Unilever spent $335m more on working media after cleanout

Industry Contributor 29 Apr 2019 - 2 min read

Unilever spent $335m more on working media after cleanout

By Paul McIntyre - Executive Editor

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There’s speculation that Keith Weed may not be directly replaced at Unilever (but also hints from the CEO, that actually he will be).

The company has noted "huge structural changes" around the definition of marketing. If the CMO role does go as part of a strategic overhaul, should chief marketers fear a domino effect as chief customer officers, chief growth officers, chief revenue officers and the like all start crimping on the CMO terrain? (Marketing Dive)

Key points:

• Weed to retire in May

• The Drum reports Weed may not be directly replaced with CMO title retired as part of restructure, citing unnamed industry sources; magazine also notes establishment of three separate marketing procurement teams

• In response, CEO Alan Jope says: "It's very hard to imagine that a marketing-led company like Unilever is not going to have a marketing voice at the executive table".

• Analysts point to rebadged roles at P&G (chief brand) and Coke (chief growth) as examples of change

Unilever CEO Alan Jope said Unilever spent "€300m more in working media and point of sale, over the last two years funded by a reduction in things like ad production and agency fees". The company, he said, would "continue to support our brands at competitive levels".

Unilever's cost saving initiatives are also funding M&A activity, which affords the new marketing boss plenty of new opportunity. As of late April, its shares were at an all time high.

Keith Weed's a hard act to follow. His recent initiatives make succession more manageable. Purging the number of agencies Unilever works with means fewer interfaces and moving parts. Building a trusted network of publishers with incentives aligned to transparency, good behaviour and data means the next incumbent steps into a cleaner environment and a defined set of frameworks in which to operate.

But there are strong headwinds facing parts of Unilever's business, particularly food, driven by changing consumer tastes in large mature markets and the rise of private labels. Whoever takes the reins will need a healthy appetite for challenge within that category.