Fernando Fernandez was appointed as the brand new CEO of Unilever just this month, but he has already set his sights high on influencer marketing.
In an interview with Warren Ackerman and his first public appearance as the new CEO, Fernandez detailed his plans for Unilever’s new marketing strategy which revolves around influencers.
“Today, brands, by definition and by default, are met with skepticism when their messages come directly from corporations,” Fernandez explained.
He said that creating marketing activity systems where others can “speak for your brand at scale” was “incredibly important” to him. “Influencers, celebrities, TikTokers - these are the voices that matter.”
Unilever’s social spend will be skyrocketing
Fernandez has been with the company since 1988 and has watched it grow into the powerhouse it is today. His first priority as CEO will be to boost social presence drastically, which will mean more opportunities for influencers to get involved and be at the forefront of Unilever’s social media.
“There are two things I will drive like hell: desirability at scale and marketing systems with what others say about our brands at scale,” Fernandez pressed. “Our marketing spend has moved from 13% in 2022 to now close to 16% which we see as a competitive level. Our spend on social [media] will move from 30% to 50% of our total spend. We will work with 20 times more influencers.”
It’s not just about numbers either
Fernandez isn’t just prioritising volume - it’s about reaching influencers all across the globe too.
"There are 19,000 zip codes in India and 5,764 municipalities in Brazil. I want at least one influencer in each of them. In some, I want 100,” he explained. It’s a huge shift from Unilever’s previous marketing strategies.
Unilever’s previous use of influencer marketing has been successful
It’s no surprise that Fernandez is prioritising the growth of influencer marketing when the company has had major success in the past. In 2023, it partnered with TikTok to create a content series which it called #CleanTok. It was viewed over 98.5 billion times by users just in its first year.
Unilever companies serve over 3.4 billion people every day, meaning their impact is felt across the world. However, Fernandez warned that there was still significant work to be done. With a presence in over 190 countries, he claimed that being “consciously uncompetitive” could have damaging effects on the company.
“I feel fixing some of the geographical issues we have – China, Indonesia, accelerating India – is very important for me at this point of time,” he explained. “We have not been good enough in rolling out our brands globally. I believe in the long run, we need a wider presence of our strongest brands.
“I will be all over the brand's plans, demand generation and in-market execution, that is where I will spend 95% of my time.”
