At The 4A's: Unilever VP Big Fan Of AOR Relationship

  • March 3, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO--Unilever likes a lot of the traditional in the advertising business "but also demands much of the new from its agencies.

"I'm a big fan of the AOR relationship," says Kathy O'Brien, vp of personal care for Unilever, in speaking at the 4A's media conference on Tuesday. "With our brand's teams changing so frequently, it's nice to have a true partnership. They are the keeper of brand equity."

What does O'Brien look for in a media agency? "Strong, strategic thinking and good channel planning -- and the ability to incorporate digital media that is not silo-ed out," she says. Recently, Unilever went through an extensive media review and ended up staying with incumbent Group M agency Mindshare.

With success in many digital and new media platform areas, Unilever is looking aggressively beyond just the traditional media platform.

"We hope they move past the 30-second commercial," she says. "We need to find the next way to talk to consumers." For example, she notes that social media "is the fabric that is going through all our communication efforts."--Wayne Friedman

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