Unilever U-Studio

Automation Revolution

Enhancing Efficiency and Innovation

U-Studio, the internal agency within Unilever, supported by Oliver and More, faced significant challenges in automating its modular creative and production processes. With over 650 resources spread across a global footprint, Unilever's ambition for improvement stemmed from the insufficient volume of automated creative production within U-Studio. The existing business processes and disparate technology stack were ill-equipped to support an automation-first approach, leading to inefficiencies and a lack of congruence in technology strategies.

To address these issues, a comprehensive program was initiated to streamline operations, improve automation, and foster innovation, ensuring that U-Studio could deliver faster, cheaper, and higher-quality creative assets without compromising volume.

This is How

Key Objectives

Improve automation to simplify, reduce costs, and accelerate creative asset production.
Enhance innovation and strategic recommendations within U-Studio.
Align technology strategies to support an automation-first approach.
Optimise business processes for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Strengthen collaboration between U-Studio and Unilever’s broader AOR partnerships.

Actions Taken

Conducted discovery and contextual inquiry for a validated problem view.
Developed a strategic north star for automation within U-Studio
Carried out market research on 45+ MarTech products.
Collated 20+ automation initiatives into structured workstreams.
Conducted a deep dive into Unilever and U-Studio technology stack.

Key Outcomes

Captured 287 insights to improve operational efficiency within U-Studio.
Identified 16 core projects to enhance automation across U-Studio.
Developed a collaboration framework for Oliver customers to share insights with Unilever.
Negotiated with Celtra for global staff training providing a foundation for automation success.