Dive Brief:

• Unilever wants to accelerate the speed of production for its home care business through a new in-house graphic design center that leans into generative artificial intelligence (AI), per news shared with Marketing Dive.  
• The CPG giant developed the unit, called Sketch Pro, in partnership with IPG Studios, with the goal of delivering content three times faster for its brands. Sketch Pro leverages multiple AI platforms, including Adobe Firefly and Google Veo 3, and boasts the ability to turn a concept into material ready for consumer testing within two hours.
• Sketch Pro, which is already available in several markets, is positioned as helping Unilever navigate the transition from a marketing production model focused on linear TV to one centered on social-first storytelling. Unilever broadly is increasing its spending on social media and influencers to keep its brands tapped into culture.

Dive Insight:

Sketch Pro offers another indication that legacy CPGs are undergoing a shift in their marketing strategy as social media becomes a more important channel and AI enables the level of speed needed to keep pace with fast-scrolling content feeds. 

Sketch Pro was designed to support home care brands like Persil/Omo, Comfort, Cif and Domestos that have long relied on TV for mass reach but are contending with younger generations of consumers who don’t frequently tune in to broadcast or cable. TV production also tends to require a long lead time while brands today are expected to have lightning-quick reactions to moments and micro-trends bubbling up in culture, such as a gaffe from a public official that can be flipped into a marketing win.

While Sketch Pro is billed as an internal “centre of excellence,” Unilever developed the concept with IPG Studios, Interpublic Group’s creative production agency. Sketch Pro emphasizes that it is not wed to a single AI platform, but instead promotes a flexible approach, with the goal of pushing creative boundaries. Among the group’s tools is Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator, which has recently garnered media attention for its ability to produce shockingly realistic content.  

“Our partnership with IPG supercharges our ability to ideate, iterate and deliver high-quality design assets with speed and cultural relevance, reflecting how consumers now engage with the home care category,” said Mario Dughi, global marketing director at Unilever, in a press statement.

Sketch Pro is currently live in London, São Paulo, Mumbai and Jakarta, while Unilever plans to expand the offering to 21 markets by next year. Around Ramadan, the Jakarta Sketch Pro Team was recently able to capitalize on holiday-related social trends to increase the visibility of brands including Rinso and Sunlight on TikTok by 22.5%, the announcement said.

Unilever has made generative AI a focus as it tries to improve efficiency while cutting down on costs. Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleston Bracey in March detailed how the company is using AI solutions to create “digital twins” of products for brands like Dove that can be easily adapted across channels and formats. At the same time, Unilever is adjusting where it invests media dollars, with plans to allocate half of its marketing spend to social while significantly broadening its work with influencers.