A mutual learning curve with RelationMedia

Unilever produces concepts in cooperation with RelatioMedia and are happy to leave the practicalities in their hands when the time comes to execute.

“We use RelationMedia as our demo agency, where all our shop demos are handled by them. Put differently, we cooperate with them about the strategy on when to run demos, what to emphasise, the scale that matches the shops and what sells best.” explains Stine Hansen, Trade Marketing Manager at Unilever.

Along the way, we have learned what products are brilliant for a demo, and which just don’t work. Working with the same agency every time has the clear-cut advantage that their experience enrich our own knowledge.

Stine Hansen, Trade Marketing Manager

We always find the right solution

Once the process gets going, RelationMedia suggests how things should be handled. Next, they match the suggestions to any Unilever guidelines, ensuring the individual designs align with the overall brand ideal. It is this cooperation that ensures a solution that matches all of Unilever’s requirements.

Stine Hansen elaborates: “We work closely with RelationMedia about the entire concept and then hand over the practical aspects to them. Once we agree on how to best achieve our goals, we present the concept to the demo-team in a workshop.”

At the workshop, the demo-team is guided in how the products must be presented. Furthermore, they are provided with all the information they may require when meeting consumers in the shops. This enables the ambassador team to answer any questions today’s critical consumers may have to either products or brands.

Continuity in the demo-team is crucial according to Stine Hansen: “RelationMedia has excelled at finding a good demo-team that matches our brands. We attempt to retain the team members we have, because this means we don’t have to start from scratch every time. The team develops a knowledge of our products and our entire brand history, which is important when they interact with the consumers. They are in effect our brand representatives and they must be ready for the task.”

Creative workshops

RelationMedia offer to host creative workshops where we pool our forces to generate new ideas and solutions focusing on your brand and challenges.

The workshops share these common features: they are fun, inspiring and stimulating - and they take place in an environment built to spark ideas, development and learning.

Utilising various creative tools and techniques, RelationMedia facilitates the day to ensure an outstanding and valuable outcome.

The results are gathered into a single catalogue brimming with ideas to push your concept development and execution to the next level.

We trust RelationMedia

The practical management is vital to Unilever. In a hectic working environment, it is important that the company can hand over the practicalities to a partner that is up to the challenge. Once the concept is in place, RelationMedia takes over the process, booking the staff and handling all the practicalities of the execution.

Stine Hansen explains: “It is simply great to work with someone you can trust implicitly. I just know that things are taken care of. Even if something unexpected happens, e.g. that the demo-team is without power in a shop, RelationMedia is always quick to react and solve the problem. It is really amazing.”

At Unilever, it is no secret that the initial phase has been a long one - but also completely worth it. Much planning and coordination has gone into the work with particularly Knorr. For this brand, RelationMedia has launched massive set-ups in the Danish mega-store chain Bilka, executing eye-popping roadshows for Unilever.

Stine Hansen clarifies: “We have been at it for some years, and we know what works and what doesn’t. Naturally, it gets easier as time progresses simply because we have tried so many things. For instance, we have learned how much the large-scale demos sell, and what consumers react to and want to know more about.”

It all comes together

To Stine Hansen there is little doubt what is most important to her when cooperating with RelationMedia: “The sheer amount of details when it comes to sampling and practicalities that have to come together is sometimes mind-boggling. I think RelationMedia is incredibly good at managing every aspect of the campaign, providing me with the information I need. It saves me so much time.”

Then what about the future? “We have been using more or less the same setup for some years now. The platform is matured and it is time for something new. Maybe we can handle things differently, find that extra show stopper for the shops? I would really like to work with RelationMedia on that.” says Stine Hansen

She acknowledges that it can be trying at times to continuously develop new things all the while abiding by the many restrictions that apply to and at the shops. However, this should not stop Unilever and RelationMedia thinking outside the proverbial box.

Stine Hansen concludes: “It is high time we get our creative juices flowing on we can do things completely differently. I would be very surprised if RelationMedia can’t draw on their experiences with other clients to our benefit. I simply can’t wait.”