In 2010, Unilever created the Vital relationship program, and online and publishing program that was designed as an open channel of communication between Unilever and the consumer's of its different products. In return for lifestyle content, Unilever was able to better understand consumer behaviour and opinion. The program's initial results were deemed promising by Unilever and the company wanted to expand the program's reach.
As Unilever develops products for the whole population - not just to a few segments - F.biz identified an opportunity to find a new channel that would add to the internet and the magazine, and allow significant numbers of new people to be added to the Vital program.
The mobile phone ranks as the second most popular communication channel, losing out only for open TV. For Brazilians, the mobile phone is a source of entertainment that can be enjoyed when on the bus or waiting in a queue. Surveys revealed that in addition to talking and exchanging messages, the majority of Brazilians use their handset for activities like listening to music, playing games and getting SMS alerts such as horoscope or soccer games scores.
Of the 200 million mobile phone lines in the country, 82% opt for a pre-paid service, and many uses frequently lack credit or run their phone with less credit than they would like to have. This results in a restriction of services and content.
F.biz recognised that the delivery of free content would present an opportunity for Unilever brands, and opted for the MMS format that allowed the sending of much larger images and texts than SMS. MMS is compatible with the vast majority of handsets. Vital was to become the first free content MMS magazine in Brazil.
Results
In 4 weeks the first edition of Vital MMS saw 200 thousand qualified recipients.
In a survey, 8 out of 10 interviewed said they read the content as soon as the MMS magazine arrived. 73% of this group claimed to read the entire content. 19% share the magazine with other people.
87% of all interviewed people want to keep receiving services and programs by mobile in the future.
This campaign won the 'Best Use of Mobile' category at the 2011 Festival of Media Latam Awards.
External links
Vital portal