Unilever Deal Sees Brandtone Open Up in Thailand, Vietnam and The Philippines

Mobile marketing firm Brandtone, which operates in the developing world, has struck an agreement with Unilever that will see it engage with millions of customers in South East Asia, on a one-to-one basis, in some of the region’s least accessible areas.

The deal, which builds on an existing global partnership between Brandtone and Unilever, will enable Brandtone to roll out services in Thailand, Vietnam and The Philippines, fuelling its international expansion and opening up the company’s consumer engagement platform to Unilever and its brands.

The two businesses first began working together in the region last year. Since then, Brandtone’s work with Unilever has seen its run some of its most successful mobile campaigns, for Sunlight and Magnum in Indonesia.

With the penetration of smartphones in South East Asia still as low as 20 per cent in some markets, Brandtone campaigns are free for consumers to engage with, and are both device- and network-agnostic, working equally well on feature phones and smartphones.

“When we announced our expansion into Indonesia almost a year ago, even we could not have predicted the scale of demand from brands for mobile-first data-led marketing strategies – nor how receptive consumers themselves would be,” said Brandtone CEO, Donald Fitzmaurice. “The region as a whole is at a tipping point in terms of embracing its economic development and embracing global brands, so it is the perfect time for our clients to use the power of mobile and big data to build ongoing relationships with consumers.”