When a message comes directly from a brand, it's already born under suspicion – and it's not me who says that. The words that symbolize a shift in mindset within advertising logic were spoken by Fernando Fernandez in his first interview as CEO of Unilever. In conversation with the journalist from The TimesThe executive announced a new strategy, a subject of debate among brands, agencies, and market professionals: Under Fernandez's leadership, the consumer goods multinational will reduce brand-created advertising investment and increase influencer spending by 20 times.
The issue generated immediate global market repercussions because it not only represents a gigantic transformation in how a brand gains visibility, but it's also a response to changing consumer behavior. If consumers are skeptical of traditional advertising, what's the point of continuing to pour money into campaigns that the public has already learned to ignore?
I understand that if people no longer trust brands as much to make their purchasing decisions, the need to establish that connection in a different way is clear. It's no coincidence that the Unilever 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 the size of Unilever are only now discovering the power of influencer marketing. It would be completely naive and wrong to analyze the news through that prism. The issue, in fact, relates to scale. Instead of concentrating budgets on a few high-profile media outlets or a dozen famous spokespeople, there's a movement to be present in diverse spaces, engaging in dialogue with a variety of consumers.
In my assessment, this change is about recognizing that that mega-celebrity with an exorbitant fee isn't truly a "universal voice." In other words, they don't build genuine connections with diverse niches, nor do they 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 kind of connection Unilever is seeking when they say they want at least one influencer in every municipality—and up to 100 in some. It's about activating local voices, micro-leaders of communities, who speak the language of each regional audience. A strategy impossible to execute with global stars, but entirely viable and scalable with creators. And this truth is even greater when it comes to micro and nano-creators.
Those who know me know I always emphasize this point: brands' strategies need to value this profile. And this is simply because micro and nano creators demonstrably build much more engaged communities with a strong, trusting relationship. Yes, that very trust that Unilever's CEO wants to regain.
Evidence of this is in the results of a recent BrandLovers survey: a R$1 million campaign distributed among micro-creators resulted in an average cost per view of R$0.11 (9.1 million views), while the same budget allocated to macro-creators yielded R$0.31 per view (3.2 million views). In other words, the reach per real invested was 65% greater using micros.
Ignoring the data showing maximum campaign reach without increased budget can only be explained by clinging to the old model – an attachment that also manifests as a certain resistance to using technology.
I know there are many successful cases of brands incorporating artificial intelligence and data intelligence into their marketing strategies. However, I dare say that the vast majority still suffer from operational amateurism disguised as tradition, which is a problem considering that well-executed influencer marketing goes beyond simply multiplying influencers. It seeks, above all, to multiply intelligence. The old methods of manual selection and betting on isolated celebrities are already showing clear signs of exhaustion, with enormous inefficiencies, so the future belongs to those who combine data, technology, and human creativity to transform creators into a highly effective media.
Unilever is signaling to the market that the game has changed. However, the big question remains: how many brands will be able to execute this shift strategically? Expanding investment in creators only makes sense if it's accompanied by operational efficiency, predictability, and real-time measurement. Without this, we are simply inflating a market with poorly distributed funds.
Scaling influencer marketing without technology is like trying to buy programmatic media over the phone: unsustainable. Only platforms that automate selection, activation, and measurement—as we've been doing for years in digital advertising—allow us to transform influence into a scalable, efficient, and measurable ROI channel.
We need to understand once and for all that the significant differentiator isn't who spends the most on their marketing strategy. Instead, outstanding results stem from a brand's ability to use technology to ensure every real invested in influence translates into genuine impact. This requires a new mindset: one that prioritizes data, authenticity, and intelligent strategies.
