Unilever: Protecting against bad odours

Advances in technology breathe new life into a multimedia reputation management feature.

The Site

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch home and consumer goods group, recently joined UK charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer to host a seminar for journalists on the risk factors associated with the disease. A page on “antiperspirant safety” includes links to a recording of the event, with additional material coming from vox pop interviews. This is available as an audio podcast, a video ‘vodcast’ or as streaming video.

Presented by an independent expert, the talk takes viewers through the risk factors and research. It is accompanied by an online user poll and supported by a dedicated mini-site providing further information on anti-perspirants.

The Takeaway

Offering the seminar recording in various online formats, including the fashionable podcast/vodcast, maximises the chance that users will actually give the speech their attention. Vodcasts, downloadable video files, have been around for many years – but thanks to a trendy new name and the spread of broadband, they look set for a new lease of life.

Broadband also means Unilever has not had to cut the video down to a few short soundbites. This means a more engaging item can be provided, with the expert’s vindications of Unilever’s views coming across almost as an afterthought. Subtle.

First published on 14 September, 2006