Unilever, the makers of Knorr soups and Dove products, has decided to weave magic with their brand new marketing campaign, ‘crafting brands for life’, in the process, rewiring their existing marketing strategy. The campaign is expected to totally transform the marketing skills and thinking of Unilever. Perhaps the most intriguing facet of the campaign is its place of pilot implementation. Leveraging the diverse nature of India, the company has decided to roll out the campaign in India prior to introducing it in markets elsewhere.
Three major shifts prompting the need for a new campaign
There have been primarily three major shifts which has prompted Unilever to roll out ‘crafting brands for life’. The first among what the company considers as ‘seismic’ shifts is the increasing importance of emerging markets in world economy. The second being the unavoidable need to maintain sustainability and the final one being the impact of digital revolution. The radical transformation in marketing that these shifts have initiated across the world has been imbibed by Unilever as well, with Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of the multinational, being the first platform for the epic changes. India was chosen considering the diverseness of the nation as well as the immense growth prospects.
Unlocking the magic
According to Keith Weed, who is chief communications and marketing officer at Unilever Plc., crafting brands for life is a new approach that is supported by three pillars, namely, people, power of brands and finally what the company terms as ‘unlock the magic’. The last one intends the campaign to transcend beyond logic and create a spark equivalent to magic among the people.
The campaign is riddled with a lot of challenges which starts from the root involving a fundamental change in thinking brought about by new marketing skills and tools. With focus on people in a larger context, the campaign which will be implemented first by Hindustan Unilever will emphasize on building strong brands. Marketing and sustainability will be taken forward simultaneously to reflect the emerging jointed world.
In a scenario where people have identified the connection between sustainability and demand creation and impact on environment, Unilever draws its course forward via a project that aims at doubling their business while simultaneously halving their environment footprint. Whether it is Surf Excel or Lifebuoy, the company will now ensure that their products will have the elements of social mission and environment at their very core.
