Uncensored CMO Podcast Summary

Episode: Unilever Brand Building Masterclass with Esi Eggleston Bracey, CMO
Host: Jon Evans
Date: December 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Uncensored CMO features a candid and in-depth conversation between host Jon Evans and Esi Eggleston Bracey, Chief Growth & Marketing Officer at Unilever. The discussion dives into Esi’s strategic approach to brand building, how Unilever manages its vast portfolio, and actionable insights for marketers seeking sustainable growth in today’s evolving marketing landscape. Topics include the evolution of brand communication, integrating human and technological capabilities, leveraging emotion and desire, and frameworks for innovation and influencer engagement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Career Path & Cultural Contrasts Between P&G and Unilever

• Esi’s Background: Started as an "accidental marketer" with a background in biomedical engineering, drawn by curiosity about people and problem-solving (01:14).
• Culture Differences:
  • P&G: “More of a me or an I company… What did you do? What’s your individual impact?” (01:32)
  • Unilever: “More of a we company, a sense of community… Unilever is more of an emotion company.” (01:48)

2. General Management vs. Marketing

• Esi emphasizes the importance of blending human-centric brand management with commercial and operational rigor (03:23).
• “Marketing and business are about helping people in some way and that’s how you create business.” (03:52)

3. Marketing Investment & Proving Value

• Unilever recently increased marketing investment from 13% to 15% of turnover (04:41).
• Advice for Marketers: “Prove the case and ensure your marketing is creating that demand… not just ‘I should have this money because my brand deserves it,’ but to create value in my business.” (05:03)
• Focus on impact and productivity: “You can spend a lot and not get the return. We drive the performance impact of the investment, not just how much we spend.” (06:52)

4. The Evolving CMO Role: Change Management Officer

• “The acronym of CMO… is more Change Management Officer. Business is so dynamic. Keeping focused on the changes the organization needs to make to be of service to the brand is probably the biggest surprise.” (08:53)
• Success is about driving inspiration, clarity, and enabling teams (09:24).

5. Modern Marketer Skillset

• Two Pillars: Human quotient (imagination, curiosity, creativity, insightfulness) and technical quotient (analysis, AI competency, agility) (10:48).
• “If you have more of the human quotient, you can pick up the capacity for the technical…” (11:38)

6. The Machine & The Human: Everything and Nothing Changes

• Fundamentals remain: “Marketing is about understanding people and helping them. That won’t change.” (12:25)
• Everything else shifts: Media landscape, attention spans, algorithms, and AI-mediated consumer experiences (12:54).
• “If marketing in the past was about winning hearts and minds, marketing today is about winning people and machines.” (13:29)
• Algorithms as retailers: “Machines don’t use body wash… the machines are like an influential audience.” (15:32)

7. Building Desire at Scale: The "SASSY" Brands Framework

• SASSY Acronym: Science, Aesthetics, Sensorials, Said By Others, Young-Spirited (17:25)
• “We want to build Sassy brands to create desire at scale… move from ‘I need that’ to ‘I just have to have that.’” (17:29)
• Science can be sexy; sensorial and aesthetic experience matter; influencer/authority endorsement builds trust; relevance expressed via a young, modern perspective.

8. Emotional Resonance and Brand Longevity

• “Desire is all about feeling something that drives you to just have to have that.” (22:11)
• Maya Angelou referenced: “They’ll never remember what you say, but they will remember the way you made them feel.” (22:32)
• Unilever’s brands (e.g., Dove, Vaseline) succeed through consistent, evolving emotional storytelling rooted in universal human truths.

9. Case Study: Dove’s "Change the Compliment" Campaign

• Celebrating Dove's 20+ year journey of promoting real beauty & evolving societal norms (24:23).
• “At age three, already 60% of girls start associating more with their physical appearance relative to boys… we’re groomed as girls early on.” (25:13)
• Used AI to optimize for emotional response in storytelling—AI as enhancer, not creator of insights. (25:34)

10. Social-First, Many-to-Many Storytelling

• Shift from one-to-many to many-to-many: “It’s solving the business challenge, which is we can’t get the reach and conversion we once did.” (27:09)
• Practical example: Vaseline Verified campaign, leveraging “nano-influencers” for exponential credibility and reach—63 million impressions & 43% conversion rate (29:28).

11. Always Optimize: Rapid and Data-Driven Campaign Evolution

• Social-first “Six for Success”: Brand design, content, content+media, always optimize/convert, win the machines, unlock a social-first team (31:06).
• “We have a tool called Rapid ROI… we’re only investing or maximizing our investment behind what’s working.” (31:30)

12. SASSY for Innovation

• Community-driven innovation: “Some of our best ideas come from research… but now from listening to what communities say.” (32:42)
• Vaseline Stick and tinted versions originated from community insights (33:30).
• Dove Intimate Care developed after direct feedback on Amazon (34:28).
• SASSY helps frame both innovation (product development) and communication (amplification via community/influencers).

13. Collaborations: Dove x Crumbl Cookie

• Unique, culturally resonant partnership, driven by community insights and exclusive retail launch—“Collaborations aren’t borrowed interest. It’s a one plus one equals three.” (36:20)
• Packaging, sensory experience, social buzz all contribute.

14. AI & Innovation Acceleration

• “AI creates better, cheaper, faster… using AI for real-time insights, rapid prototyping, digital twins.” (37:55)
• Massive efficiency gains: “Twice as fast, 50% cheaper, and 100% consistency” for content production (38:37).

15. Brand Investment & Legacy Building

• “What are the characteristics of a brand that I would invest in? Strong foundation, enormous growth potential… that’s Vaseline… and Dove.” (40:07)
• Consistency plus imaginative evolution is critical: “Imaginative consistency that evolves with culture and people.” (41:59)

16. Nurturing Future Stars in the Portfolio

• Focus on foresight and mapping evolving desires onto emerging brands (43:03).
• Market-making strategy: Grow brands by identifying meaningful insights and unique, Unilever-scale solutions (44:27).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the difference between P&G and Unilever
  “P&G is more of a me or an I company… Unilever is more of a we company, a sense of community.” – Esi Eggleston Bracey (01:32)
• On proving marketing’s value
  “It’s not I should have this money because my brand deserves it. It’s I have this money to build and create value in my business.” – Esi (05:51)
• On the role of AI in modern marketing
  “If marketing in the past was about winning hearts and minds, marketing today is about winning people and machines.” – Esi (13:29)
• On the heart of marketing
  “Capturing heart is about earning and creating desire… doing desire at scale is changing the idea that desire is limited to the select few.” – Esi (17:34)
• On emotional connection
  “Desire is all about feeling something that drives you to just have to have that.” – Esi (22:11)
• On successful brand consistency
  “Imaginative consistency that evolves with culture and people… many brands get stuck or jump the shark.” – Esi (41:59)

Important Timestamps

• Cultural Differences P&G vs Unilever: 01:14 – 02:56
• Marketing Investment & ROI: 04:29 – 06:52
• The Modern CMO as Change Leader: 08:53 – 10:38
• The SASSY Brands Framework Explained: 17:25 – 21:46
• Dove’s “Change the Compliment” Campaign: 24:23 – 26:45
• Moving to Many-to-Many Model: 27:09 – 31:06
• Innovation Example—Vaseline Stick: 32:42 – 34:56
• Dove x Crumbl Cookie Collaboration: 35:25 – 37:41
• AI in Innovation & Marketing: 37:55 – 39:02
• Brand Investment Criteria: 40:01 – 41:36
• Nurturing Future Brands: 43:03 – 45:13

Conclusion

This episode is a treasure trove of marketing wisdom, offering a front-row seat to Unilever’s brand-building philosophy and practical frameworks. Esi Eggleston Bracey’s emphasis on human insight, emotional resonance, rigorous proof of value, and adaptive, community-driven innovation showcases why Unilever remains an industry leader. The SASSY framework, transition to many-to-many communication, and strategic deployment of AI are all must-hear takeaways for any marketer aiming for impactful growth and lasting brand relevance.