Unilever Increases Social Media Influencer Hires

Unilever doubles down on influencers in response to shifts in media consumption habits and tech adoption.

Unilever is gearing up to hire more social media influencers to market its products because consumers are “suspicious” of corporate branding.

“Messages of brands coming from corporations are suspicious messages,” said new Chief Executive Fernando Fernandez, in his first public comments since taking over from ousted predecessor Hein Schumacher at the beginning of the month. “Creating marketing activity systems in which others can speak for your brand at scale is very important.”

“Unilever’s decision to amplify its social media investment and influencer collaborations is a strategic response to shifts in our media consumption habits and tech adoption. Increasingly we’re swapping traditional media for digital media and rejecting – or even blocking – advertising formats that interrupt our user experience. Brands now have to work harder to earn user attention,” said Thomas Walters, Europe CEO and Co-Founder at Billion Dollar Boy, a creator agency and partner to Unilever brands.   

This shift is encouraging more brands to pivot away from broad brush, one way ad spots via TV, radio and OOH channels and instead invest more in personalised social media first advertising. As a result, global social ad spend worldwide is projected to grow by almost 10% to a value of $433.28 billion by 2030. But, amid an escalating competition for consumer attention online, how do brands stand out among the crowd and ensure their investment goes further?

“Unilever’s solution is to double down on creators. They recognise that consumers trust people, not ads. As we enter a new era of advocacy driven marketing, leveraging the social authority and cultural relevance of creators can help brands to meet their audiences in the digital communities in which they exist and connect with them in a more deep, and meaningful way.”

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