Leveraging social insights and technology to meet changing consumer behaviours

Aaron, can you define a ‘social-first’ approach?

In simple terms, it means thinking about how our brands show up in culture and conversations.

In the past, we at Unilever did most of the talking about our brands. Today, we focus on building new models of reach, engagement and conversion for our brands with an emphasis on what others say about them to drive Desire at Scale.

This could be small groups of people who share common interests or larger groups, like a fandom.

The challenge is to understand how we can contribute authentically to these conversations, communities and cultures.

It is a new mindset that requires a new way of doing business to inspire desirability – from designing packaging to making our supply chains more agile to quickly respond to trends.

What is the role of technology in how we identify the social trends our brands can contribute to?

First of all, by listening – using innovative tools to uncover emerging conversations and cultural shifts. We are adopting an ‘always on’ approach to insights so that we can continuously identify shifts in culture and conversations that will shape our content and keep our brands ahead of the curve.

Truth sources are shifting for consumers.

We need to contribute to these conversations not by hijacking them but by bringing value through entertainment or information.

Can you give us an example?

Vaseline is a great case study. The brand listened to active #VaselineHacks communities that shared ingenious ways to use Vaseline jelly, from shining leather shoes to making perfume last longer.

With over 3.5 million posts organically sharing these Vaseline hacks, we saw an opportunity. Our R&D scientists verified the community hacks, and if the tip passed the test, it was awarded with official #VaselineVerified recognition.

The campaign has disrupted the social landscape, reshaping how Gen Z sees it, uses it and talks about it.

Picking up the prestigious Titanium award, among many other accolades, at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, the tremendous success of the campaign bears testimony of the power of this social-first approach.

Is social-first only about marketing?

Far from it. Demand generation also impacts demand fulfilment. When you market brands with a social-first approach, you also need an agile supply chain to be able to respond to sudden spikes in demand caused by an influencer. When making a purchase online, consumers expect a smooth and fast delivery.

In our factory in Hefei, China, we’ve invested in end-to-end, autonomous operations to create direct-to-consumer capabilities, meaning we can ship products from our factory directly to consumers. It is one of the innovations that led to Unilever being recognised in the Masters category of Gartner’s 2025 Supply Chain Top 25 Report for the seventh time in a row this year.

Do you have an example of how this new mindset affects product innovation?

Sure. Dove’s partnership with Crumbl Cookies is a wonderful example, because it all started with content originating from culture.

Crumbl is a viral dessert cookie sensation in the US that has inspired a very active, dedicated and large community. By listening to these communities, Dove tapped into this trending phenomenon, identified flavours that would resonate most, delighted fans and bridged the worlds of fragrance and flavour.

As a result, we launched at Walmart a limited-edition Crumbl-inspired body care range – from body wash to scrubs to deodorant – and it’s exceeding expectations, becoming the No.1 launch this year for Dove.

What role do AI and tech play in all this?

Technology and data are playing a crucial role in helping us make this tremendous shift.

For example, AI is helping us forecast demand more quickly by analysing social signals and decoding conversations at scale in multiple languages.

It is also generating and adapting creative content in more formats, channels and versions than was ever possible before.

Digital twin technology, for example, is being used by our brands to create a single digital truth for product images which can then be altered to match language or packaging needs.

This ability to speed up content creation is helping us create an ‘always on’ content pipeline so our teams can refocus their time from execution to insights and ideas.

How are we implementing cutting-edge innovation across our R&D to stay agile and respond to consumer signals quickly?

Digital tools are unlocking an unprecedented age of scientific discovery. Using advanced computing power and AI, we’re able to compress decades of lab work into days, and by mapping, modelling and experimenting virtually, we’re innovating faster than ever. Which all means that – partnered with ‘always on’ listening – we can now respond to consumer signals in record time.