Byravee Iyer
Sep 17, 2012

Spikes Asia 2012: Unilever brands take lead the in co-creation

Consumer products giant Unilever has begun to use consumers as a source for insights and ideas for two of its top brands, Closeup and Pond's

Ishita Sharma
Ishita Sharma

Speaking at a session on consumer creativity on the first day of Spikes 2012, Neil Trinidad, global marketing manager for Pond's, said the company decided to collaborate with Eyeka after getting a little weary of showcasing women as passive recepients of love.

"Love and romance have always played a key role in Pond's brand story, but while they were engaging, today's modern woman is no longer a damsel in distress," said Trinidad. "She can initiate love."

Together with co-creation company Eyeka, the Pond's team asked consumers to create short videos of about 30 to 60 seconds of their own love stories either through film or animation.

"These videos gave us access to places where the brand wasn't even present," he added.

For the company's oral care brand Closeup, the objective of co-creating campaigns with consumers was to break category convention and make oral care equivalent to personal care, while also establishing its functional benefits of white teeth and fresh breath, said Ishita Sharma, Closeup's global brand manager.

Sharma and the team were so impressed by the videos and ideas from consumers that they decided to use it across traditional media, Closeup's official website, Facebook and mobile.

"We really wanted to move away from traditional storytelling to story building," she said.

According to Sharma, this gave the brand team access to creative juices from 200,000 minds across 146 countries. "It's an explosion of creativity, where earlier we had three or five ideas sent for research, today we have hundreds."

Sharma concluded the session by urging agencies to tap into these insigts to formulate strategies. 

This article first appeared on Campaign Asia-Pacific

Source:
Campaign India

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Related Articles

Just Published

10 hours ago

Unraveling brand boycotts: What are the top ...

Shunning companies whose products pose health risks, such as containing toxic or cancer-causing substances, stands out as the primary motivation for consumers worldwide to cancel brands.

10 hours ago

WPP chief exec Mark Read targeted by deepfake scammers

Fraudsters used AI in Microsoft Teams meeting with the 'agency leader'.

10 hours ago

Picks of the week: Mother's Day campaigns 2024

From McDonald's to Mother Dairy, these are our top picks for the most heart-heartwarming and tear-jerking campaigns for mums in 2024.

14 hours ago

Why data is leading disruption in the communications...

Roshan Mohan of Pepper Communications asserts that the days of PR professionals adopting a one-size-fits-all approach in hopes of resonating with the masses are over. Today, survival in the industry hinges on leveraging data.