How Unilever wants to celebrate 'beautiful brains' on Do It Day
Plan It Day brought together brands in search of creative solutions for world-changing ideas. As we look ahead to Do It Day on 2 November, we explore how Unilever plans to connect young female entrepreneurs in Brazil with role models. The challenge solutions are variable and may change on the day.
The aim of Unilever’s challenge was to empower young women in Brazil, one of the company’s biggest markets, by promoting female micro-entrepreneurship. The company wanted marketers to develop a plan that would not only connect young would-be entrepreneurs with role models, but also inspire them and provide practical guidance.
The idea that impressed the judges most was one that sought to subvert stereotypes of Brazilian women at the same time as providing them with an innovative platform for mentoring and networking.
Born out of the insight that 43 per cent of businesses in Brazil are run by women yet 95 per cent of women would change their bodies if they could, this movement would celebrate the minds of Brazilian women, the ‘belo cérebro’ – beautiful brains. The idea is to create a network for women, led by a mobile optimised social community that would provide the guidance and inspiration needed for young would-be entrepreneurs. Using a Tinder-like platform, the site would identify which brain type an individual had – creative, functional, etc – to act as a signpost to link to practical guidance and mentors with similar brain types.
Jeremy Basset, head of Unilever Foundry, said: “This is just the start of the journey – the best is yet to come. What we were looking for was a fresh variety of insights about what we could do to support female entrepreneurs across Brazil.
“Instead of just a generic wiki type platform, they match women based on their aspirations, their capabilities and what they bring to the table. It’s a really nice fit with Brazilian society, and a great fit with some of our brands operating in that space.”
Winning team: Patrick Robson, Digilant; Marcie MacLellan, SheSays; Nicola Carey, Jaywing; Amanda Gabb, Barclays; Samantha Herbert, Living Streets; Rowena Luscombe, City Football Foundation; Mike Tuffrey, Corporate Citizenship
Plan It Day was sponsored by Clear Channel, Bima, Digilant, Millennial Media, Undercurrent, Wunderman and Yoyo. To see how this plan and others like it are put into action, join us at Do It Day.
Photography by Bronac McNeill