Unilever announces partners for Go Global initiative, including digital music providers and health start-ups
Unilever has selected the seven winning companies that will take part in Go Global, a program that aims to partner digital companies with seven of Unilever’s brands, including Surf, Magnum and Vaseline.
The companies include Songza, a digital music service which uses seven data points to predict what users are doing or feeling; Africori, a digital music service provider in Africa; Lifesum, a Stockholm-based digital health startup; NewAer,a software platform for next generation beacon and location-based services; and Thoughtful Media Group, a global multi-channel network (MCN) operating across YouTube and the top video platforms.
Unilever will give each of the companies selected US$100,000 in cash, mentorship, and a range of services in exchange for a customised digital marketing pilot in the area of content, mobile, or connected devices.
The announcements come following Mobile World Congress, where Unilever’s global media innovation director Jay Altschuler told The Drum: “We always want to match the ambitions of the people we serve, which is why we are reaching out to these start-ups that are on the bleeding edge and understands where the future is headed.
“We want to have a dialogue with them to help us brands solve very specific problems like using mobile and social and location to better engage who we serve."
Unilever reported that ‘several hundred’ companies applied for the program, adding that those that were chosen were the ‘best fit’.