Unilever to use social media to aid product development

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Unilever is planning to create bespoke social networks across its brands to involve consumers in its product development process.


The FMCG giant, which spent £148m in 2009 on advertising for brands including Lynx, Magnum and Pot Noodle, is to integrate social media into product development and insight following a trial with men’s fragrance Lynx Twist in the UK and the US.

Unilever’s move highlights a trend among advertisers to create invite-only online communities to gain greater understanding of consumer opinions.

David Cousino, consumer marketing insights global category director at Unilever, said brands should be looking to online communities for innovation as well as for gaining consumer insight. “If you look at what’s happening online, not just on the social networks, the consumer has a voice as never before and brands need to listen more. Even if a brand doesn’t want to engage with consumers on that level, it will be forced to,” he said.

Cousino said other categories at Unilever that have passionate customer groups, including savoury foods, ice cream and haircare, were already using communities as a way to source creativity. “There are two ways of doing it. You could wait for something to go wrong and then use the community to fix it, but why not leverage the creative ability in the community that’s already out there?”




Source: New Media Age





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