When the chief marketing officer at Unilever (aka the world’s second biggest advertiser) speaks, we are obliged to listen. Indeed, Keith Weed doesn’t disappoint in our inaugural CMO Strategy interview as he makes a startling admission.
I’m not talking about Weed’s revelation that measuring social media’s ROI is ‘a big issue’ for Unilever, or that technology’s impact on marketing is so acute he felt the need to take a delegation of Unilever marketers on a Silicon Valley fact-finding mission last year. (Diageo marketers did exactly the same thing in 2010; hotel rooms in Palo Alto must be at a premium.)
But when Weed says he is ‘inspired’ by Old Spice’s The best your man could smell like’ campaign, from the house of arch rival Procter & Gamble, we know we have reached a new level in the battle for compelling content.
Yet what exactly does ‘content’ mean? The ASA is grappling with this issue as it . Meanwhile - footie highlights, user-friendly financial updates etc - is now its USP.
For the lazy marketer, content could mean plonking TV ads on YouTube, hoping for the free-media viral effect. Wasn’t Old Spice the most viral of ads in 2010?
It was, but what made Old Spice so viral is not just that it is human, but distinctive, memorable, and above all, funny and therefore the kind of content you want to share.
As Weed acknowledges, if content is treated as a cheap alternative to conventional advertising, it will remain passive and dull. On the other hand, if it captures our imaginations, it has the power of PR, but with the consumer as reporter and editor.
And with that kind of PR comes fame - and therefore, fortune.
About Me
- Keith Weed
- I am responsible for the marketing and communication functions at Unilever, a role that also includes leading Unilever's sustainability work, its drinking water business (Pureit) and the Unilever brand. Prior to this I was Executive Vice President for Global Home Care & Hygiene at Unilever, covering Fabric Cleaning, Fabric Conditioning, Household Cleaning Products, Oral Care and Potable Water. Previously I was Chairman of Lever Fabergé and Chairman of Unilever Export. I have worked for Unilever in the UK, France and the United States, as well as in a variety of global and regional management and marketing roles. Outside Unilever, I am a Fellow of The Marketing Society and, as an engineering graduate, a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. I am also a non-Executive Director of Sun Products Corporation.