipes on its website.

Plenty increases awareness of its high quality products with Bazaarvoice

Using Bazaarvoice Ratings and Reviews, Plenty grew and maintained awareness of its premium quality brand. Customer sentiment within Plenty’s reviews not only endorsed the quality...

McPherson's sees a 20% review volume lift with Bazaarvoice Sampling

McPherson’s uses product sampling and UGC to boost reviews on its e-commerce platform and syndicate to partners.

Become a success story.

Let Bazaarvoice help you command your goals and catapult your business.

Want to answer questions at retailer websites?

Respond to consumer questions in real-time.

Looking to sample and review products?

Receive products from your favorite brands in exchange for honest reviews.

Get started

Tell us a little about yourself, and our sales team will be in touch shortly.

Thank you for your interest in Bazaarvoice. A member of our team will be in touch shortly to talk about how Bazaarvoice can help you reach your business goals.

Unilever—A Case Study

This article considers key issues relating to the organization and performance of large multinational firms in the post-Second World War period. Although foreign direct investment is defined by ownership and control, in practice the nature of that "control" is far from straightforward. The issue of control is examined, as is the related question of the "stickiness" of knowledge within large international firms. The discussion draws on a case study of the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, which has been one of the largest direct investors in the United States in the twentieth century. After 1945 Unilever's once successful business in the United States began to decline, yet the parent company maintained an arms-length relationship with its U.S. affiliates, refusing to intervene in their management. Although Unilever "owned" large U.S. businesses, the question of whether it "controlled" them was more debatable.

Some of the central issues related to the organization and performance of multinationals after the Second World War can be illustrated by studying the case of Unilever in the United States. Since Unilever's creation in 1929 by a merger of British and Dutch soap and margarine companies, 1 it has ranked as one of Europe's, and the world's, largest consumer-goods companies. Its sales of $45,679 million in 2000 ranked it fifty-fourth by revenues in the Fortune 500 list of largest companies for that year.

A Complex Organization

Unilever was an organizational curiosity in that, since 1929, it has been headed by two separate British and Dutch companies—Unilever Ltd. (PLC after 1981), and Unilever N.V.—with different sets of shareholders but identical boards of directors. An "Equalization Agreement" provided that the two companies should at all times pay dividends of equivalent value in sterling and guilders. There were two head offices—in London and Rotterdam—and two chairmen. Until 1996 the "chief executive" role was performed by a three-person Special Committee consisting of the two chairmen and one other director.

Beneath the two parent companies a large number of operating companies were active in individual countries. They had many names, often reflecting predecessor firms or companies that had been acquired. Among them were Lever; Van den Bergh & Jurgens; Gibbs; Batchelors; Langnese; and Sunlicht. The name "Unilever" was not used in operating companies or in brand names. Lever Brothers and T. J. Lipton were the two postwar U.S. affiliates. These national operating companies were allocated to either Ltd./PLC or N.V. for historical or other reasons. Lever Brothers was transferred to N.V. in 1937, and until 1987 (when PLC was given a 25 percent shareholding) Unilever's business in the United States was wholly owned by N.V. Unilever's business, and, as a result, counted as part of Dutch foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. Unilever and its Anglo-Dutch twin Royal Dutch Shell formed major elements in the historically large Dutch FDI in the United States. 2 However, the fact that all dividends were remitted to N.V. in the Netherlands did not mean that the head office in Rotterdam exclusively managed the U.S. affiliates. The Special Committee had both Dutch and British members, and directors and functional departments were based in both countries and had managerial responsibilities without regard for the formality of N.V. or Ltd./PLC ownership. Thus, while ownership lay in the Netherlands, managerial control was Anglo-Dutch.

The organizational complexity was compounded by Unilever's wide portfolio of products and by the changes in these products over time. Edible fats, such as margarine, and soap and detergents were the historical origins of Unilever's business, but decades of diversification resulted in other activities. By the 1950s, Unilever manufactured convenience foods, such as frozen foods and soup, ice cream, meat products, and tea and other drinks. It manufactured personal care products, including toothpaste, shampoo, hairsprays, and deodorants. The oils and fats business also led Unilever into specialty chemicals and animal feeds. In Europe, its food business spanned all stages of the industry, from fishing fleets to retail shops. Among its range of ancillary services were shipping, paper, packaging, plastics, and advertising and market research. Unilever also owned a trading company, called the United Africa Company, which began by importing and exporting into West Africa but, beginning in the 1950s, turned to investing heavily in local manufacturing, especially brewing and textiles. The United Africa Company employed around 70,000 people in the 1970s and was the largest modern business enterprise in West Africa. 3 Unilever's total employment was over 350,000 in the mid-1970s, or around seven times larger than that of Procter & Gamble (hereafter P&G), its main rival in the U.S. detergent and toothpaste markets.

A World-wide Investor

An early multinational investor, by the postwar decades Unilever possessed extensive manufacturing and trading businesses throughout Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Unilever was one of the oldest and largest foreign multinationals in the United States. William Lever, founder of the British predecessor of Unilever, first visited the United States in 1888 and by the turn of the century had three manufacturing plants in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. 4 The subsequent growth of the business, which was by no means linear, will be reviewed below, but it was always one of the largest foreign investors in the United States. In 1981, a ranking by sales revenues in Forbes put it in twelfth place. 5

Unilever's longevity as an inward investor provides an opportunity to explore in depth a puzzle about inward FDI in the United States. For a number of reasons, including its size, resources, free-market economy, and proclivity toward trade protectionism, the United States has always been a major host economy for foreign firms. It has certainly been the world's largest host since the 1970s, and probably was before 1914 also. 6 Given that most theories of the multinational enterprise suggest that foreign firms possess an "advantage" when they invest in a foreign market, it might be expected that they would earn higher returns than their domestic competitors. 7 This seems to be the general case, but perhaps not for the United States. Considerable anecdotal evidence exists that many foreign firms have experienced significant and sustained problems in the United States, though it is also possible to counter such reports with case studies of sustained success. 8

During the 1990s a series of aggregate studies using tax and other data pointed toward foreign firms earning lower financial returns than their domestic equivalents in the United States. 9 One explanation for this phenomenon might be transfer pricing, but this has proved hard to verify empirically. The industry mix is another possibility, but recent studies have suggested this is not a major factor. More significant influences appear to be market share position—in general, as a foreign owned firm's market share rose, the gap between its return on assets and those for United States—owned companies decreased—and age of the affiliate, with the return on assets of foreign firms rising with their degree of newness. 10 Related to the age effect, there is also the strong, but difficult to quantify, possibility that foreign firms experienced management problems because of idiosyncratic features of the U.S. economy, including not only its size but also the regulatory system and "business culture." The case of Unilever is instructive in investigating these matters, including the issue of whether managing in the United States was particularly hard, even for a company with experience in managing large-scale businesses in some of the world's more challenging political, economic, and financial locations, like Brazil, India, Nigeria, and Turkey.

The story of Unilever in the United States provides rich new empirical evidence on critical issues relating to the functioning of multinationals and their impact. — Geoffrey Jones

Finally, the story of Unilever in the United States provides rich new empirical evidence on critical issues relating to the functioning of multinationals and their impact. It raises the issue of what is meant by "control" within multinationals. Management and control are at the heart of definitions of multinationals and foreign direct investment (as opposed to portfolio investment), yet these are by no means straightforward concepts. A great deal of the theory of multinationals relates to the benefits—or otherwise—of controlling transactions within a firm rather than using market arrangements. In turn, transaction-cost theory postulates that intangibles like knowledge and information can often be transferred more efficiently and effectively within a firm than between independent firms. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that much knowledge is tacit. Indeed, it is well established that sharing technology and communicating knowledge within a firm are neither easy nor costless, though there have not been many empirical studies of such intrafirm transfers. 11 Orjan Sövell and Udo Zander have recently gone so far as to claim that multinationals are "not particularly well equipped to continuously transfer technological knowledge across national borders" and that their "contribution to the international diffusion of knowledge transfers has been overestimated. 12 This study of Unilever in the United States provides compelling new evidence on this issue.

Lever Brothers In The United States: Building And Losing Competitive Advantage

Lever Brothers, Unilever's first and major affiliate, was remarkably successful in interwar America. After a slow start, especially because of "the obstinate refusal of the American housewife to appreciate Sunlight Soap," Lever's main soap brand in the United Kingdom, the Lever Brothers business in the United States began to grow rapidly under a new president, Francis A. Countway, an American appointed in 1912. 13 Sales rose from $843,466 in 1913, to $12.5 million in 1920, to $18.9 million in 1925. Lever was the first to alert American consumers to the menace of "BO," "Undie Odor," and "Dishpan Hands," and to market the cures in the form of Lifebuoy and Lux Flakes. By the end of the 1930s sales exceeded $90 million, and in 1946 they reached $150 million.

By the interwar years soap had a firmly oligopolistic market structure in the United States. It formed part of the consumer chemicals industry, which sold branded and packaged goods supported by heavy advertising expenditure. In soap, there were also substantial throughput economies, which encouraged concentration. P&G was, to apply Alfred D. Chandler's terminology, "the first mover"; among the main followers were Colgate and Palmolive-Peet, which merged in 1928. Neither P&G nor Colgate Palmolive diversified greatly beyond soap, though P&G's research took it into cooking oils before 1914 and into shampoos in the 1930s. Lever made up the third member of the oligopoly. The three firms together controlled about 80 percent of the U.S. soap market in the 1930s. 14 By the interwar years, this oligopolistic rivalry was extended overseas. Colgate was an active foreign investor, while in 1930 P&G—previously confined to the United States and Canada—acquired a British soap business, which it proceeded to expand, seriously eroding Unilever's market share. 15

The soap and related markets in the United States had a number of characteristics. Although P&G had established a preponderant market share, shares were strongly contested. Entry, other than by acquisition, was already not really an option by the interwar years, so competition took the form of fierce rivalry between incumbent firms with a long experience of one another. During the 1920s and the first half of the 1930s, Lever made substantial progress against P&G. Lever's sales in the United States as a percentage of P&G's sales rose from 14.8 percent between 1924 and 1926 to reach almost 50 percent in 1933. In 1930 P&G suggested purchasing Lever in the United States as part of a world division of markets, but the offer was declined. 16 Lever's success peaked in the early 1930s. Using published figures, Lever estimated its profit as a percentage of capital employed at 26 percent between 1930 and 1932, compared with P&G's 12 percent.

Countway's greatest contribution was in marketing. During the war, Countway put Lever's resources behind Lux soapflakes, promoted as a fine soap that would not damage delicate fabrics just at a time when women's wear was shifting from cotton and lisle to silk and fine fabrics. The campaign featured a variety of tactics, including washing demonstrations at department stores. In 1919 Countway launched Rinso soap powder, coinciding with the advent of the washing machine. In the same year, Lever's agreement with a New York agent to sell its soap everywhere beyond New England was abandoned and a new sales organization was established. Finally, in the mid-1920s, Countway launched, against the advice of the British parent company, a white soap, called "Lux Toilet Soap." J. Walter Thompson was hired to develop a marketing and advertising campaign stressing the glamour of the new product, with very successful results. 17 Lever's share of the U.S. soap market rose from around 2 percent in the early 1920s to 8.5 percent in 1932. 18 Brands were built up by spending heavily on advertising. As a percentage of sales, advertising averaged 25 percent between 1921 and 1933, thereby funding a series of noteworthy campaigns conceived by J. Walter Thompson. This rate of spending was made possible by the low price of oils and fats in the decade and by plowing back profits rather than remitting great dividends. By 1929 Unilever had received $12.2 million from its U.S. business since the time of its start, but thereafter the company reaped benefits, for between 1930 and 1950 cumulative dividends were $50 million. 19

Many foreign firms have experienced significant and sustained problems in the United States. — Geoffrey Jones

After 1933 Lever encountered tougher competition in soap from P&G, though Lever's share of the total U.S. soap market grew to 11 percent in 1938. P&G launched a line of synthetic detergents, including Dreft, in 1933, and came out with Drene, a liquid shampoo, in 1934 both were more effective than solid soap in areas of hard water. However, such products had "teething problems," and their impact on the U.S. market was limited until the war. Countway challenged P&G in another area by entering branded shortening in 1936 with Spry. This also was launched with a massive marketing campaign to attack P&G's Crisco shortening, which had been on sale since 1912. 20 The attack began with a nationwide giveaway of one-pound cans, and the result was "impressive." 21 By 1939 Spry's sales had reached 75 percent of Crisco's, but the resulting price war meant that Lever made no profit on the product until 1941. Lever's sales in general reached as high as 43 percent of P&G's during the early 1940s, and the company further diversified with the purchase of the toothpaste company Pepsodent in 1944. Expansion into margarine followed with the purchase of a Chicago firm in 1948.

The postwar years proved very disappointing for Lever Brothers, for a number of partly related reasons. Countway, on his retirement in 1946, was replaced by the president of Pepsodent, the thirty-four-year-old Charles Luckman, who was credited with the "discovery" of Bob Hope in 1937 when the comedian was used for an advertisement. Countway was a classic "one man band," whose skills in marketing were not matched by much interest in organization building. He never gave much thought to succession, but he liked Luckman. 22 This proved a misjudgment. With his appointment by President Truman to head a food program in Europe at the same time, Luckman became preoccupied with matters outside Lever for a significant portion of his term, though perhaps not to a sufficient degree. Convinced that Lever's management was too old and inbred, he dismissed about 15 percent of the work force soon after taking office, and he completed the transformation by moving the head office from Boston to New York, taking only around one-tenth of the existing executives with him. 23 The head office, constructed in Cambridge by Lever in 1938, was subsequently acquired by MIT and became the Sloan Building.

Luckman's move, which was supported by a firm of management consultants, the Fry Organization of Business Management Experts, was justified on the grounds that the building in Cambridge was not large enough, that it would be easier to find the right personnel in New York, and that Lever would benefit by being closer to the large advertising agencies in the city. 24 There were also rumors that Luckman, who was Jewish, was uncomfortable with what he perceived as widespread anti-Semitism in Boston at that time. The cost of building the New York Park Avenue headquarters, which became established as a "classic" of the new postwar skyscraper, rose steadily from $3.5 million to $6 million. Luckman had trained as an architect at the University of Illinois, and he was very involved in the design of the pioneering New York office.

• 25 Jun 2024
• Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

• 11 Jun 2024
• In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

How transparency sped innovation in a $13 billion wireless sector.

• 24 Jan 2024

Why Boeing’s Problems with the 737 MAX Began More Than 25 Years Ago

• 27 Jun 2016

These Management Practices, Like Certain Technologies, Boost Company Performance

• Globalization
• Consumer Products
• Entertainment and Recreation
• Food and Beverage
• Manufacturing

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

2013 winner: Unilever (AXE), Global Marketing - case study

For the last fifteen years, AXE, known as Lynx in the UK has become famous the world over for giving guys the edge with girls. This promise of seduction has been underpinned by great fragrances and a compelling brand idea – The AXE Effect.

To grow the brand, AXE must launch a completely new fragrance, packing and communications campaign annually, replacing a cohort of guys that naturally graduate from the brand. To ensure consistency and to maximise commercial efficiencies, all communications ideas and assets are created centrally. The constant challenge is to bring The AXE Effect to life in a way that is fresh and relevant to the federation of 100 markets and the guys within them.

Changing the brand's fortune

In 2008, AXE launched its most successful new variant of all time, the chocolate-scented ‘Dark Temptation’. However, two subsequent variant launches, ‘Twist’ and ‘Instinct’ had drastically failed to perform. The brand had lost its way and was losing relevance with its global audience, the confidence of its federation of markets and risked a lost generation of guys not experiencing The AXE Effect that would leave a hole in the brands fortunes for year to come. The brand needed a ‘global hit’. Turning the brand’s fortunes around meant moving away from the product-focused strategy inspired by ‘Dark Temptation’ and finding a fresh expression of the brand truth at the heart of The AXE Effect – Seduction.

In 2011, AXE Angels descended into all 100 AXE markets. Our campaign took a globally recognised, iconic representation of male fantasy and made the biggest claim possible: ‘AXE Excite is so irresistible, even angels will fall’. The result was the biggest uptake and activation of any creative idea in AXE’s history along with increased sales, increased brand relevance and a significantly profitable return on investment.

Judges' comments

To book your table or to find out how to enter the next Awards for Excellence visit our Awards site.

The full case study is currently withheld due to confidential information.

Enjoy this? Get more.

Our monthly newsletter, The Edit, curates the very best of our latest content including articles, podcasts, video.

Become a member

Not a member yet?

Now it's time for you and your team to get involved. Get access to world-class events, exclusive publications, professional development, partner discounts and the chance to grow your network.

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

News Briefs

Unilever moving north america hq to hoboken.

Unilever is picking up sticks and moving to Hoboken, NJ. 

The CPG, which currently calls Englewood Cliffs, NJ, its North America home, will move into the new digs in spring 2025. It signed a three-year lease for a 111,000-square-foot, three-floor office. 

The company decided to relocate in order to tap into the labor pool of the New York City and metro area while retaining their current employees in Bergen County, according to a statement from Alexander Erdos, SVP, leasing and development at SJP Properties, Unilever’s new landlord. 

Other companies on the property include Newell Brands, Lipton, and Walmart.

• See also:  Learn how Unilever is using AI to improve ice cream out-of-stocks

CloudGaia Takes Next Step in Global Expansion

Salesforce CRM partner CloudGaia is accelerating growth in the Americas and Europe, and a new investment from Salesforce Ventures is expected to give it a boost. 

Founded in 2016, CloudGaia leverages agile methodologies to help consumer goods companies maximize their use of Salesforce platforms. Customers include Coca Cola Euro Pacific Partners. 

Salesforce Ventures invests in start-up and early-stage enterprise software companies. CloudGaia CEO Nicolas Orzabal said the funds will enable them to expand their impact. 

“With this investment, CloudGaia is set to expand its presence across the Americas and Europe, growing its team, enhancing service offerings, and deepening relationships with existing and new clients,” he noted in a statement. 

Lolë Brands Acquires Sanuk from Deckers

Global apparel company Lolë Brands is expanding its portfolio, acquiring footwear brand Sanuk, which was previously owned by Deckers Brands. Sanuk, which was founded in 1997, will undergo reinvestment in its consumer-centric products and marketing under Lolë Brands’ ownership. 

• Read more:   Mars recently announced it would be acquiring Kellanova in one of the industry’s largest food product deals. 

At the helm is Katie Pruitt, a 20-year industry veteran who was hired to lead the brand as VP, general manager. Her focus will be on direct-to-consumer and wholesale customers. 

Operations for Sanuk will move to Los Angeles, California. This is Lolë’s second acquisition over the last year as the company looks to grow its portfolio of environmentally conscious consumer brands.

Conagra Acquires Sweetwood Smoke & Co.

Conagra Brands continues its portfolio optimization strategy, growing its snacking category with the acquisition of Sweetwood Smoke & Co. The company manufactures Fatty Smoked Meat Sticks, a snacking product made of pork and beef smoked with hickory wood. 

The acquisition is the next step in reshaping Conagra’s portfolio for faster growth, according to Conagra president and CEO Sean Connolly.

• Also read:   Learn how Conagra is using AI and intelligent automation to elevate operations.  

"Adding a premium brand such as Fatty to our growing, better-for-you snack portfolio is consistent with our strategic focus on the snacking and frozen categories," he added.

During the last investors call, Connolly said frozen and snacks are the two most critical businesses in the company’s portfolio. They held or grew market share in 80% of the combined business, according to Q4 2024 earnings reports. 

Trax Retail Names Brittany Billings CMO

Retail data and technology company Trax Retail has promoted Brittany Billings to chief marketing officer. 

In the role, Billings will oversee the company’s global marketing efforts for both B2B and B2C segments, developing strategies that tap proprietary data and technologies like AI, computer vision, and AI. She will also manage product marketing, corporate communications, and Trax’s in-house creative team. 

She has held several senior leadership roles in marketing, media, PR, and partnerships over the last 15 years. Most recently, she was EVP of global marketing at Trax, where she helped lead streamlined marketing operations across the company’s global footprint. 

• Also read:   Campbell’s recently named Jill Pratt as VP, CMO of its Meals & Beverages Business  

During her tenure with Trax, she has helped lead marketing for the companies’ shopping rewards app Shopkick, focusing on integrated marketing, customer acquisition and retention, social media, demand generation, partnerships, and more. 

"Brittany has been instrumental in Trax's overall growth and transformation, developing innovative strategies and customer experiences to engage consumers and drive incremental value for our global CPG and retailer partners," said Gary S. Laben, CEO of Trax, in a statement. "Her expertise and proven track record make her the ideal leader to enhance Trax's global marketing efforts and support our continued expansion."

Billings’ career includes time spent at Hudson’s Bay Company, Gilt, and Olivela. 

Loop and ReBound Partner on Returns

Product return companies Loop and ReBound have partnered to integrate global logistics capabilities, elevate omnichannel returns, and reduce costs. 

The partnership will expand capabilities related to return shipments, advanced local processing, and consolidation. 

It brings together the intelligent technology and logistics capabilities of ReBound — which handles over 100 million return transactions annually — with Loop’s optimized consumer experience within returns and exchanges, with native integration capabilities for Shopify. 

More technology news: Learn why BlueConic acquired Jebbit

The partnership will optimize returns operations, drive brand loyalty and increased retention, and ensure participating companies have a well-integrated tech stack with a comprehensive reverse logistics program, said Jonathan Poma, CEO at Loop.

“Both Loop and ReBound will be able to benefit from the other’s extensive partner network. Working together, we will redefine the e-commerce returns journey for brands who want a competitive advantage in the online retail industry,” Schoenmaker said.

Sprinklr Service

Sprinklr Social

Works Best With

Sprinklr Insights

Sprinklr Marketing

Marketing Teams

Customer Service Teams

• Unified-CXM
• Customers Customer Stories Sprinklr Champions Sprinklr Community
• Company Our Story Leadership Newsroom Partners Careers Investor Relations Security & Data Privacy Sustainability
• Resources Learn Services Support Sprinklr Social ROI Estimator AI Maturity Assessment CX-WISE Analyst Reports Product Demo Days eBooks & Reports Events & Webinars Blog Unified-CXM Guide Forbes Influential CMO 2024 Our Services Training For Agencies Help Center Release Notes Contact Us

The undisputed leader in social media management

For over a decade, the world’s largest enterprises have trusted Sprinklr Social for its in-depth listening, unmatched channel coverage, enterprise-grade configurability and industry-defining AI.

Top Social Media Case Studies and Lessons to Learn

Social media case studies provide practical, actionable insights for your online marketing campaigns. They can highlight what works and what doesn’t. By learning from the experiences of others, you can refine your strategies to boost engagement and increase social media conversion rates for your business. 

As of 2024, the average internet user spends 143 minutes daily on social media. This high level of engagement presents a significant opportunity for brands to connect with potential customers. And adopting the best practices and strategies demonstrated in successful social media case studies can help you achieve this. 

In this blog, we’ll be exploring examples of social media case studies and their valuable lessons. So be sure to glean insights from them to ramp up your social media marketing game. 

Social media case studies of best social media brands

Using the right social media strategy can be a game changer for your brand as it will help you reach your audience effectively. Let’s look at a few success stories: 

#1: Spotify

In 2013, Spotify introduced its "Year in Review" feature. The company realized it had a treasure trove of streaming data. While the graphics were on-brand and less quirky than today’s versions, they still captured the audience’s attention.  

Fast-forward to 2016, Spotify rebranded these data stories as " Wrapped ." Each year, Spotify Wrapped introduces new and fun features based on users’ listening habits — from identifying your unique “audio aura” to categorizing you into one of 16 “listening personality types.”  

Why this campaign?    The campaign taps into users' love for content personalization and nostalgia, allowing them to reflect on their past year in music and share their unique listening habits with their friends and followers. This annual tradition has become a highly anticipated event. It generates buzz and drives customer retention and new sign-ups.  

What did they do?    Spotify collates vast amounts of listening data and presents it with eye-catching graphics that are instantly shareable on Facebook, Instagram and X. This enhances shareability and personalization, contributing to the viral success of Spotify Wrapped. 

How did it help?    Spotify Wrapped's social media metrics highlight its viral success. The campaign generated significant engagement, with more than 156 million users interacting with their personalized Wrapped summaries in 2022. What’s more, the first three days after its 2022 launch, Spotify Wrapped generated over 400 million tweets/X posts, highlighting its strong shareability and user engagement on social media platforms. 

What to take away?  

• Embed shareability for virality: Spotify Wrapped is highly shareable. The content is perfectly optimized for social media. The app even encourages you to share your Wrapped summary. Crafting personalized content that people are excited to share is a successful social media strategy , as active participation naturally follows when you engage your audience. 
• Create rituals: While Spotify Wrapped's format remains consistent, it gains more traction on social media each year. Annual campaigns, particularly those towards the year's end, establish a sense of ritual, and consumers are conditioned to anticipate them. Ritualized content gives your audience something to look forward to, year after year. 
• Jump on that bandwagon: Making brand-specific versions of popular content is a fantastic way to participate in the conversation. For instance, SEMRush used the Wrapped format to create unique content tailored to its audience. 

Deep Dive: How to adopt trends and broaden your channel coverage mix (while staying on brand)  

#2: The Barbie Movie 

The 2023 film Barbie brought the beloved Mattel doll to life in a dazzling, contemporary adventure. Starring Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie, the movie seamlessly blends fantasy and reality as Barbie embarks on a transformative journey from her idyllic, pink-hued world to the real one. 

Why this campaign?  The Barbie marketing campaign was a masterclass in leveraging nostalgia, contemporary pop culture and innovative social media promotion strategies. It generated a massive buzz and captured the imagination of audiences worldwide. 

What did they do?    Warner Brothers and Mattel collaborated to create a multifaceted campaign. This included vibrant teasers, interactive social media content and high-profile brand partnerships. Here are the specifics:  

• Shared behind-the-scenes content, trailers and other promotional materials on all social media platforms 
• Engaged influencers and celebrities to create inspired memes and generate excitement 
• Created a sense of community by reflecting the diversity of its audience   
• Barbie-themed Malibu DreamHouse listed by Airbnb 
• Barbie-styled clothing line launched by Forever21 
• Barbie-themed meals offered by Burger King in Brazil 

• Utilized innovative tactics like a selfie generator to keep fans engaged 
• Benefitted from the unplanned "Barbenheimer" phenomenon 

The simultaneous release of Oppenheimer and Barbie really captured the public’s imagination. It sparked an unexpected cultural phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer." Christopher Nolan's intense biographical drama "Oppenheimer" explored the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb, while Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" was inspired by the iconic doll. The stark contrast between the two films captivated both audiences and the media.  

The phenomenon was fueled by social media buzz, memes and fans' enthusiasm for the unique cinematic experience of watching two drastically different films back-to-back. This boosted box office numbers for both movies and created a shared cultural moment transcending typical movie-going experiences. The playful rivalry and the combined marketing efforts led to unprecedented social media engagement , making "Barbenheimer" a standout event in 2023. 

How did it help?    The movie had grossed $1.45 billion worldwide , including $636 million in North America. Barbie was the top-grossing film of 2023, largely due to its strong social media engagement. In fact, in a Statista survey, more than half of the respondents claimed that they primarily learned about the movie through social media. 

• Generate buzz: The Barbie social media marketing campaign is a true masterclass in creating viral content. It clearly demonstrates that, when utilized effectively, social media can be an incredibly powerful tool for bringing a brand, product or film into the spotlight. Your marketing message becomes more powerful when it consistently appears in the feeds of your target audience .   

🤔 Are you looking to be in the public eye consistently?   

To be the talk of the “global town,” you need to be steady with your posting and ensure that your content is delivered at the ideal times. However, keeping track of all your social media posts and activities can often seem like a Herculean task. Though, there is a quick way to simplify all that manual heavy lifting.  

Sprinklr's Social Media Publishing & Engagement tool helps you streamline the organization, planning and execution of your social media content. With it, you can:

👁️ Get a complete overview of your posts, events and campaigns  

📚 Publish across 30+ channels at the same time 

🖼️ View comments, mentions and messages across channels in a single space 

🔎 Monitor the performance of your paid, owned and earned media in one single dashboard 

Pro Tip💡: Ensure your top content receives the exposure it merits. Influencers offer a distinctive viewpoint that authentically resonates with customers and potentially influences purchasing decisions. As such, using a tool like Sprinklr's AI-led Influencer Marketing Platform can help you find the right influencers across multiple demographics. It identifies the best-suited influencers to maximize the reach, authenticity and impact of your marketing message, and it also gives deeper insights into their performance. 

• Innovate to resonate: Barbie's marketing campaign showcased various inventive strategies to captivate fans. Due to the interactive experiences offered through the film's promotion, audiences remained eagerly anticipating its release. For instance, typing "Barbie," "Margot Robbie," "Ryan Gosling" or "Greta Gerwig" into Google search triggered a magical makeover and turned the screen pink with sparkles, thrilling fans worldwide. 
• Be inclusive: The Barbie campaign embraced inclusivity by appealing to various audiences. By featuring diverse characters and themes in its marketing materials, Barbie made audiences feel represented and included in the brand's narrative. The propagation of social media accessibility and inclusivity strengthened Barbie's connection with its fan base and drew new audiences.

Related Read: 10+ Ideas for Social Media Posts That Move the Needle  

#3: Shiseido Japan 

Shiseido Japan is a renowned global beauty and cosmetics company with a rich heritage of combining Eastern aesthetics and Western science. The company has established itself as a leader in the beauty industry and is known for its innovative skincare, makeup and fragrance products.  

Why this campaign?    Historically, Shiseido Japan's makeup marketing teams collaborated with agencies to monitor social media performance. They relied on agency-provided reports or manually checked each social account, which prevented them from responding quickly to any issues. In 2021, Shiseido Japan decided to overhaul the marketing strategies for makeup brands like MAQuillAGE, Snow Beauty, INTEGRATE and MAJOLICA MAJORCA. 

What did they do?    Shiseido adopted Sprinklr's Unified-CXM platform to transform its marketing teams. It helped them collaborate effortlessly by combining tools and data on a single platform.

Pro Tip💡: Automate and manage workflows , such as campaign deployment and reporting, to free up time for teams to focus on strategic initiatives. Look for platforms or software solutions that offer features such as campaign scheduling, account addition via emails and customizable dashboards. Modern platforms like Sprinklr Social and Sprinklr Insights are purpose-built for this task, with all the aforementioned offerings and more. They unify channels, tools and data, providing a comprehensive view of the customer.

How did it help?    Sprinklr significantly enhanced Shiseido's social media management by centralizing all media accounts on a single platform. It allowed the marketing teams to access real-time data through customized dashboards and generate automated, shareable reports, enabling better social media measurement. This resulted in a 244% increase in overall owned media account performance in 2022.  

The shift to Sprinklr also facilitated a new data-driven culture for social campaigns, moving away from guesswork. Teams could validate ideas, check for viral potential using past trends and analyze campaign performance against social media KPIs (key performance indicators), making the necessary adjustments for future campaigns. This structured approach resulted in better campaign outcomes. Mentions of Shiseido's makeup brands on social media through user-generated content (UGC) increased by 406% in 2022, when compared to 2021. 

• Facilitate data-driven decision-making: Like Shiseido, consider investing in technologies like Sprinklr's Unified-CXM platform . It will transform your decision-making processes by providing real-time actionable insights by analyzing data collected across multiple channels.  
• Prioritize social listening : Make sure you prioritize social listening to analyze audience sentiment, track trends and identify opportunities for brand engagement. By actively monitoring social media conversations, engaging with your audience and leveraging UGC, you can foster authentic connections with your customers. 
• Customize your dashboards: Tailor your social media analytics tools to your unique needs, just like Shiseido did with Sprinklr's dashboards. By customizing metrics and dashboards to track social media KPIs relevant to your business goals, you'll gain deeper insights into your social performance. 

Read More : Sprinklr’s Social Media Case Study on Shiseido Japan

How do you write a social media growth case study?  

Now that we’ve examined some great social media case studies, let's explore how you can create one. Here’s how you can structure and populate one on your own:  

1. Introduction 

• Introduce the brand: Start by briefly introducing the brand whose social media growth you are examining. 
• State the purpose: Explain the purpose of the case study and what you aim to demonstrate. 

2. Background

• Ground zero: Describe the initial state of the brand's social media presence. Include metrics like follower count, engagement rates and notable challenges. 
• Objectives: Clearly outline the brand's goals for social media growth. These could be increasing followers, boosting engagement or enhancing brand awareness . 

3. Strategy 

• Target audience: Define the target audience for social media efforts. 
• Platform selection: Explain which social media platforms were chosen and why. 
• Content strategy: Explain what types of content were created and their messaging. 
• Campaigns: Describe the brand’s advertising campaigns, apart from influencer partnerships, paid advertising or user-generated content campaigns. 

4. Implementation 

• Timeline: Provide a timeline of key activities and milestones. 
• Resources: Discuss the resources used, including team members, tools and budget. 

5. Metrics 

• Growth metrics: Present metrics that indicate growth, such as changes in follower count, engagement rates, reach and impressions . 
• Additional metrics: Include other relevant metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates and social media ROI . 

6. Results 

• Compare and contrast: Compare the initial metrics with the final results to show the growth. 
• Achievements: Highlight major achievements and milestones reached during the campaign. 

7. Solutions 

• Obstacles: Discuss any challenges faced during the campaign. 
• Fixes: Explain how these challenges were addressed and what solutions were implemented. 

8. Takeaways 

• Successful strategies: Summarize the social media growth strategies that worked well and contributed to success. 
• Lessons learned: Reflect on what could have been done differently and any lessons learned for future campaigns. 

9. Conclusion 

• Summary: Recap the main points and results of the case study. 
• The future: Briefly mention any next steps for the brand’s social media strategy. 

10. Visual elements  

• Charts and graphs: Use reporting charts and graphs to visually represent the data and growth metrics. 
• Screenshots: Include screenshots of successful posts, campaign highlights and other visual elements.  

Final thoughts  

These social media case studies showcase innovative strategies for capturing audience attention and driving significant engagement. However, this is easier said than done. The challenge for large brands in social media marketing lies in effectively leveraging data insights and managing multiple channels. 

Sprinklr Social can help you with this. It offers real-time actionable data insights, streamlines social media management and enables personalized engagement with audiences. The platform is trusted by global companies for its in-depth listening, unmatched channel coverage of 30+ digital channels and enterprise-grade configurability. This is so you’re always in the know of every customer interaction. The best part? It automates your end-to-end social media management with the industry-leading Sprinklr AI and accelerates content creation with top-tier generative AI capabilities. 

Keen to find out how this software can elevate your social media marketing efforts?  

Frequently Asked Questions

Get the social management tool that does it all

Easily create and schedule posts, publish at the best times, and maximize your social engagement across 10+ channels.

Advertisement

Pepsi, Tesco, Monzo, Heinz, Unilever & more to share insights at The Drum Live

• Facebook Messenger

By The Drum, Editorial

September 2, 2024 | 5 min read

Listen to article 4 min

Brand marketers will have the opportunity to pick the brains of top CMOs at the event in September, with a new Ask the Expert session added to ensure all attendees can get the insights they need.

Shining the light on brand marketing at The Drum Live UK

Taking place in the heart of London at The Drum Labs, the agenda for this year’s brand-only The Drum Live event has this year been squeezed into a single day to make it as easy and convenient as possible for brand marketers to attend and gain maximum value from their time out of the office.

Sponsored by Adobe and supported by Kantar, Onyx, Intent and Seedtag, the day will be a rapid-fire mix of panel discussions, CMO fireside chats, award-winning campaign case studies and Ask the Expert sessions.

Explore frequently asked questions

The day will kick off with a pivotal debate that will set the tone for the entire day: The Advertising Agency Model is Dead. Chaired by the insightful writer and System1 analyst Andrew Tindall, this debate promises to challenge conventional thinking and spark conversations that matter. As the marketing landscape undergoes disruptive shifts, understanding these changes is crucial. Our expert panel will dissect the issues from multiple perspectives, offering invaluable insights to help you navigate the future of our industry. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with the forces shaping the next era of marketing.

A panel discussion featuring Sainsbury’s and Google will follow this, delivering insights into how marketers can better position marketing as a vital growth driver in their business by fostering innovation while guiding their teams to align measurement strategies with overall business objectives.

Limited tickets available

Dan Glynn of Heineken will offer his thoughts on how brands can take advantage of the advertising opportunities around audiences who are consuming news in diverse ways on digital and social platforms, while marketers at Victoria’s Secret and Seedtag will explore how sustainability, tech innovation and inclusive marketing are reshaping the fashion and beauty industries.

Marketing strategies that are driving brands such as Domino’s and Beavertown Brewery in the ever-changing food and drink sector will be explored by Louise Pilkington (Domino’s) and Tom Rainsford (Beavertown), while Tesh Whitmey of Tesco Retail Media will be in conversation with Heineken’s Patrick Zinga about the exciting growth and opportunities for brands in the rapidly evolving retail media landscape.

The last 12 months have served as a marketing masterclass from Kraft Heinz and The Drum Live audience will hear firsthand from Kraft Heinz meals director Alessandra de Dreuille and marketing and media director Thiago Sequeira Rapp on their recipe for marketing success. Paddy Power will also share details of its hugely successful partnership with Prostate Cancer UK and the World Darts Championship.

Joining members of The Drum’s editorial team (global editor Cameron Clarke, senior reporter Hannah Bowler, associate editor Richard Draycott and senior editor Jenni Baker) for fireside chats will be Eric Mellis of Pepsico and AJ Coyne of Monzo.

The new Ask the Experts will see Unilever’s VP of marketing Tati Lindenburgh and a number of the day’s CMO speakers host Q&A sessions engineered so that every attendee will have the opportunity to question the speakers.

Commenting on the line-up, The Drum’s global editor Cameron Clarke said: “As ever, The Drum Live UK event strives to cram in as much insight and opinion as possible to make sure all brand attendees leave the day armed with inspiration, new ideas and, hopefully, the increased belief that what they do as marketers can and will transform the future of their businesses. I feel this is the best The Drum Live line-up ever and definitely one not to miss if you’re leading a brand through these economically, politically and socially challenging times.”

Tickets are limited to senior marketers only, get yours here

More from Brand Purpose

Industry insights.

Pardon Our Interruption

As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. There are a few reasons this might happen:

• You've disabled JavaScript in your web browser.
• You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed.
• You've disabled cookies in your web browser.
• A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Additional information is available in this support article .

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

• Accreditation
• Value of Accreditation
• Standards and Process
• Search Accredited Schools

• Educational Membership
• Business Membership
• Find a Member

• Learning and Events
• Conferences
• Webinars and Online Courses

• All Insights
• B-School Leadership
• Future of Work
• Societal Impact

• Leadership and Governance
• Media Center

• Accredited School Search
• Advertise, Sponsor, Exhibit
• Tips and Advice
• Is Business School Right for Me?

Marketing, AI, and What Students Need to Know

• Marketing professionals use data insights to tell compelling stories, so students must learn how to process data, create visual representations of their findings, and communicate information.
• Students need to know how to convey core messages clearly and succinctly, because today’s marketers have just seconds to capture the attention of their audiences.
• Students can practice applying newfound technical skills by completing hands-on projects, debating AI’s implications, and participating in competitions where they use AI to develop marketing strategies.

  No longer a futuristic concept, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming how companies around the globe do business. In particular, AI has become a critical component of today’s marketing landscape. Professionals are using it to draw insights from unique datasets and translating those insights into compelling narratives for audiences that range from company executives to boards of directors to customers.

At the Villanova School of Business (VSB) in Pennsylvania, we are building AI into all of our analytics courses, and we are emphasizing AI skills for students who are co-majoring in marketing and analytics. We’re teaching them to use AI to make better decisions, gain confidence in applying new technology, stay ahead in the constantly evolving marketing field, and contribute to society in meaningful and positive ways.

AI in the Classroom

Because we believe hands-on learning is just as essential as theoretical knowledge, we engage students with AI tools through in-class exercises, homework assignments, project work, case discussions, and even competitions. As students learn to filter, pre-process, analyze, and visualize data, they gain an understanding of the entire lifecycle of data, from collection to interpretation to storytelling.

We find it particularly impactful when student learning includes these components:

Project work. In our advanced analytics courses, we ask students to find projects that align with their majors and the university’s mission of building community and being of service to others. As part of this semesterlong assignment, students must find a publicly available dataset that includes words—not just numbers—and start by cleaning up the data using Tableau Prep. Next, they use Tableau to create a visual representation of the data, and they employ a generative AI platform such as ChatGPT to help them decipher their findings.

Students find the initial step of cleaning the data to be the most challenging because of the sheer quantity of information available. In addition, the fields used in multiple datasets often don’t match up, so they must be separated and standardized. This time-consuming task might not be glamorous, but it’s a necessary skill for our students to learn. In fact, research indicates that up to 80 percent of the analysis process is devoted to just prepping the data.

Case studies. Across the analytics curriculum, students undertake case studies involving real companies so they can see the impact and potential of technology. Students are required to choose companies with raw datasets that require significant pre-processing, then use AI tools to analyze issues these companies are facing and develop potential solutions. In the past, students have studied companies such as a popular coffee chain, a streaming service, and a hotel chain.

We remind students that what’s out there today often didn’t exist five years ago—and may not exist five years from now. We emphasize that while the software might change, the process doesn’t.

For instance, one group of students analyzed a Netflix dataset from Kaggle.com that contained a wealth of information about the company’s shows, including genre, IMDb score, runtime, and release year. Students determined what factors influenced show popularity and how the content on Netflix differed from that on other streaming platforms such as HBO, Hulu, and Amazon Prime TV. To achieve this, they performed a segmentation analysis that clustered Netflix shows based on both quantitative and qualitative ratings.

Students were able to identify the factors that influenced the popularity of Netflix shows, but they had to collect additional data from the company’s competitors to explore how Netflix’s content differed from that of other streaming platforms. Ultimately, students determined that, despite its massive subscriber base, Netflix wasn’t sufficiently differentiating its content quality for subscribers.

A focus on the future. Our professors meet regularly to share information gleaned from industry professionals about how we should update our AI tools and our classwork every year. We want to ensure that our graduates can keep up with the pace of change in a world where platforms and techniques are constantly shifting.

At the same time, we remind students that what’s out there today often didn’t exist five years ago—and may not exist five years from now. Programs like Tableau weren’t available when we were in college, and the tools they’re using now are likely to change after graduation. What we emphasize is that while the software might change, the process doesn’t. There might be a new Amazon algorithm when they wake up tomorrow, but a skill such as market basket analysis—an understanding of what groups of items customers most frequently purchase together—will be valuable for years to come.

Three Key Focus Areas

To ensure that our students will be able to adapt to future developments in the field of marketing, we focus on three critical aspects of AI: data analysis, storytelling, and ethics.

Data analysis. Students who co-major in marketing and analytics first get a grounding in technical knowledge. We want them to understand the basics of statistical analysis, become familiar with tools such as SPSS and Tableau, and know how to build and validate AI models. Once they’ve gained some technical proficiency, they learn about machine learning, data mining, and neural networks .

Storytelling. Students must do more than derive insights from data; they must be able to communicate what they’ve learned. We tell them, “Your knowledge is only as good as your ability to share it. You must be able to craft a compelling story to capture the attention of your target audience.”

If students can’t summarize their story in one line, they need to rethink their narratives. This skill is essential, because the two-minute elevator pitch is now a relic of the past.

In case studies and projects, our students create persuasive data narratives about specific companies. First, they analyze empirical datasets to isolate a problem or identify a trend, then they support their conclusions with charts, graphs, and other visuals. Finally, they translate their findings into stories that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of their chosen businesses.

We emphasize that students shouldn’t get so lost in the details that they miss the bigger picture. When they’re communicating their findings, they should focus on conveying the core message succinctly. If they can’t summarize their story in one line, they need to rethink their narratives—an aspect of storytelling that many students find most challenging. But this skill is essential, because the two-minute elevator pitch is now a relic of the past. Today, marketers have just seconds to capture someone’s attention and get their messages across.

Ethics. We ensure that our students are fully aware of the potential biases and errors inherent in AI. For instance, large language models can “ hallucinate ,” or perceive patterns that do not exist. In addition, generative AI tools can insert or perpetuate biases by using real-world datasets that contain prejudices related to race, gender, age, and other factors.

To prepare students to handle the moral complexities they will inevitably face, each week we debate news articles and engage in open discussions about the implications of technology. In one class, we covered actress Scarlett Johansson’s potential lawsuit against OpenAI, which allegedly created an AI chatbot whose voice sounded much like Johansson’s in the movie “ Her .” On another occasion, we talked about Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble, who recently revealed that the dating app will use AI to enhance the user experience.

These discussions aim to raise awareness of evolving trends and their potential impact on students and their future environments.

Competitive Skills

At VSB, we emphasize practical applications that allow students to use their AI knowledge in real-world scenarios. As part of this approach, we encourage students to participate in marketing competitions where they can develop AI-driven strategies that showcase their skills and creativity. When students incorporate AI into their pitches, they set themselves apart with both their technical skills and their ability to think strategically.

Last fall, a team of VSB students participated in the Digital Marketing Competition hosted by the Purdue University Northwest College of Business in Hammond, Indiana. Held every semester, the competition challenges students to develop comprehensive marketing strategies and present them in eight-minute video submissions that are evaluated by a panel of industry professionals.

We encourage students to participate in marketing competitions where they can develop AI-driven strategies that showcase their skills and creativity.

VSB’s team, known as Wildcat Consulting, prepared marketing for Sole Search, a company that produces wearable GPS tracking devices that attach to kids’ shoes and helps prevent child abductions. Wildcat Consulting relied on extensive research to show how AI tools could create engaging video content and personalized email marketing campaigns, saving the company time and money.

As part of their entry, students proposed that the company use machine learning to provide route monitoring and AI-generated daily notifications to keep parents up to date. For example, five days a week, a child might get off the bus and walk by the corner house to go home. If the child veers off the predicted path, Sole Search sends a notification to the parents’ phones.

In addition, the students sought ways to help Sole Search reach potential clients looking for ways to ensure the safety of their children. Specifically, students recommended that the company implement an automated bidding strategy for Google searches. This is a digital marketing tactic in which business owners don’t tell Google how much they’re willing to pay each time a user clicks on their ad; instead, Google adjusts bids depending on how likely it is the ad will attract and convert customers.

The team complemented these tech-based approaches with traditional marketing techniques such as a new brand, a new logo, enhanced keywords, and paid social media advertising. Wildcat Consulting’s entry included an all-encompassing marketing strategy that featured an AI-generated video—and earned them a spot as finalists in the competition.

Prepared for the Future

At VSB, we want our marketing students to develop a blend of technical, analytical, and storytelling skills so they will be ready to adapt to new technologies and leverage AI to drive marketing success. Even so, we emphasize that the tools they will use throughout their careers will consistently change, but their objective as marketing professionals will remain the same: to derive insights from data.

When our students learn to harness the power of AI to transform marketing, they will become valuable additions to any company because they will know how to use data to tell effective stories. As AI continues to evolve, these graduates will be prepared to evolve—and excel—along with it.

• artificial intelligence
• career prep
• data analytics
• future of work
• learner success
• marketing and communications