• April 2, 2012

Unilever, a leader in Hispanic marketing, is pushing forward with new initiatives in in-store and online marketing, reports CPGmatters.com.

Unilever is targeting U.S. Latino families--who are particularly responsive to live events and online presence--with Disfruta la Pasion de la Vida (“Enjoy Life’s Passion”), an initiative that stages events at independent, Western U.S. supermarket chains, as well as Vivemejor (“Better Living”), a program based on the Web and Facebook that also includes in-store events.

Both programs bundle various Unilever health and food/beverages brands, including Caress, Popsicle, Breyers, Knorr, Ragu, Country Crock, Best Foods, Suave, Dove, Degree and Axe. 

Unilever upped its Hispanic events by 10% last year, to 3,500. 

Beginning last November in eight California and Arizona supermarkets, the Disfuta program has been staging events near store entrances that include Hispanic-themed foods and samples, music and Spanish-language recipe and coupon books, as well as health/beauty attractions such as massage chairs.

The Vivemejor events are less numerous and tend to be indoor programs, including events similar to those in the Disfuta program, plus beauty and cooking demonstrations in stores.

Unilever told CPGmatters that Vivemejor's site and Facebook page have made Unilever a leader among the Hispanic population. The Vivemejor Facebook page is one of the largest Spanish-language Facebook communities (176,000+ "likes" since its launch in November 2010).

The main Vivemejor site is in Spanish, and most in-store events are conducted in Spanish. However, in response to user trends, particularly among younger Hispanics via social media. Unilever is this year stepping up the bilingual content of the Vivemejor site.