In today’s evolving media landscape, Unilever is exploring innovative ways to strengthen brand growth through a balanced and data-driven media strategy. Laurence Allen-Ruthven, Nutrition Media Lead Europe, oversees the media strategy across the European markets. His role includes optimising media investments and increasing the Nutrition category’s share of the total Brand Marketing Investment.
In this article, he delves into Unilever’s multi-faceted approach to media, covering how the company balances global and local strategies, experimentation with new media channels to reach younger audiences, and the importance of a long-term investment perspective. Lastly, he explains how Unilever’s focus on enhanced media measurement is driving optimisation across campaigns, and how he views the future of media.
Balancing Global and Local Media Strategy
Unilever’s approach to media strategy places significant emphasis on balancing global goals with local market nuances. While a unified media strategy creates consistency across Unilever’s key brands, the company tailors its messaging to reflect local market positions. For instance, in Germany, Knorr is a market leader and heritage brand, while in the UK, it is in a more competitive scratch-cooking category. These regional differences require unique media approaches to ensure each brand resonates appropriately with local audiences.
“One of the benefits of working closely with local markets is identifying common challenges. You often find that, despite market differences, there are shared questions—such as how much we should be investing in specific media channels or how best to measure campaign impact. By maintaining a local connection, we’re able to offer support and address these questions effectively,” Laurence says. This commitment to localised strategy allows Unilever to adapt flexibly, supporting both global brand coherence and local market relevance.
“You often find that, despite market differences, there are shared questions. By maintaining a local connection, we’re able to offer support and address these questions effectively.”
Experimenting with New Media Channels
In a bid to stay relevant with younger, harder-to-reach consumers, Unilever has begun experimenting with non-traditional media channels, such as cinema and gaming. For example, cinema was tested in the Netherlands with the Unox brand to effectively reach younger audiences, achieving high engagement and brand KPI results.
Gaming has also emerged as a promising channel for Unilever’s nutrition brands, allowing the company to engage with a dedicated audience through in-game ads, Twitch streaming, and sponsorship of esports events in the UK and Germany. “These events have enabled us to blend experiential marketing with targeted brand messages for both in-person audiences and online viewers on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube,” Laurence says. These trials highlight Unilever’s willingness to innovate in its media mix, expanding beyond traditional channels to reach consumers where they naturally engage, but it’s also about staying relevant.
“There’s a distinct language, certain stereotypes, and even cultural nuances linked to gaming, but if you enter the space authentically, the audience is receptive,” Laurence mentions an example with Pot Noodle in the UK where Unilever collaborated with Twitch streamers and influencers.
One influencer even advised other brands to do ‘what Pot Noodle did’; showing up authentically, and connecting Pot Noodle to gaming by framing it as a quick, satisfying snack for long gaming sessions. “This approach resonated with the gaming community and worked well for us,” Laurence adds.
“There’s a distinct language, certain stereotypes, and even cultural nuances linked to gaming, but if you enter the space authentically, the audience is receptive.”
Long-term vs. Short-term Investment in Media
Navigating the balance between long-term brand building and short-term sales activation remains a central focus for Unilever. The company recognises that brand health requires a steady, long-term investment across diverse media channels, avoiding the temptation to over-prioritise immediate sales tactics at the expense of sustained brand growth. “It’s vital to keep this balanced approach in mind because, when budgets fluctuate, it’s easy to make reactive decisions. Media works best with sustained focus, so we need to look 18 months to two years ahead to reinforce our message, maintain a consistent channel mix, and reach those light and infrequent buyers over time.”
Laurence agrees that campaigns can wear out over time, but this depends on two things; the specific asset and the brand’s communication platform. He gives an example, “For instance, with TV ads or specific campaigns, we might change assets too soon, before they’ve had a chance to reach saturation. However, a brand’s position or communication platform—its core message—doesn’t really wear out.” By maintaining this long-term view and integrating both above-the-line and retail media into its plans, Unilever aims to strengthen its brands’ positions and create a more cohesive consumer journey.
“A brand’s position or communication platform—its core message—doesn’t really wear out.”
Media Measurement and Optimisation
To maximise the effectiveness of its media strategy, Unilever has expanded its measurement capabilities to assess media impact on brand health and business outcomes. A key area of focus is understanding how different media channels and campaigns contribute to both sales and soft brand metrics like brand familiarity and recall. Laurence explains, “Looking at the correlation between our media mix, specific campaigns, and sales impact, mainly through marketing mix modelling helps us understand the business outcomes of media investments.”
He continues, “Additionally, we assess the impact of campaigns on softer brand metrics such as brand perception. This is done by looking at overall brand strength as a gauge of brand health within a market, though it doesn’t always reveal how individual campaigns affect brand perception compared to competitors.”
For nutrition, the main focus is understanding how campaigns impact soft brand metrics and sales, allowing Laurence’s team to optimise the messaging and channel mix to increase advertising recall, familiarity, and brand preference. This data-driven approach empowers Unilever to continually optimise its channel mix and creative strategy, ensuring that each media investment contributes to both immediate business objectives and longer-term brand equity.
“Looking at the correlation between our media mix, specific campaigns, and sales impact, mainly through marketing mix modelling helps us understand the business outcomes of media investments.”
The Future of Media
When asked about how he sees the future of media relevance for Unilever and beyond, Laurence has one key message, “Media is always evolving, but certain fundamentals remain the same.”
By that, he means to reach a broad audience, show up with the right message, and maintain a diverse channel mix to build mental saliency, remains the same. What’s changing is technology and data proliferation. Retail media is also a major focus at the moment, and by tapping into loyalty data and in-store channels, brands can reach people more contextually. He concludes, “We’re staying close to these developments but also cautious. Media planning fundamentals haven’t changed dramatically; it’s more about optimising within those foundations.”
“Media planning fundamentals haven’t changed dramatically; it’s more about optimising within those foundations.”