Other WPP firms and associates working with Unilever as part of the new ‘Team Unilever Shopper’ include Barrows, Bravo, Geometry Global, Lunchbox, Mindshare, Rockfish and Shopper2Buyer. The agreement is effective immediately.

Kathy O’Brien, Unilever’s shopper marketing vice-president, said: “With the shoppers’ path-to-purchase now involving so many touchpoints, we believe our new partnership with Team Unilever Shopper will allow us to integrate our efforts across in-store visibility, shopper insights, multicultural marketing, retail activation, e-commerce and shopper media. This will drive greater effectiveness through focused delivery.

Commenting on the role of research specifically, O’Brien said: “We will use shopper insights to optimise our content regardless of where it resides and what form it takes, so shoppers can engage with, talk about and buy our brands consistently in the most convenient ways possible.”

Unilever owns more than 400 consumer brands, 14 of which generate sales of more than €1bn a year.