Warc, 26 May 2014
LONDON: Unilever has launched a new platform that will
enable the FMCG giant to partner with innovative tech start-ups around the
world.
The Unilever Foundry initiative, which builds on the firm's
existing Go Global partnership programme, offers a three-stage process for
start-ups seeking to unite their technical innovations with a Unilever brand,
Marketing Week reported.
Start-ups with existing technology solutions will be able to
pitch collaborative projects and, if successful, receive mentoring support from
an 80-strong Unilever marketing team for up to three months plus the
opportunity to get a $50,000 investment.
If Unilever sees merit in developing a project further,
start-ups could then apply for further funding through Unilever Ventures,
explained Marc Mathieu, the company's senior vice-president of global
marketing.
Although Unilever has been working with start-ups for a
number of years, Mathieu said it needed to gain earlier access to new
technologies and developments in the marketing industry – as Facebook and
Google have been doing for about ten years.
Keith Weed, Unilever's chief marketing and communications
officer, said it wanted to meet the "future movers and shakers" while
also using the programme to engage and add value for consumers, Fast Company
reported.
"We're committed to this as a way of getting to ideas
and innovation but also as a way of bringing more action-oriented thinking and
dynamism into the company," he said, adding that Unilever believes it has
a responsibility to use its scale and expertise "to pioneer the
future".
The company has had some success with its investments in
start-ups, including mobile marketing agency Brandtone and market research
consultancy BrainJuicer.
And it recently teamed up with music-streaming app Songza to
develop a campaign for Hellmann's, a Unilever-owned mayonnaise brand, that
Mathieu said produced "very positive results".
Data sourced from Marketing Week, Fast Company; additional
content by Warc staff
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