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Unilever is hiring an army of influencers to help sell its products as its new chief executive claimed customers are “suspicious” about traditional advertising.
The Marmite and mayonnaise maker has announced plans to spend heavily on social media stars in the coming years, in the hope of winning over shoppers on sites such as TikTok.
Fernando Fernandez, who took the helm earlier this month after the surprise exit of Hein Schumacher, said he wanted “at least one influencer” promoting Unilever’s brands in each area of every country.
He suggested that in some countries, he would want as many as 100 influencers.
Mr Fernandez, who was previously Unilever’s chief financial officer, said: “Today brands are by default suspicious. Messages from brands coming from corporations are suspicious messages. So, creating marketing activity systems in which others can speak for your brand at scale is very important.
“This is one of the things I will drive like hell in the company in the next few years. Desirability at scale and marketing activity systems of ‘others say’ at scale will be the fundamental principles of our marketing strategy. I’m 100pc behind that.”
This “social-first” strategy is expected to mean that as much as 50pc of its advertising spend is allocated to influencers and celebrities.
Mr Fernandez said the biggest change at the company would be in marketing, adding: “I need to really ensure that that happens in the company.”
His comments, made during a fireside chat with Barclays last week, were the first public statements made by Mr Fernandez since becoming Unilever’s chief executive.
He was catapulted into the role after the departure of Mr Schumacher, who was ousted after less than two years in the top job.
Under Mr Schumacher, Unilever sought to tone down the company’s “social purpose” mission and scaled back its environment, social and governance (ESG) targets.
However, this was not enough to significantly boost Unilever’s share price.
Announcing the change in management last month, Ian Meakins, Unilever’s chairman, said that there was “much further to go to deliver best-in-class results”.
He said the shake-up led by Mr Schumacher had put Unilever on the path to an improved performance.
Unilever is preparing to spin off its ice cream division, with plans to list the €15bn (£12.5bn) Magnum business in Amsterdam. It will also have secondary listings in New York and London.
Mr Schumacher last month denied snubbing London, claiming Unilever had to take into account an earlier commitment to the Dutch government over a food and refreshments listing.