TRESemmé’s Paige DeSorbo Collab Gives Unilever’s Influencer-First Strategy a Glossy Start

In March, Unilever’s new chief executive (CEO), Fernando Fernandez, announced a new “influencer-first” marketing strategy, with plans to invest between 30% to 50% of its $9 billion ad budget in the space. 

Now, early results from TRESemmé’s debut campaign, fronted by Bravo personality Paige DeSorbo, show a 42% increase in positive sentiment towards the advertiser and a 60% Instagram engagement boost, underscoring the ROI potential of Unilever’s influencer-first revamp.

Summer House star DeSorbo was unveiled as TRESemmé’s first year-long ambassador in late March. She kicked off the contract with “Give Gloss,” a 360-degree push promoting its Lamellar Gloss range of shampoos, conditioners, oils, and serums.

At the campaign’s heart is a national TV commercial, supported by a large social blitz featuring dozens of assets—think TikTok challenges, IRL events, and a 1-800-Gloss hotline feature on DeSorbo’s Giggly Squad podcast. It’s also been experimenting with fun launches tailored for social buzz, including a limited hot sauce in partnership with Red Clay, dubbed “Hot Gloss.”

The ongoing push was developed by Brandtech Consulting, and the creative is by Gravity Road, with Collectively handling influencer. Its been designed to give the brand (which consistently delivered single-digit growth for its parent company over the last few quarters) a “jolt” in the U.S, Alandra Maka, head of demand creation for TRESemmé North America, told ADWEEK. 

Building on its status as a 17-year headline sponsor of New York Fashion Week, Maka said the brief was to personify the legacy brand as a “cool girl that oozes style,” but doesn’t gatekeep it. 

TRESemmé’s desire to develop a more fun and witty tone of voice than in previous work led it to DeSorbo as a muse. “She’s this perfect combination of a fashion girlie and a girl’s girl. She has a fun personality, but fans feel like they know her—and that’s exactly what we wanted to embody,” said Maka.

Naturally, the work is designed for Gen Z and millennial audiences, the former of which spends around $2,048 annually on beauty products per data from financial marketplace LendingTree.

A tiered influencer strategy

Maka noted that while DeSorbo was the face of the campaign, it had many layers of influencer support.

“Underpinning it, we have a group of macro-creators called the ‘Glossy Gang,’” she explained. The influencers in this roster, who generally have between 100,000 and 1 million followers on TikTok, are helping TRESemmé reach different audience segments. 

Meredith Hayden of @wishbonekitchen is there for the foodies, for instance, while Drew Afualo can reach podcast fans. 

“Then underneath that, we have a huge tiered influencer strategy,” continued Maka. 

“This isn’t a case of ‘let’s hire people…we think could bring the campaign to life.’ We’ve consciously been building relationships with all of these influencers, be it for this campaign or others, because we want them to understand the journey we’re trying to take this brand on, and we want them to be part of it,” Maka explained.

The approach is emblematic of not only TRESemmé’s new marketing blueprint, but also Fernandez’s pledge that Unilever will scale up its work with influencers dramatically. 

Feedback in the comments

Sophie Cullinane, Gravity Road’s global executive creative director, who worked on the campaign, described Unilever’s decision to move from traditional brand messaging to a “culture up” model as a “seismic shift.”

“It’s reflective of how this social audience behaves,” she said. “If anything feels too brand out, it can be an anathema to that audience tracking their favorite trends in this category on their ‘For You Page.'”

For Maka, whether the campaign is hitting its KPIs is clear in the comments.

Unilever’s CMO Says AI is Cutting Product Shoot Costs by 50%

The marketer is buoyed by early audience feedback, with social engagement and brand sentiment both up.

“Us stepping out of our safe zone to take risks and putting ourselves out there with this brand persona is working qualitatively,” she noted. “Sales will also be a factor, but we have to let it live for a bit.”

Following earlier iterations of the work in Brazil and the U.K., sales are up, too. “At first blush, we are seeing an increase in sales from this campaign alone, which is great,” Maka said.