Unilever's global head of marketing is in Sydney today - and he said digital is dead. Or nearly.
He also outlined what he expects from agency partners.
"Digital is dying," said Marc Mathieu, global SVP of marketing at Unilever.
What he meant by that is that everything is digital.
"We need to stop thinking about digital marketing and start thinking about marketing in a digital world," Mathieu told the Global Marketer Conference. "Think about connection first and build content around that."
Mathieu advised marketers under the age of 25 to, instead of spending two weeks with an advertising agency, go and spend two months with hackers because "everything is going to be digital" from here on in.
Outlining his expectations from agency partners, Mathieu told AdNews he doesn't want to constantly be presented with 30-second TV ads.
"That's what they think we want, but we want to be brave," he said. "But we can only be as brave as our partners are. We need our agency partners to help us be leading edge in the next five years."
In response to Unilever's ongoing global cost-cutting drive, Mathieu said: "Purpose and social and digital must lead our marketing globally, and at the same time we need to leverage the scale of our corporation to be as effective and efficient as marketers as we can. We have several initiatives in place to get best in class for the money we spend."
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at lucyclark@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.