Marketing in a changing world: relevance as a growth engine

We’re entering a new era of marketing.

Digital acceleration and the democratisation of technology have sparked a profound shift in how people connect, opening up entirely new ways for brands to engage with them.

The volume of content is growing exponentially, offering limitless opportunities for discovery.

Attention is becoming scarcer, rewarding brands that show up with relevance and immediacy.

And people are seeking trusted voices, giving brands the chance to earn credibility through authentic, culturally grounded participation.

This is a completely new operating context. And yet, here’s the paradox. The mechanics of engagement may have changed dramatically, but the fundamentals of marketing have not.

Marketing has always been about mattering to people – their passions, rituals, identities – and building brands that connect deeply with them.

In this new landscape, growth belongs to the brands that stay relevant. Those that understand what people care about, how culture is evolving and where they can add value rather than noise.

Put simply – relevance is the engine of growth.

Relevance is the biggest factor driving brand growth

Fragmented attention and consumer discernment aren’t barriers – they’re opportunities. An invitation to show up with greater meaning in people’s lives.

And for that, you need both creativity and infrastructure. Think of it as poetry and plumbing. Poetry is the cultural intuition and creative courage that sparks ideas people care about. Plumbing is the operating backbone – the systems, data and AI capabilities – that allows you to optimise and scale those ideas quickly.

Today, that plumbing is more powerful than ever. It’s AI models that predict trends before they happen, content engines that generate, personalise and adapt thousands of assets in real time and measurement systems that link cultural participation directly to business growth.

Poetry creates emotional resonance and desire. Plumbing makes it repeatable and exponentially more effective; that’s how we create Desire at Scale.

Compounding interest: from mass reach to micro moments

Our approach is rooted in two key principles.

First, we go where consumers are. That means growing our brands by embedding them authentically in the spaces where trust, influence and real conversations happen. Today, culture is an ecosystem: from hyper‑local micro‑influencers to mass‑participation moments that capture global attention.

These are not opposite ends of a spectrum. Micro‑moments rooted in niche communities and mass moments like the FIFA World Cup fuel and strengthen each other. Creators, fans, commentators and communities pick up what happens on the global stage, reinterpret it and carry it into their own spaces. A single moment becomes a movement because the whole ecosystem amplifies it.

Second, we don’t just ‘show up’ in culture, we participate with intention. That starts with clarity on what the brand stands for, what makes it distinctive and where it has the credibility to contribute – and equally, where it doesn’t. That clarity drives depth. We go beyond surface level trends by spending time in our communities: listening, learning and uncovering the human nuances others overlook. It’s in those lived insights that the most meaningful opportunities for connection – and growth – are found.

How relevance is delivering results

The #VaselineVerified campaign tapped into millions of consumer-generated hacks shared across social channels and then validated them – or not – through lab testing by Unilever scientists. By embracing influencers as co-creators, the campaign delivered a 43% uplift in sales. It also earned recognition at the Cannes Lions Festival, including the prestigious Titanium Lion award. Relevance wasn’t an add‑on; it was the entire idea.

Working with Arsenal’s Women’s team, Dirt Is Good discovered that period stains left during play were a source of anxiety. Instead of quietly solving the problem of removing them, Dirt Is Good entered the conversation differently, reframing those stains as part of the game, in a campaign co-created with Arsenal Women players and a group of girls aged 13–18. That’s not sponsorship; that’s cultural participation. And that participation keeps paying off, ensuring that Dirt Is Good remains the No.1 fabric detergent globally.

Then there’s Dove. The core belief that women deserve a more honest, inclusive definition of beauty hasn’t changed in over 20 years. The way we express it has. Dove has continually evolved how it participates in culture. This momentum is fuelled by fresh, culturally resonant work – from Dove x Crumbl, which brought new shoppers into the brand, to a campaign built on Reddit reviews. That evolution drives real business impact. In 2025, Dove delivered strong growth in both our Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care business groups.

Connecting community, culture and commerce

In today’s world, consumer journeys are fluid, dynamic and shaped by the people, platforms and moments that matter to them. The brands that thrive are the ones that bring community, culture and commerce into a single, connected ecosystem.

The magic happens when these become indistinguishable. When relevance sparks engagement and engagement fuels commercial impact.

The brands that win – that grow – won’t be the loudest: they’ll be the most relevant.