Unilever opens up to deliver smart PR for consumer brands

published 2006

If you want evidence of how marketers are stepping ‘outside the square’ and employing fresh thinking - including a heavy use of consumer and brand PR - then take a look at Unilever in Australia.

Unilever was once the classic advertising-driven marketer.  The brand was the hero - and consumers learnt of them primarily through TV.  The actual company name was  virtually unknown to consumers, with it simply being a name on the back of the pack.  Its corporate philosophy appeared to be to stay invisible.

Not so today.  Unilever is still a large advertiser.  But it is the type of advertising and their use of other elements of the modern marketing mix - including PR - that has lead to some of the most ‘edgy’ and agile consumer campaigns seen in this market eg Lynx and Dove which are also attracting their share of controversy and criticism.

But the ‘new look’ Unilever seems to be prepared for this.  They are complementing their consumer aggressiveness with some worthwhile community projects.  And they are backing this up with use of a website that creates an impression of being open and informative - and very much part of Australian business and the community. 

That makes them stand out among the multi-nationals in Australia that are often good at selling and marketing but are seemingly indifferent and reticent communicators in general.

So what has Unilever has been doing and why do they stand out as an organisation that seems to intuitively know how to integrate PR - both consumer and corporate - into the business?

 What is Unilever doing on the consumer front?

Dove and Lynx are two products that stand out among Unilever’s myriad of products.

Dove has unveiled a range of initiatives that couldn’t be further away from the stereotype image of Unilever as a conventional mainstream advertiser.

• It started with its “Campaign for Real Beauty” that purports to feature “real women” and had its beginnings in a 10 nation survey of 3300 women entitled ‘you’ve told us’. It uses a strong mix of both advertising and PR. 
• In the US, a PR initiative has been for Dove to financially support the Woodhull Institute, an educational organisation that provides training and development help for women. Naomi Wolfe is a Board member.
• In Australia another PR initiative has seen Dove go into partnership with the Victorian Government to hold BodyThink workshops for 5000 school students.

In late July Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” won a premier award at the Public Relations Society of America’s Award for a campaign that “breaks all the rules, takes strategic risks and insists that the team and the consumer step outside their comfort zone to earn greater rewards”.

And with its Australian-conceived and executed Lynx campaign, it hit its target audience through the promotion of a fictitious airline with glamorous hostesses.  This was launched initially as an advertising initiative, but it benefited from considerable PR support.

What’s Unilever doing in the Australian community?

Unilever is not alone among multi-nationals in putting something into the community - and it runs several programs.

However, seemingly typical of the  ‘new’ Unilever, one of them that is attracting significant attention and winning plaudits actually revolves around Unilever employees - rather than the typical approach of simply giving dollars.

Called 'Reading for Life' it is a volunteer reading program which is helping primary school children experiencing reading difficulties.  But the twist on this is that the support for the children is all done by Unilever employees who volunteer 45 minutes per week for 15 weeks.

How is Unilever presenting itself corporately?

Unilever has clearly decided to throw off its anonymity if its web site is anything to go by.  It is in stark contrast to most multi-nationals in Australia which tightly control what they say, and often don’t go past using their sites to showcase their products. On some it’s impossible to find even the name of a local executive.

In Unilever’s case it is a fresh, informative and open website.  Real people are featured on it - the whole Unilever executive team is profiled (even to the extent of outlining their family situation).  Unilever shows how it is contributing to the Australian community. As one would expect it profiles the product range - but not simply by extolling their virtues, but in some instances giving helpful guidance to consumers.

Unilever is also showing flexibility in its workplace practices, claiming that some 20 percent of its marketing team is working on 'some form' of 'flexible hours and stressing that it is seeking to give its 75 strong marketing team a better work-life balance.  Again, many of its competitors are likely doing the same thing - but Unilever is nt afraid to be communicating this with a recent issue of AdNews running a full page feature interviewing one of its local marketing chiefs.

What does this mean for Unilever’s public profile?

It’s hard to imagine any adult Australians not having been aware of Dove’s ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ and its ‘Lynx Airline’.  Advertising has been a key driver in delivering these concepts, but there’s been a lot of PR activity to support this and to add credibility.

Ironically, early in July 2006 two pieces of simultaneous publicity in Sydney summed up what can happen when a company like Unilever puts its head above the parapet.

ABC’s ‘Stateline” television program ran a lengthy item on Unilever’s ‘Reading for Life’ program that showed the organisation in a very positive light and portrayed it as a good corporate citizen

Then the following day’s Sydney Morning Herald had a derogatory opinion piece on Unilever and its Dove brand, emanating from its partnership with the Victorian Government to run workshops for children.  Unfortunate, but not business-breaking when viewed against the exposure Dove was getting with Victorian school children and their parents.

Conclusion

What’s impressive about Unilever is that its culture, approach and communication seems to be integrated.

Here's a company doing edgy things with its brands. Not just one brand - but a number.  Importantly it's using communication techniques and channels that largely resonate with today’s consumer.  

Their website creates a feeling that is compatible with their brand stance. Unilever is presented as being contemporary in its approach and outlook - from what they say on their site to how the executive team presents itself.

They are also playing a full role in the Australian community.  Not just giving away money - but actually 'touching' those that they are helping.

Finally, Unilever seems to be committed to its staff - giving marketing people at least a great deal of flexibility in their working conditions.

This is a company that is clearly able to make the 'think global' but 'act local' philosophy work.  Above all Unilever seems to be open for communication and dialogue.  It's not afraid to 'front' and take the good with the bad.

The days of the 'invisible' Unilever (or as Ad News called it -"the big old and one-time crusty marketing icon") seem to have gone.

Other multi-nationals may be doing as much as Unilever.  The difference is in the way Unilever chooses to communicate.