Unilever made it largest marketing investment “in a decade” last year, according to the company’s 2024 financial results.
The multinational consumer goods conglomerate‘s marketing budget increased by €900 million (£750 million). While its brand and marketing investment went up by 120 basis points (bps) to 15.5% of turnover.
The company also reported a year-on-year increase in its turnover of 1.9% to €60.8 billion (£50.6 billion). However, Unilever reported its operating profit of €9.4 billion (£7.8 billion) decreased 3.7%, compared to the previous year.
The report highlighted that power brands, such as Dove, and Ben and Jerry’s, contributed to more than 75% of its annual turnover, with an underlying sales growth of 5.3%.
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CEO Hein Schumacher said: “[These] results reflect a year of significant activity as we focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently higher-performing business.
“Under the Growth Action Plan, we committed to doing fewer things, better and with greater impact. We executed the plan at pace and made progress in 2024.”
As it stepped up its marketing spend, Unilever committed to a five-year partnership with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and it sponsored several major football tournaments, including UEFA Euro 2024 and the Copa America USA 2024.
