Unilever improves transparency in influencer marketing

Unilever, which markets such famous brands as Magnum, Omo, Luxe and Lifebuoy, wants more transparency in the world of influencer marketing (marketing mentions by celebrities and social-media stars who have many followers and who serve as opinion leaders).

When a major marketing power like Unilever takes a stand, the advertising and social media ecosystems take notice.

Unilever's chief marketing officer says the company's brands will neither buy followers nor have a marketing relationship with influencers who buy followers. The company is also prioritising relationships with digital platforms that promote transparency.

The background: Unilever respects and appreciates the close, organic connection between influencers and their followers. After all, that's why these influencers have an influence on consumers. So Unilever wants brand fans to know it will not be associated with those who buy followers to boost their numbers on social media.

This is the next step in Unilever's initiative to increase trust and integrity in influencer marketing whilst also reducing 'toxic content' online. Read more about Unilever's pledge to improve transparency here.

Unilever makes marketing more productive, transparent

How does Unilever make marketing more productive? Unilever has a broad portfolio of products and brands, from Axe/Lynx personal care products and Dove skin care products to Knorr soups and Hellman's condiments. Its overall marketing budget exceeds €7 billion.  

Higher productivity of marketing spend and assets would result in more efficiency and a cost savings that could be put towards more marketing, higher frequency or extended audience reach.

Firstly, the global company has decided to handle some promotional tasks in-house rather than paying agencies to do that work. Because its in-house experts know the products so well and can quickly check with decision-makers for approvals or changes, the company gains a bit more control over the marketing content and saves money at the same time. It also can handle its own pre- and post-implementation analysis, quantifying results quickly to assess marketing performance.

Also, Unilever is reassessing its digital marketing and will invest only in platforms that have a positive societal impact. In other words, it won't tolerate social media platforms that tolerate hate speech or other negativity. Unilever brands have built up consumer trust over the decades and won't risk losing trust due to a negative platform experience. This adds to transparency, as well as the company's blockchain initiative (with IBM) to improve digital ad placement info and combat fraud.

Apparently, Unilever will change its headquarters structure. For many decades, it has been an "Anglo-Dutch" multinational. News reports indicate the company may change to a single HQ in Netherlands. This should slim bureaucracy and speed decision-making, whether or not it's related to Brexit.

Brands, transparency and social media

Brands are understandably concerned about how consumers view marketing activities on social media and, actually, how social media influence consumers and society.

For instance, are brands transparent about who they are and what they do in advertising and social media? Among UK consumers responding to a recent survey, more than half say brands are not transparent about their use of social-media influencers. This is a small part of a larger challenge that has been developing in recent years.

Unilever is unhappy with the way social media are being used to spread hate and divide society. Given the company's multibillion-pound advertising/social media budget, its ideas and its expenditures are closely watched by the marketing world.

The company recently outlined a three-point pledge to publicly demonstrate its commitment to positive communications and transparent digital interaction.

• Unilever will not do business with any social media platform that fails to protect children or that fans the flames of societal divisions.
• Unilever will continue to fight stereotypes and promote diversity through initiatives like its #unstereotype campaign.
• Unilever will support digital channels that make a good customer experience their priority.

YouTube, for one, has publicly responded, saying: 'We want to do the right set of things to build [Unilever’s] trust. They are building brands on YouTube, and we want to be sure that our brand is the right place to build their brand'.

UK marketing trends for 2018

2018

What trends should UK marketers pay particular attention to in 2018? Here are what some experts say:

• Influencer marketing will be increasingly important. Whether a marketer wants to reach a highly targeted audience or reach a broader market, influencers (opinion leaders) on social media can demonstrate products, explain benefits or simply express their positive feelings about the brand. 
• Highly targeted content for specific segments. Content marketing tailored to each segment offers the benefit of relevant and timely information. With better audience analytics, marketers can therefore target content accordingly, when and where each audience is receptive.
• Stories are useful for engaging customers. Some brands are using cause-related marketing to tell their stories, reinforcing brand purpose and showing that profit isn't the only motive for marketing. 
• Trust in many brands must be strengthened. For transparency, be sure the brand promise is clear and specific and deliver on the promise by incorporating the brand's values through all aspects of marketing.

Transparency in marketing builds trust

In a world where consumers have more information, more choices and more power than ever before, transparency is needed to build trust and reinforce brand loyalty.

Transparent pricing is often a major concern, especially because different online sites may quote different prices for the same offering (airfares, for instance, and hotel rooms). Who can you trust to give you the best price?

'The transparency issue is not going away', says a vice-president of InterContinental Hotels Group. 'It's not only on our rates but also our company and who we do business with--corporate responsibility'. After InterContinental instituted a Best Rate Guarantee for customers who reserve rooms through its website, research showed that more than 80% of customers cited this price transparency as the main reason for their repeat purchasing and loyalty.

Yet pricing isn't the only marketing element that requires transparency. Scandals surrounding dangerous, deadly worker conditions in Bangladesh and China, and public outrage over horse meat found in food products, are only two areas that put behind-the-scenes conditions in the spotlight.

Customers, it turns out, really do care about ethics in the supply chain, starting with raw materials and moving through production and distribution. This is why Fair Trade food products are increasingly popular, and even smartphones made from ethically-sourced parts are starting to attract customers.

Transparency is a major point of differentiation for upmarket goods, in particular. Brunello Cucinelli, Italy's 'King of Cashmere', recently paid his 700 employees a significant bonus for their skilled work on chic cashmere knitwear (as in photo at right). 'Luxury consumers want to know, or will want to know, that their goods are made humanely', Cucinelli explains.

Facebook and Transparency

Facebook has changed its privacy controls yet again, and many users are unhappy. The Guardian writes about FB's "megalomania" in wanting to control the web. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has prepared a timeline showing FB's movement away from privacy.

Information about FB users, the connections they make, the pages they like, the apps they use, all are at the heart of this matter. Marketers need data to do a better job of personalising communications and offers. FB fan pages are a wonderful way for marketers to stay in touch with people who like their goods and services.

However, every time FB changes its privacy controls, users have to go through the process of checking their old settings and understanding any new settings or they'll share more data more publicly than they expect. Some FB features can lead to unintentional info sharing, which users may not want.

More transparency, please: FB should opt for more privacy as the default setting and offer users the ability to share information more widely if they choose.

Click! You've Bought a Cow

If you're active on Facebook or MySpace, chances are you play or know someone who plays Farmville or the Mafia Wars or Pet Society. The games are free, but every time you click to buy a cow or another virtual product to advance your standing in the game, you add to the revenue of developers like Zynga, Playdom and Playfish. In fact, Playfish was recently acquired by Electronic Arts, a combination that will only intensify the competition in this fast-growing market.

The social media angle adds to the enjoyment and the buzz has credibility because users recruit users. Farmville, introduced by Zynga, acquired 60 million monthly players in just a few months as players posted their scores and achievements on Facebook and invited friends to join the fun.

Yet some of the games are drawing criticism because players don't always understand the advertised offers for virtual products or subscriptions and inadvertently make purchases they didn't intend to make, says Time magazine.

To earn and retain the trust of players, game developers must be sure that offers are clear and unambiguous. Online, as in the off-line world, marketing transparency is the key to long-term success.