Tag: Unilever

Singapore – Held on April 6, 2022, MARKETECH APAC, in partnership with Smartly.io, roped in top APAC marketing leaders to discuss and uncover the present key opportunities and challenges in social advertising today in the webinar ‘Social Advertising Trends in APAC 2022’. 

Stewart Hunter, the director for customer success of Smartly.io for APAC, presented the key trends in social advertising which included the different platforms where marketers are currently investing their social media advertising spend, and other platforms they are looking to increase spending, as well as the biggest external and internal challenges for marketers when it comes to the social advertising process. 

Most importantly, Hunter talked about the rise of multiplatform advertising – how such a strategy is becoming imperative as brands need to meet where their consumers are, who are now on various platforms. 

Meanwhile, joining the panel discussion are David Lim, the vice president for marketing at HappyFresh; May Ling Chan, the CMO of KFC Malaysia; and Jappy Posadas, the U-Studio lead of Unilever Indonesia. The said marketing leaders shared what each of their unique challenges are in social advertising and the strategies they employ to make sure they keep winning in the space. 

HappyFresh’s Lim shared about pain points and key solutions being in the grocery space, while KFC’s Chan discussed how a local brand anchored to a global branding is managing the social advertising process to be relevant in a region. Meanwhile, Unilever’s Posadas shared his expert insights on branding and the key ingredients that would make up an ‘unmissable’ social advertising strategy. 

Overall, there were a total of 169 marketing professionals who graced the webinar, with the majority of marketers representing the retail & e-commerce industry, followed by financial services and travel & hospitality. Participants included brands like Affin Bank, AirAsia, Fave, Four Points by Sheraton, Hong Leong Bank, Lamudi, Shopee, SM Retail, Sun Life, and Traveloka, among others. 

Meanwhile, region-wise, the webinar was attended by marketers representing a diverse set of markets, with attendees hailing from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. 

“Social media has become more than just what it was made originally for. We now do everything on this platform, and this industry discussion is important to have us pulled back and see how brands can continue their social advertising efforts that would truly resonate with and reach where consumers are,” said Shaina Teope, the regional editor of MARKETECH APAC.

Meanwhile, Khush Karai, APAC marketing lead of Smartly.io, commented, “Partnering up with MARKETECH APAC for this webinar was a pleasant experience and the overall process was smooth. The team also delivered regular updates and tracking leading up to the webinar date as they promised.”

On-demand access to the webinar is now available. Get your access HERE.

Manila, Philippines – Food and beverage brand Knorr in the Philippines, which is under Unilever, has recently launched a new campaign as part of Unilever’s ‘Future Foods’ agenda, aiming to fight undernutrition in the country. 

Featuring well-known local basketball player Marc Pingris, as well as two other notable individuals – a multi-awarded teacher and the first-ever Tigwahanon Manobo medical graduate – the ad highlights that their success all thanks to a combination of hard work as well as eating nutritious vegetable meals, made more delicious by Knorr’s line of products.

The ad, made by creative agency MullenLowe TREYNA, is part of the launch for Knorr’s enhanced ‘Nutri-Sarap’ Nutrition Program, which focuses on two things—education and product improvement.

Under the program, Knorr strengthens its partnership with various government agencies, LGUs and NGOs—including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network, and National Nutrition Council as well as Pilipinas Kontra Gutom—to educate parents on how to prepare healthy, delicious, and affordable home-cooked meals for their families.

“The brand believes that the greatest weapon one can use in this battle is knowledge. And through its different partners, Knorr is disseminating information that empowers parents to build healthy eating habits for their kids and diversify their family’s diet, especially in areas where help is needed the most,” the company said in a press statement.

Meanwhile, Kristine Go, vice president for foods and refreshments at Unilever Philippines, commented, “We’re doing everything we can to help secure a brighter future for the Filipinos. In the past, aside from education, we were also able to sustain feeding programs that we are proud to say have really made a huge difference in the lives of beneficiaries. With the pandemic limiting our movements, our search for more ways to make nutrition more accessible led us to implement improvements to our well-loved products.”

Singapore – Unilever and foodpanda have partnered to now provide 24/7 on-demand ice cream deliveries through its cloud grocery network pandamart and foodpanda shops. 

Through the partnership, Unilever will be leveraging foodpanda’s quick-commerce tech infrastructure and extensive logistics network to reach a wider customer base in the region, delivering more than 20 varieties of Ben & Jerry, Magnum, and Wall’s ice cream products across Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as Pakistan, and the Philippines. 

Furthermore, foodpanda and Unilever will collaborate on new product launches, bundle deals, and promotional campaigns for customers. They will also be working on optimizing digital advertising and customer engagement on the platform, which includes strategic placements of digital banners on the platform, the creative use of in-app notifications, and campaigns on social media to grow and deepen engagement with digitally savvy customers in Asia. 

Unilever’s Chief Delivery Officer Sapan Sharma said, “Our partnership with foodpanda helps us serve consumers by delivering smiles to their doorsteps in less than 25 minutes! In times like these, our partnership helps us spread happiness to customers all around Asia.”

Meanwhile, Abhishek Sahay, the senior director of new business at foodpanda, commented that they are thrilled about this opportunity to be chosen by Unilever as a delivery partner. 

“As customers increasingly turn to foodpanda for their daily needs, we continue to invest in our technology and q-commerce network to grow our daily offerings with both big and small retail partners,” said Sahay. 

From mid-June 2021, in order to show their appreciation to riders, foodpanda and Unilever will also be distributing over 20,000 ice-cream products to riders in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, as a free ice cream treat.

Singapore – Consumer brands behemoth Unilever, with a vast portfolio of beauty and wellness products, has just unveiled the great strides it has recently taken for its communications and advocacy. 

Unilever has always been dedicated to its global commitment to positive beauty, and its Philippine leg has just launched its contribution to the advocacy – one that not just aims to innovate its engagement to consumers but one that seeks to uplift common beauty standards. 

The new MANifesto.PH is Unilever Philippines’ online publication that focuses on men’s care, providing practical tips and advice on grooming, wellness, and other male concerns. The digital destination aims to encourage men to take better care of their skin, hair, and overall health. While beauty and everything related to the concept and practice of it is oftentimes anchored to women, the new platform is serving as a great step towards making grooming and wellness more inclusive. 

MANifesto.PH

The new content hub was created with content marketing agency Green Park Content (GPC). Francis Almirante, Unilever Philippines’ digital transformation manager for beauty and personal care, comments on GPC’s work, “GPC is a thought leader in SEO and content – they have a keen understanding of how search intent can dictate strategic paths for our brands to influence consumer behavior.

MANifesto.PH is part of the overall latest online publication by the Philippine arm, BeautyHub.PH. The main online portal is likewise developed by GPC. 

BeautyHub.PH

With a dedicated goal to push the inclusivity of beauty forward, BeautyHub.PH is positioned to become a one-stop destination for all beauty advice and inspiration for people of all colors, shapes, and sizes. It eyes to champion equal representation with content to shine light on every skin tone, age group, hair needs, and body type, and amplifying the conversation on physical appearances that are continued to be stigmatized, such as stretch marks and dark skin.    

“We’re proud to have this incredible opportunity to produce Unilever Philippines’ brand-new content platform. BeautyHub.PH will bridge between Unilever’s products and its audiences through insightful storytelling that delivers value and promotes inclusivity and diversity,” said GPC Asia Managing Director Marcelo Bittencourt.

GPC, a global agency that opened its first office in the region in 2017, worked on BeautyHub.PH and MANifesto.PH for over a year, with the scope of work including strategy, branding, UX and UI design, content strategy, SEO, and editorial content creation. 

Creative & Brand Strategy Director for GPC APAC, Fe Husaint, said, “GPC is privileged to help Unilever deliver this purposeful project to shape a world that champions inclusivity & diversity. So we are proud to work on the brand identity and communication strategy for BeautyHub.PH.”

BeautyHub.PH and MANifesto.PH represents a move by Unilever towards brand publishing, using SEO-driven editorial and content. Both hubs aim to help customers in their search journey, making Unilever personal care brands have greater discoverability using the power of search. In true magazine and brand publishing style, all content is intent-led, with the brands woven seamlessly into the narrative.

Singapore – Another global beauty brand has exclusively partnered with Shopee, and this time, it involves AI chatbots.

Following its Olay tie-up, Shopee has partnered with Unilever-owned skincare brand POND’S to launch the “Smarter Skincare Just For You” regional campaign, which will integrate POND’S skin analysis tech, Skin Advisor Live (SAL) AI chatbot, exclusively on the platform for the first time. 

Pond’s said that through SAL – which only requires users to upload a selfie to get started – users can gain a deeper understanding of their skin and be matched with the most effective skincare products, all from the comfort of their homes.

SAL was first launched on Facebook Messenger across nine countries last year, where according to POND’S, 98% of consumers cited that they enjoyed their interactions with SAL. POND’S also said the feature generated more than 15 times higher purchase intent as compared to its current landing site, and consumers were spending up to three times more time on SAL. 

Our mission has always been to provide consumers with expert skincare solutions to enable them to look their best every day. When faced with so many beauty choices available online, we understand it can be overwhelming and challenging for consumers to pick the right skincare products for their needs. By integrating SAL, POND’S virtual beauty advisor on Shopee’s robust chat platform, we can help consumers quickly find the products that suit their unique skin type.

Rohit Bhasin, Global Brand Vice President, POND’S

The campaign will be leveraging Shopee’s marketing tools and core engagement features. For a start, SAL carries a “Buy Now” button, where users can be directed to the product detail page on Shopee Mall to learn more about the product before making a purchase.

The digital campaign will also be delivering engaging and relevant smart beauty content via Shopee KOLs, social media, and co-branded videos, where content will revolve around debunking beauty myths and equipping users with knowledge and tips to confidently discover and experiment with beauty products online. In addition, POND’S will roll out live stream engagements through live stream giveaways and rewards.

“This partnership will enable POND’S and Shopee to capture more digital-savvy consumers in the region and drive higher engagement, as e-commerce becomes an increasingly important channel of growth. In the region, e-commerce has contributed significantly to the growth of Unilever’s skincare category, year-over-year, hitting more than 400% in key markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam,” said Shopee in a press release.

We are honored to be the first and exclusive e-commerce platform to partner with POND’S on this innovative campaign. We’re always looking for ways to explore and launch new ideas, tech, and products with brands and to provide fresh experiences for our Shopee users who trust us for a seamless and unique shopping experience. This partnership comes at an opportune time to empower users to invest in quality products catered to their skincare needs through edutainment and promotional deals this holiday season.”

Ian Ho, Regional Managing Director, Shopee

The campaign on Shopee Mall will run for six months and will be rolled out in phases across four markets in Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, starting December.