Unilever is now investing a fifth of its entire media spend on digital platforms, as the FMCG giant looks to improve marketing efficiency and become a ‘simple, effective’ marketing organisation.
The move marks a 3% increase on the 17% spent in 2013, and will include a significant focus on on targeting consumers via mobile.
The news comes as sales at the company grew 2.1% in the third quarter, down from 3.7% in the first half of the year. Meanwhile sales in emerging markets slowed down to 5.6% and by 2.5% in developed markets.
Emerging markets, key for Unilever, have taken a dive in recent months, with Brazil sliding into recession, China facing what may be its worst slowdown in 24 years and Russia dealing with Western sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.
That has hurt the whole sector, with Nestle, Coca-Cola, Heineken and Reckitt Benckiser also reporting disappointing results this quarter.
Unilever chief executive Paul Polman told investors on a call this morning that the continued focus on digital marketing has led it reap better return on investment than via mainstream channels.
“We are getting better returns on investment as we direct more of our advertising spend to digital which is now nearly 20 per cent of the total and where the returns are exceeding those of traditional advertising when done well.
“We are particularly focussed on advertising on mobile devices as you know and this is by far the fastest growing media channel.”
The change forms part of a wider cost-cutting drive at Unilever, as it cuts back on agency fees and production costs.