Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has massively ramped up its influencer marketing efforts for FY25, growing its creator network from about 700 to over 12,000 influencers in just a year. This huge scale-up spans more than 50 brands across 15 categories, showing a significant shift towards “social-first” marketing.
The company boosted its influencer marketing budget by nearly 40% to strengthen its digital presence, even as its overall advertising and promotional spend was reduced slightly—from ₹6,380 crore to ₹6,028 crore. As a result, digital and influencer-led campaigns now make up roughly 40% of HUL’s total advertising spend.
HUL is also using its own advanced tools to analyze category-specific data, helping it choose the right influencers and allocate budgets more efficiently for each brand. Additionally, the company doubled its product offerings on quick commerce platforms—an emerging channel it considers crucial for meeting changing consumer needs.
Overall, this strategy shows how HUL is prioritizing agile, digital-first marketing to better connect with today’s audiences through authentic, targeted, and data-backed influencer partnerships.
