Dive Brief:

• Unilever and TikTok have announced a global partnership around the social platform’s popular hashtag, #CleanTok, to allow the consumer packaged goods marketer and its home care brands to tap into Gen Z interest surrounding cleaning, according to a press release. 
• For the tie-up, both Unilever and TikTok will collaborate with over 100 content creators to produce cleaning content including tips and reviews, which will be visible from a #CleanTok hub. The agreement covers all of Unilever brands like Sunlight, Dirt Is Good and Comfort.
• The partnership will span a variety of countries through January 2024, with Unilever’s cleaning tips website Cleanipedia named the exclusive #CleanTok sponsor. The move is indicative of how companies are tapping into social media virality to reach younger audiences.

Dive Insight:

Unilever is strategizing a Gen Z-friendly way to translate its home care products for a younger generation with its TikTok tie-up. Numbers shared in a press release back up approach. The hashtag #CleanTok rose in popularity during the pandemic and has been used over three million times on the ByteDance app within the past three years. Additionally, the hashtag has 79 billion views and a 63% year-on-year growth rate, per release details. 

Spearheaded by influencers, the tie-up will begin with the help of creators @chrisjoyz (5.2 million followers), @mumukdaneno (1.8 million followers) and @senalicann (226,000 followers) with additional creator partnerships to come in an effort to amass a body of content about cleaning hacks, tips and more while also pushing Unilever’s home care portfolio.

“We want to continue to inspire and educate people and, by working with TikTok’s creative teams to develop new and engaging content, we hope to gain valuable insights into a growing audience of young people who are just as passionate about cleaning as we are,” said Eduardo Campanella, CMO of Unilever’s Home Care division in a press statement.

The partnership between Unilever and TikTok is set to run through January of next year and will span the UK, Vietnam, Turkey, Brazil, Philippines, Thailand, France, the Netherlands, Argentina and Indonesia.

Tapping into the #CleanTok craze could not only help Unilever grow visibility of its portfolio, but drive purchases. For example, 54% of users purchased a household product after seeing it on TikTok, per release details, with 71% of such purchases having been unplanned. Nearly 70% of users say the platform helped them discover household products.

In terms of holding power, #CleanTok has surpassed other trends brands have been eager to take advantage of, for example, #BeautyTok, which has 50 billion views. Adjacent hashtags have also proven successful, with #Cleaning generating 63.2 billion views, #CleaningHacks generating 11.4 billion views and #HomeHacks generating 6.3 billion views. Engagement with such hashtags tends to grow around holiday preparation, back to school and spring cleaning, per release details.

The initiative arrives as some consumers may be sprucing up their homes in preparation for the summer. The campaign also marks one of the last for Unilever’s chief digital and commercial officer Conny Braams, who has been with the CPG giant for over thirty years. The executive is set to depart in August.