TLDR: Unilever, in collaboration with Brandtech Group, has launched Beauty AI Studio, a generative AI assembly line to create digital creative assets for its beauty and wellbeing brands across 18 markets. This initiative aims to significantly enhance marketing performance and accelerate content production, allowing marketers to generate hundreds of creative assets per product, a substantial increase from previous campaigns.
Unilever’s Beauty & Wellbeing division has embarked on a transformative journey in marketing by partnering with The Brandtech Group to develop and implement Beauty AI Studio. This bespoke, in-house generative AI assembly line is designed to revolutionize content creation for Unilever’s extensive portfolio of beauty and wellbeing brands, including Dove Intensive Repair, TRESemme Lamellar Shine, and Vaseline Gluta Hya. The system is currently operational across 18 markets, including the U.S. and U.K., and is being utilized to produce assets for paid social, programmatic display inventory, and e-commerce platforms.
Selina Sykes, Global VP and Head of Marketing Transformation for Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, highlighted the shift in workflow, stating, “It’s a different way of working. We used to send briefs off and get content back. Now it’s this agile, iterative approach.” She further noted the dramatic increase in output, estimating that Unilever is now creating an average of 400 creative assets per product, a significant leap from the previous 20 assets per campaign.
At the core of Beauty AI Studio is Pencil Pro, a generative AI application developed by Brandtech Group. This tool integrates multiple large language models (LLMs) and leverages API access to platforms like Meta and TikTok for effective performance measurement. Marketers utilize prompts and audience insights to generate images and videos based on 3D renders of products, a process often referred to as “digital twinning.” To ensure brand consistency and compliance, each brand is assigned a “BrandDNAi,” an AI tool that retrieves brand guidelines and relevant regulations, providing limitations to the generative process. This proprietary AI governance platform centralizes brand data, acting as an intelligent data hub that guides generative AI tools without directly creating assets.
The partnership between Unilever and Brandtech Group commenced in 2023, with testing of Pencil beginning in the first quarter of 2024. The past year has been dedicated to designing and administering Beauty AI Studio in collaboration with in-housing specialist Oliver. Furthermore, Unilever has invested in its workforce, providing “AI fluency training” to 25,000 staff members.
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While the system offers substantial benefits in terms of speed and volume, Sykes emphasized that generative AI is viewed as an aid, not a replacement for human creativity. “We see generative AI as an aid, not a replacement. In some cases, it will help to free up time for people to dedicate to the more human elements of the creative process,” she explained. This initiative positions Unilever at the forefront of marketing transformation, aiming to build a “next-generation content supply chain that drives desirability and growth for Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing brands by being faster and more connected to insights and culture.”
