We’ve watched them evolve into mainstream pop culture figures and land high profile celebrity status. Now, it feels like influencers have become the ‘it’ channel in marketing circles.
When Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez announced in 2025 that more than half of the company’s marketing spend would shift to influencers, many interpreted it as another signal that brands were shifting budgets away from traditional media. Still, it seemed a bold move when the tangible business impact of influencer campaigns was not yet understood.
However, when investigating further it’s clear that this is not what was going on. Fernandez himself acknowledged the importance of TV. The move towards influencers was instead a shift from polished, high production ads towards authentic messaging and content that builds trust. Unilever was essentially re-positioning influencer marketing as influencer-led creative production, not using them as an awareness-focused media channel.
One year on, is Unilever’s influencer strategy working?
Unilever has indeed dramatically increased its spend on paid social. This signals that influencers aren’t a media channel in themselves. Long gone are the days when you could solely rely on someone’s organic content to drive significant reach. Unilever’s shift towards creator-led marketing tells us that the biggest opportunity is not replacing traditional media with influencers but using them as a more trusted and scalable source of content. Financially, early business results have been positive, but it’s too soon to conclusively attribute its growth to influencer activity alone.
One standout success was Unilever’s skincare brand, Vaseline. Using social listening tools, it realised that there were already streams of content on TikTok documenting its widespread use in ‘life hacks’. Launching its ‘Vaseline Verified’ campaign, the brand contributed to a conversation that had already begun on social media, rather than trying to dominate or control it. Using 450 influencers, Vaseline gave its own seal of approval to the various life hacks it was associated with, from blocking hay fever pollen to softening leather.
