Technology convergence is set to dramatically change how people consume media and the best ways for marketers to try and reach them, according to Keith Weed, global chief marketing officer of Unilever.
Weed was speaking to JWT at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US this week and left no doubt about the need for marketers to find new ways of communicating in the age of convergence.
He said: "Connectivity, and everything joining-up, changes [everything] completely.
"When you have a connected TV, that's just now one platform, and we're going to have think one platform much more, in terms of how we engage with our consumers and how we build campaigns."
The global marketer behind world leading brands Cif, Knorr and Walls, and who famously gave his fellow marketers and board members iPads when he began his role in 2010, also revealed he'd been holding meetings with digital giants Google and Facebook.
Underlining the importance in being prepared for such shifts in media consumption, he said: "We're a mass market consumer goods business, we’re engaging with two billion consumers every day, and for me I need to understand about where those consumers are going, how do they consumer media, how do they live their lives, how do they interact with our brands."
JWT Worldmakers is a new webs-based initiative hosted by Bob Jeffrey, chief executive and chairman of JWT Worldwide, designed to explore the convergence of advertising, technology and entertainment.
Launched at this year's 45th annual CES in Las Vegas, all episodes of Worldmakers are available on JWT’s YouTube channel.
Follow Arif Durrani on Twitter: @DurraniMix
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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.