Unilever targets blokes under digital venture

Unilever has turned to Locker Room, an online portal under MSN.com.my, to promote its male grooming brands Axe, Clear, Rexona and Vaseline.Locker Room officially launched last month and is targeted at males aged 25 to 35.The portal which runs under the tagline "For Bros That Know", aims to be an online content destination for men.The site's three key content segments, adrenaline, style and got game, will feature articles and interviews on various topics including sports, travel and fashion. The channel is the result of a collaboration between Mindshare, Catcha Digital, Microsoft and Unilever - after focus group discussions and consumer connect sessions by Mindshare revealed insights that ‘brotherhoods' strongly influence the opinions and motivations of men.Mindshare also put together a search marketing strategy, along with online display ads and in-store support, to build awareness for the new portal.The impact of Locker Room on the brand health of the four brands will be measured through customised research from sister agency Millward Brown.Hugo Verkuil, marketing director at Unilever, described the Locker Room as "another milestone" for Unilever in setting the pace in innovation."This will be our biggest multi-faceted digital initiative after the launch of our women's channel," Verkuil said."We are using digital branded content, social tools and a dash of wit to help us make the connection with our male consumers."Shankar Rajagopal, director of client leadership at Mindshare, said the initiative was connecting consumers closer to the value and attributes of key Unilever brands.Rajagopal added the brands will be "subtly woven into the content through videos, polls, quizzes and contests in the Locker Room."The partnership runs until December this year.