With the recent departure of former CEO Hein Schumacher, the consumer products behemoth, Unilever has named Argentinean businessman Fernando Teston Fernandez as its new chairman.
To promote Unilever’s products globally, Fernando took over as head on March 1, 2025, with plans to double the annual budget for social channels and work with influencers 20 times more. Fernandez, who previously served as Unilever’s chief financial officer, pledged to significantly alter the company’s marketing strategy.
According to the new CEO’s first public remarks alongside Barclays CEO Warren Ackerman, the consumer goods behemoth will switch to a social-first advertising style since modern customers are “suspicious” of communications from traditional firms.
With this “social-first” move, the brand is placing a large wager on others to speak for it. Telegraph claims that the CEO is fully committed to promoting desirability at scale and “others say” marketing activity systems. This change is consistent with a 2024 study by Traackr that showed 63% of buyers are more inclined to purchase a product if a reliable social media influencer suggests it to them.
To promote influencer partnerships in international markets, Fernandez is boosting its social channel budget from 30% to 50% of its yearly media spend. This is part of an effort to revitalise marketing operations and move away from traditional corporate messaging and towards a social-first approach, BrandSpur news brand reports.
Also read: https://brandspurng.com/2025/03/19/is-ai-your-new-online-friend/
Under the direction of the new CEO, who is taking on the challenges of the outgoing CEO, Hein Schumacher, and lowering the company’s “social purpose” mission, the new strategy is a continuous sustainability initiative to increase sales and foster trust. Initially, Unilever linked its brands to social impact projects, such as Dove soap’s promotion of realistic beauty standards and Hellmann’s reduction of food waste.
Continuing, this strategy is becoming less successful, though, as consumers start to place more trust in social media influencers than in conventional brand-driven advertising.
Therefore, allowing the correct voices to convey the message—rather than trying to control it—is the way of the future for marketing. One question still stands as businesses shift from traditional advertising to influencer-driven marketing: which do you believe more, well-produced corporate advertisements or real people’s online testimonies?
