When a message comes directly from a brand, it is already born under suspicion — and it’s not me saying this. The words that symbolize a shift in mindset in advertising logic were spoken by Fernando Fernandez in his first interview as CEO of Unilever. In the conversation with the journalist from The Times, the executive announced a new strategy that has been the subject of debate among brands, agencies, and industry professionals: under Fernandez’s leadership, the multinational consumer goods company will reduce investment in brand-created advertising and increase the budget for influencers by 20 times.
The topic generated immediate repercussions in the global market because it not only represents a massive transformation in how brands gain visibility but also serves as a response to changing consumer behavior. If consumers are skeptical of traditional advertising, what’s the point of continuing to pour vast sums into campaigns the public has learned to ignore?
I understand that if people no longer trust brands as much for their purchasing decisions, it’s evident that this connection needs to be established in another way. It’s no coincidence that Unilever’s CEO dubbed the new strategy “social-first,” prioritizing social channels and human voices as the primary interface with the public.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that brands like Unilever are only now discovering the power of influencer marketing. It would be entirely naive and mistaken to analyze the news from this angle. The issue, in fact, concerns scale. Instead of concentrating budgets on a few high-profile media outlets or a dozen famous spokespeople, there’s a movement toward being present in diverse spaces, engaging with varied consumers.
In my assessment, this change reflects the realization that a mega-celebrity with an exorbitant fee isn’t truly a “universal voice.” In other words, they don’t build genuine connections with diverse niches or represent the average consumer. An influencer, however, can engage with specific audiences because they cultivate a close relationship with their followers, understand their audience, and speak with legitimacy, context, and empathy. This is precisely the type of connection Unilever seeks by stating they want at least one influencer in every municipality — and up to 100 in some. It’s about activating local voices, micro-community leaders who speak the language of each regional audience. A strategy impossible to execute with global stars but entirely feasible and scalable with creators. And this truth is even more evident when it comes to micro and nano creators.
Those who know me know I always emphasize this point: brands’ strategies must value this profile. And this is simply because micro and nano creators demonstrably build much more engaged communities with a tight bond of trust. Yes, the very trust Unilever’s CEO wants to reclaim.
Proof of this lies in the results of a recent BrandLovers study: a R$1 million campaign distributed among micro creators achieved an average cost per view of R$0.11 (9.1 million views), while the same budget with macro creators resulted in R$0.31 per view (3.2 million views). In other words, reach per invested real was 65% higher using micro creators.
Ignoring this data, which shows how to maximize campaign reach without increasing the budget, can only be explained by clinging to the old model — a clinging that also manifests in resistance to using technology.
I know there are numerous successful cases of brands incorporating artificial intelligence and data intelligence into their marketing strategies. However, I dare say most still suffer from operational amateurism disguised as tradition, which is a problem considering that well-executed influencer marketing goes beyond multiplying influencers. Above all, it seeks to multiply intelligence. The old methods of manual selection and betting on isolated celebrities already show clear signs of exhaustion, with enormous inefficiencies, so the future belongs to those who combine data, technology, and human creativity to turn creators into a highly effective medium.
Unilever is signaling to the market that the game has changed. But the big question remains: how many brands will know how to make this move strategically? Expanding investment in creators only makes sense if accompanied by operational efficiency, predictability, and real-time measurement. Without this, we’re just inflating a market with poorly distributed money.
Scaling influencer marketing without technology is like trying to buy programmatic media over the phone: impossible to sustain. Only with platforms that automate selection, activation, and measurement — as we’ve done for years in digital advertising — can we turn influence into a scalable, efficient channel with measurable ROI.
We need to understand once and for all that the real differentiator isn’t who spends the most on their marketing strategy. Instead, standout results come from a brand’s ability to use technology to ensure every real invested in influence translates into real impact. This requires a new mindset: one that prioritizes data, authenticity, and intelligent strategies.
