Unilever PLC
2 February 2000
UNILEVER EXTENDS ONLINE ADVERTISING
WITH MICROSOFT INTO EUROPE
Rotterdam/New York, 2 February.- Unilever has extended its
online advertising with Microsoft into Europe through a three-
year agreement for the development of interactive and online
marketing strategies for Unilever's key brands in France,
Germany and the U.K.
Under the agreement, Unilever will be the premier sponsor of
the Womencentral channel on MSN.com and will have dedicated
websites, interactive displays and advertisements in France,
Germany and the U.K. In addition, Unilever will place banners
and advertisements on the MSN.com network.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The agreement
is an extension of the relationship between Unilever and
Microsoft started in 1998 in the US to promote Unilever brands
on MSN.com.
'We're very pleased with the extension of this relationship
into Europe,' said Christoph Michalski, director of Unilever's
Interactive Brand and Customer Centre (IBCC) at Schiphol
Airport, near Amsterdam. 'This is a great opportunity for
many of our key brands to experiment with this medium in
Europe and to develop original content and interactive
marketing and communications strategies.'
Michalski said interactive marketing is an integral part of
Unilever's brand strategy in Europe.
Microsoft said it also was pleased with the extension of the
agreement, which broadens one of the largest, long-term
investments by a consumer goods advertiser in the US into a
major international commitment to the Web.
'The extension of the original agreement is testimony to MSN's
success in partnering with Unilever to spread its brand
messages online,' said Jim Kinsella, general manager, MSN
sales & marketing and president and CEO of MSNBC.COM.
'MSN is able to deliver the exact audience that Unilever
seeks to reach with its branding message,' Kinsella said.
'Since we announced our original deal with Unilever back in
July 1998, MSN has worked in partnership with Unilever's
Interactive Brand Center to develop an interactive campaign
that aids the company in this area.'
The IBCC Europe was established in 1999 to work with
Unilever's Interactive Brand Center (IBC) in New York and the
Interactive Brand Center in Singapore. Together, the three
centers develop interactive marketing and communication
strategies for major Unilever brands. The IBCC Europe develops
interactive strategies on behalf of Unilever's European
business groups: Food and Beverages Europe, Home and Personal
Care Europe and Ice Cream and Frozen Foods Europe. Well-known
brands include Dove, Liptonice and Unox.
'Unilever took an early position to make the Web a friendly
and useful place for consumers,' said David Stern, vice
president of the Unilever IBC in the US. 'Now our work with
Microsoft is helping to build new channels for women on the
Internet.'
The interactive ad campaign has just launched on MSN.com
France. MSN.com UK will launch on February 3, to be followed
by MSN.com Germany on February 17.
Note to the editor:
MSN is the network of Internet services from Microsoft that
helps people better organize the Web around what's important to
them. The network of MSN services, located on the Web at
MSN.COM (http://msn.com/), helps people easily stay in touch
with friends and colleagues, make smart and secure purchasing
decisions, and get more done. MSN offers award-winning e-mail
functionality; personal communications services; wireless
services information; customizable access to news; popular
sites for travel, investing, automotive services, shopping and
more; an online community; a Web search engine and directories;
and top-rated Internet access.
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