Solutions for the developing world.
Unilever's Partner-To-Win Event
Dow Consumer Care & Unilever
Million Dollar Partnership
"Partner-To-Win" is Unilever's annual, award-winning partnership event that focuses on building relationships with select key suppliers in order to achieve mutual growth. The event gives interested businesses a platform to present their newest technologies in hopes for a partnership bid from Unilever.
Dow has participated in Partner-To-Win for the past few years and it has led to some great outcomes, like Unilever's LIFEBOUY™ Soap which used Dow's POLYOX™ technologies to advance health and hygiene at the lowest market price possible for the poorest populations in the world. Projects like these have earned Dow esteemed awards like The Edison Award for "Protection & Safety" in 2015.
The Client Goal
Dow Consumer Care was personally asked to present their technologies to top Unilever execs in a private, one-on-one meeting at the 2016 Partner-to-Win event in London. It is an invitation that only four groups get each year and never in the history of the event had Dow been given immediate access to Unilever's top executives in this way. Dow needed materials for this meeting and had a tight deadline.
Unilever's focus was on ways that the partnership could help improve the lives of people in developing countries; in places where resources like fresh, running water and waste removal systems were scarce or non existent, making everyday chores like laundry, cooking, and cleaning extremely challenging and costly.
Dow aligned their presentation to Unilever's product portfolio; they created stations where they demonstrated how Dow technologies would help improve consumer needs. We color-coded stations and created icons to help visually organize the targeted products and portfolio sections of each presentation.
Station Icons
Overview and station banners were set up at every table and outlined the key points and strengths of Dow's technologies.
Overview Banners
Station Banners
The overview brochure listed the information for each station on a spread...
Overview Brochure
... while flyers showcased key strategies of each individual technology being demonstrated at the station. We filled the back pages with lines for notes which helped the executives keep all the information they were given during demos organized.
Key-Strategy Handouts
Lastly, we created slide decks that outlined the technical information and takeaways of the presentation.
Presentation
Reception and Feedback
Overall, this came together quite well considering we had only 2-3 weeks from conception to event. If we had more time, I would've loved to make the design and layout a little more fun and engaging but this still functioned very well. Over the next week, I received MANY emails and updates about how well the event was going and how successful the presentation went.
“Suzie, a big "Thank You" for all of your contributions to this project. You are outstanding!”
Dwayne Roark, Global Business Communication Director at The Dow Chemical Company
“Indeed outstanding two days. Thanks a lot to the team and to the communication group for having reached that level of quality and professionalism in a so short period of time. This has been flagged multiple times during the two days."
"For me, the striking part is the fact that it is really the first time we have access to brand leaders (among all our customers... usually we talk to R&D and procurement). The approach using prototypes very focused on their key needs has been instrumental to capture interest. There has been several "Wow" comments from the different teams who circulated in our room through day one. The value is not only to generate new ideas and new projects but more importantly is to position Dow as the key partner of choice at all level within Unilever. And this has been achieved for sure.”
Didier Debier, Marketing Director at The Dow Chemical Company
“Team, I wanted to take a moment and recognize all the effort and hard work that went into preparing and delivering a very successful event with one of our key strategic customers! Your tireless dedication to this task over the past few weeks to come up with and present key concepts that were not only creative but also aligned to Unilever’s brand strategy was really impressive and impactful. The feedback I received from Unilever’s top leadership and brand managers was that Dow clearly outperformed and was a revalidation to them that we are and will continue to be a Lead Partner to drive future growth! Thank you again.”
Chad Holzer, Global Business Director for Dow Home, Institutional, and Personal Care Solutions