In the digital economy, data is the lifeblood of successful marketing strategies. As technology and AI continue to advance, businesses are increasingly turning to data-driven marketing to gain deeper insights into customers
Line, a messaging app popular across Asia, has been largely responsible for popularizing a playful and engaging twist to traditional text communication: Participants can use “stickers,” illustrations that convey emotions and messages, as a means of expressing themselves.
Unilever, the global consumer goods powerhouse, recognized the potential of stickers as more than just fun emoji. Creating its own stickers for the platform, the company saw an opportunity to connect with consumers and, in the process, amass a treasure trove of consumer data that would revolutionize its approach to marketing.
Unilever’s inventive strategy focused on Thailand, where the corporation harnessed the power of stickers to promote its Dove soap brand, resulting in 6 million downloads. This provided Unilever with a valuable source of first-party data, adding to its database that now encompasses nearly one-third of Thailand’s population.
This vast pool of user data has empowered Unilever to embrace data-driven marketing, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to create highly personalized marketing strategies tailored to individual customers.
“The real magic lies in the personalization — understanding the unique preferences of each customer and delivering targeted content, offers and experiences that resonate deeply,” explained Darden Professor Rajkumar Venkatesan.
[This article has been reproduced with permission from University Of Virginia's Darden School Of Business. This piece originally appeared on Darden Ideas to Action.]