Unilever accelerates the growth of retail media in Brazil

Despite being a relatively new concept, retail media is already being widely adopted by companies. Research by eMarketer/Insider Intelligence shows that 54.8% of advertisers investing in digital advertising in Latin America are already using retail media, a figure comparable to those investing in programmatic media (55.9%). In 2023, an estimated R$ 2.6 billion was invested in advertisements on marketplaces, according to IAB Brazil.

This growth is not accidental; it reflects a shift in consumer behaviour. According to the "Latin America Marketing and Retail Media Trends Survey 2023," consumers are increasingly bypassing social networks and search engines in favour of conducting online purchase research directly on e-commerce platforms.

Unilever is at the forefront of this movement in Brazil. Due to the growing importance of retail media within media plans globally, the company integrated all these activities into a new area called DMC – digital, media, and commerce.

Ana Paula Duarte, Unilever Brazil's Media Director and DMC Leader for Personal Care in LATAM believes that there is significant opportunity within retail media, and expects the strategy to play an even more prominent role in the future.

"We start from the principle that the consumer is unique, requiring integrated media plans from start to finish. It is a matter of discipline, capability, negotiating retail media just like we do with other media channels - with metrics, parameters, basic negotiation principles, and execution - standardising procedures, metrics, etc," said the executive.

Adaptation, integration, and learning

Unilever's change of mindset did not happen overnight but was quick and required a significant effort of transformation, evolution, and adaptation. Initially, each brand's yearly strategy underwent examination to integrate the retail media strategy with the overarching media strategy.

Next, a thorough data analysis was conducted to assess the outcomes achieved thus far with retail media and to define objectives, while also identifying key market benchmarks in this sector.

Finally, a comprehensive review of the retail media players in which the personal care category should concentrate efforts, focusing on well-structured partnerships that facilitate data exchange.

Cadastra, with its expertise in managing large-scale projects across various client domains, facilitated a collaborative effort involving the company and Unilever's commercial and media departments.

"This demands orchestration, with everyone aligning towards the same goal. It requires a willingness to innovate, test, and evolve. In this regard, Cadastra's contribution was pivotal," remarked Ana Paula.

"We're a Next-Gen company: we fuse strategy, technology, marketing, and data to deliver business solutions to our clients. The structuring of Unilever's retail media serves as a prime example of our approach," explains Nathalia Corte, partner and Vice President of Business and Strategy at Cadastra.

Resilience, flexibility, expertise

This strategy coincided with Unilever's adoption of a new, more agile and autonomous business distribution. In this context, the working philosophy of Next-Gen Services companies becomes crucial. By prioritising customer needs, these companies break down traditional silos (or departmental divisions) to develop solutions that harness a range of expertise.

"Technology, marketing, data, and strategy are broad areas that unfold into numerous other disciplines within today's digital economy. Companies require partners with the unique ability to integrate these areas, possessing both technical prowess and strategic acumen, given the evolving landscape of consumption and the world," explains Thiago Bacchin, founder, and CEO of Cadastra, emphasising Next-Gen's capacity to deliver exponential results in increasingly complex scenarios for large clients, such as Unilever.

Two key disciplines played a significant role in highlighting retail media: strategic planning and media execution, along with data analytics.

After conducting a comprehensive portfolio review of personal care products, Unilever selected the top 20 retailers for investment. According to Ana Paula, this represented a significant strategic shift that yielded promising results.

"Data is indispensable; it enables us to make informed business and media decisions," she says. It's noteworthy that Cadastra was founded 23 years ago as a company specialising in digital media and data.

Quick results

A significant aspect to note is that no separate budget was allocated for the initial retail media initiatives. The executive's approach was to allocate a portion of the existing media budget to demonstrate its effectiveness. "I imagined that by focusing on results and proving its worth, the funds would naturally flow into retail media. And that's what happened."

Since then, she says, there has been a progression and refinement in subsequent plans. For instance, she highlights the Personal Care promotions during Black Friday. "The discussions and strategies differed significantly from the previous year. We felt confident to innovate and explore various approaches with our partners."

Another crucial aspect is creativity. In retail media, the messaging must align with the brand's values. It's essential for the message to not only convey discounts or offers but also emphasise product superiority or purpose. "Creativity holds immense importance in retail media and will undoubtedly influence outcomes significantly. I think it is something that will be increasingly valued," said Ana Paula.

Future expansion

Unilever does not disclose their numbers, but it reveals that the Personal Care sell-out results had significant growth from their retail media strategy. "We are proud of what we have built so far, and aware that we are only at the beginning. We want to keep growing, and lead this segment in Brazil for consumer goods," says Ana Paula.

For her, the main challenges lie in enhancing the sophistication of the entire data analytics aspect and assisting less prepared retail partners in developing their media capabilities. Additionally, there's the ongoing challenge of effectively conveying the brand message. Retail media isn't solely about short-term sales; it's also about long-term brand building.

"It's quite distinct from merely airing media. We must ensure that the entire operational aspect is well-coordinated," Ana Paula emphasised. "This area will undoubtedly have a greater impact, and I'm eagerly anticipating it as another learning journey."

Originally published in Brazil Journal (in Portuguese).

In the featured image: Thiago Bacchin, CEO of Cadastra; Ana Paula Duarte, Media Director of Unilever Brazil, leader of DMC for personal care in Latin America; and Nathalia Corte, partner and vice president of Business & Strategy at Cadastra.