SKILLS

FRAMEWORK

SKILLS FRAMEWORK
Nov 2016 v6.8
 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK What isthis?
If we’re going to be the best marketing company in the world, we
need to be the best marketers in the world. The new cB4L Skills
Framework defines the 10 core skills you need to be a great
marketer in Unilever.

It’s organised across the three pillars of cB4L and is applicable

to all of marketing.

What is When do I use this?

a skill?
“An underlying ability that
enables you to
successfully complete
tasks. It is not the task,
process or output itself”.
The cB4L Skills
Framework focuses
on Professional Skills.
To get a full view of what
you’ll need to become a
great marketing leader
in Unilever, please also
refer to the Standards of
Leadership and General
Skills Frameworks.
PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE INDIVIDUAL
SKILLS ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Standards Use the cB4L Skills Framework to do a Professional Skills Assessment (PSA) and use this as
of input when you are reviewing your Development Plan at either your Performance Development
Leadership
Plan (PDP) or your Individual Development Plan (IDP).
+ To support your development journey it is important to compliment your professional skills
development with the right on-the-job experiences. Click here
Professional General
Skills to learn about how the Marketing Career Principles can support you in your development journey.
Skills
You should prioritise the 1 or 2 (max) skills that you really want to develop.
In addition to the 10 Professional Skills in the cB4L Skills Framework there are 2 General Skills
Skills & Competencies that which are critical for all marketers to develop.
enable an Individual to deliver
the What & How brilliantly
COMMERCIAL ACUMEN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
These have been woven through the cB4L Skills Framework but you may also want to discuss
them separately with your line manager and include them in your Development Plan.

This document may only be distributed within the Unilever group of companies (“Unilever”) and its agencies, to persons who need to be aware of the
contents to carry out specific tasks requested by Unilever. This document must not be copied in total or partially, or distributed outside of Unilever
without prior agreement with the copyright owners. Any unauthorised use may lead to legal action.
© Unilever 2016

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 2

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK 1. Explore with Empathy & Curiosity
Developing a deep understanding of people across their
whole lives and the connected worlds they live in

2. Generate Powerful Insights

3 Turning empathic understanding and data into powerful,
Transform
Data Into actionable insights that drive real growth through sustained
behaviour change
2
Action
4
Craft& 3. Transform Data Into Action
G enerate
Champion
Powerful Purposeful Constantly analysing market information to
Insights
Brands inform fast, bold decision making and action

4. Craft & Champion Purposeful Brands

Crafting purposeful brands, inspiring others through
stewardship to build brand communities to express them

1 5 perfectly
Create 5. Create Focused Growth Strategies & Plans
Explore with Focused Growth
Empathy Strategies Defining strategies and plans that make clear choices and
&Curiosity & Plans set a clear direction and destination to grow our brands and
our business
6. Pioneer And Partner For Breakthrough Ideas
Pioneering and partnering to generate breakthrough ideas
We combine magic and logic, we can and translate these into concepts that deliver on our
leap from creativity to hard nosed strategies
analysis, we can dream with our head
10 in the sky but keep our feet on the 6 7. Design Bestseller Product Experiences
Pioneer And Designing and nurturing product (and packaging)
Execute ground with sound business acumen Partner For experiences which attract shoppers, delight
Brilliantly,
Track & Optimise and flawless execution Breakthrough consumers and make a positive USLP impact
Ideas
8. Create Engagement Through The Consumer Journey
Creating effective engagement through the
consumer journey that builds brand love and
inspires people to buy, use & recommend
9 7
Lead & Design 9. Lead & Inspire Bold, Effective Creative
Inspire Bestseller
Bold, Effective Product Crafting bold, effective creative work for communication that
Creative 8 Experiences is Authentic to the brand, Relevant to consumer’s lives and
that has Talkability built in
Create
Engagement
Through The 10. Execute Brilliantly, Track & Optimise
Consumer Executing the plan brilliantly, tracking against clear KPIs
Journey rigorously and being agile to optimise ‘in flight’
to achieve targets

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 3

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
For each skill you 1.
A headline and core
will get... description capturing the
essence of the skill

2. 3.
Definitions of how the skill level Thought provokers for how you can develop
builds across the 4 levels the skills you prioritise as part of your
70/20/10 Development Plan.

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 4

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
What are the 4 skill levels?

BASIC APPRECIATION (BA):
The level of expertise required
to discuss main elements of
the skill area with others
WORKING KNOWLEDGE (WK):
The level of expertise required
for direct involvement in
decisions and actions in the skill
area
FULLY OPERATIONAL (FO):
The level of expertise required
to personally perform and lead
the great majority of activities
of the skill area
LEADING EDGE (LE):
The level of expertise required
for significant development of
the skill area

How do I build a 70/20/10 Development Plan?

70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
Identify the projects within your day-to-
day work where you can accelerate your
learning through doing.
Use ‘on the job’ how-to guides and self-
learning resources to help you deliver
high quality work.
Read and watch stimulating and thought
leading materials from external experts.
20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS 10 COURSES
Ask your line manager to coach you on Formal courses can also play a role in
specific skills, helping you find your own your Development Plan.
answers to challenges, or ask for advice For further details about courses for
from other experts around the business.
specific skill levels please refer to the
Improve the quality of your outputs by crafting Brands for Life Marketing Hub
taking part in team-based facilitated or and Learning Hub.
leader-led Live Action Workshops
(LAW).
Take part in leader-led team training
sessions.

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 5

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
This Skill is About:
1 Developing a deep understanding of people across their whole lives
and the connected worlds they live in
Explore With • Develops a genuine empathetic understanding of people - our
role in the context of their whole lives, not just their role in
• Is resourceful in always identifying new and relevant
opportunities to engage with people to fully understand their
ours as ‘consumers’ and/or ‘shoppers’ hopes, fears and dreams; for themselves and the planet; how
Empathy & • Is insatiably curious not just about people but the communities they live their lives; how they consume and shop our categories
and brands
they live in on and offline and that influence them (family,
Curiosity friends, neighbourhood, faith, gender, sexuality, fashion,
media, sports, culture, etc.)
• Uses the 5Cs of the Connected World as the startpoint to
understand how their world and our world collide
• Really listens and observes with an open and active mind, • Understands the journeys that people have in engaging with,
explores connections between seemingly unrelated areas purchasing and consuming our brands, and the archetypal
Personae that describe the people in that journey

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I have a good understanding of who buys
our category and brand and their lives
outside of this
• I recognise most people are different to me, and I
respect and am curious about these differences
• I appreciate how new technology can disrupt and
enhance people’s lives, and how this can be both
concerning and exciting for them
• I have a good understanding of my brand’s People
Portrait, and the consumer journeys and personae
relevant to my brand
• I’m aware of the variety of sources for building my
understanding of people (e.g. People Immersions,
Qual Focus Groups, Accompanied Shopping, Social
Media Listening, Consumer Engagement
Centres etc.)
• I am aware of, and can apply, the Insight 24/7
principles
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I have experience of People Immersions,
Qualitative Focus Groups , Consumer Connects,
Accompanied Shops etc.
• I know the key consumer journeys and personae
relevant to my brand, and how Trigger,
Influence and Action work in the journey
• I actively try to identify my own assumptions,
prejudices and biases when listening to others
• I go to all the places where ‘my people’ go,
online and physical. (e.g. the media they
consume, the places they socialise in, the retail
and entertainment environments
they use)
• I turn my observations and experiences into
shareable stories to inform and inspire others
within my category/ market and across my
Brand Community
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• People know me as someone who’s curious
and ‘tuned in’ to people and the broader
world they live in - someone who sees
behind the obvious and makes connections
• I’m a good listener and a good questioner; I
am good at setting people at ease and so
they feel comfortable in being open with me
• I can define personas and create consumer
journey maps for these
• I’m comfortable working across cultures
• I keep varying my sources of understanding
so I see a wide variety of people’s lives
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I know the people I’m serving so well that I
have developed a kind of ‘sixth sense’ about
what they’ll love, and what they’ll be doing in
the future
• I can decode the hidden connections between
the everyday aspects of society, peoples lives
and the brands they choose
• I identify partners who can help me and my
teams get closer to people
• I seek out new sources of understanding to
build my intuition further

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 6

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
How Can I Develop My Skills?

1 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB

Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
Explore With • Attend CMI organised People Immersions, Consumer Connects & Accompanied Shops
• Create and maintain an on-line social network of people (aligned to your People Portrait profile) that
Empathy & you regularly connect with throughout the year
• Hang out where your people hang out. Go where they go on-line, shop where they shop, read what
Curiosity they read, go to the bars and clubs they go to etc.
• Organise regular informal sessions for your team to informally share interesting observations
about people behaviour
• Live like a consumer (reduced water consumption, no mobile, only mobile etc) for a few days
• Undertake social listening, brief People Data Centre on social listening analysis
• Explore the PDC, Use tools like Facebook Audience Insights, Twitter Audience insights

Use the ‘on-the-job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read ‘Qual Best Practice’ guidelines.

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Watch the ‘Weird, or Just Different?’ TED talk by Derek Sivers
• Read ‘Herd: how to change mass behaviour by harnessing our true nature’ book by Mark Earls
• Read ‘Imagine’ book by Jonah Lehrer

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Ask your CMI business partner to share best practice examples of People Immersions, Consumer
Connects, Accompanied Shops & Insights 24/7
• Ask CMI about working with the People Data Centre, how to brief them, what questions to ask,
how to use dashboards

10 COURSES
Attend a training course:
• Attend ‘Consumer Voice 2.0’ Learning Course

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 7

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
This Skill is About:
2 Turning empathic understanding and data into powerful, actionable
insights that drive real growth through sustained behaviour change
Generate • Understands the role of Insight in explaining new needs, new • Understands how algorithms are used to analyse data and
Powerful ways to meet existing needs, and new ways to engage through
the consumer journey, and how to activate these to change
information
• Defines barriers and triggers to unlock behavior change
habits and sustained behaviour
Insights • Is able to work with and combine a wide range of data sources
across the consumer journey
(especially for Market Development & Sustainable Living)
• Builds foresight through projection of trends into the future
• Is able to move forward without endless proof (‘hypothesis is
• Can navigate from a broad landscape of data, information and 80% right’ mentality)
observations to the story the data tells and hypotheses into
what can change behaviour • Shares insights across the Brand Community (within and
across markets)
• Understands how to ask challenging and creative questions to
look at data in new ways to uncover new growth possibilities

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I understand the role of Insight in changing
behaviours
• I know that insight can come from anywhere
and am aware how key Strategic
Understanding tools (e.g. Habits and
Attitudes, MBA, Needscope etc.) are used to
help deliver strong consumer insight
• I understand the importance of making new
connections in data sources
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I understand the Unilever behaviour change
approach (task map, trigger and barriers)
• I am agile around insight sources, and find new
ways to access insights: formal v informal, external
v internal, qual v quant
• I can work with CMI to create a focused market
research brief
• I look for insight throughout the touchpoints of the
consumer journey
• I de-average audiences, missions, channels and
customers to find patterns and stories in the data
that explain WHAT is happening and WHY
• I can recognise a powerful, actionable insight and
know how to get to one
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I use the Unilever behaviour change approach and
understand the insights that drive behaviour in
people's lives
• I am able to use insight to identify growth
opportunities throughout the journey (consumer,
shopper, customer, channel etc)
• I know how to look for and recognize different types
of insight; e.g. an insight for POS execution vs. a
human truth for a Brand
Love Key
• I recognise that contradictions and inconsistencies
in sources may lead to new insights
• I am able to distil and combine insights across
multiple different and potentially conflicting
analyses
• I can lead a multi-source approach such as Insight
Activator
• I able to interpret different types of analyses to draw
insights, then challenge and pressure test them
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I understand the basics of behavioural
economics and people’s motivations to act
• I instinctively sense the power of an insight and
which ones matter more to the
people I serve
• I have a track record of uncovering genuinely
fresh insights that have driven enduring brand
or market growth
• I inspire others to dig deeper for truly
breakthrough insights
• I draw on ever wider sources of inputs to make
new connections, exploring sources that are
new and unexpected
• I am able to pressure test results and
interpretation of analyses, push insights to the
next level
• I ensure insights are shared across markets,
and within my brand community

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 8

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
How Can I Develop My Skills?

2 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB

Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
Generate • Review your insights. Are they really clear, true, changing the way you see things,
with business potential?
Powerful • Work with CMI on the best way to use Insight Activator to create new thinking
• Review the CMI quarterly trends report from CMI portal and assess implications
Insights for your brand/category
• Use the PDC to uncover answers to hypotheses – identify questions for them to answer

Use the ‘on-the-job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read ‘Insight Activator handbook’
• Use the‘6Ps Brand Detective Tool’

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Read ‘Why is a good insight like a refrigerator?’ article by Jeremy Bullmore
• Read ‘The Brandgym’ book by David Taylor. Focus in on Workout 2: ‘Search for true insight’
• Read ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ by Daniel Kahneman

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Ask your CMI business partner to share best practice from key CMI courses (e.g. Strategic
Understanding, Needscope, H&E, MBA etc.)
• Work with your CMI business partner on a research project from end-to-end so you understand
how they build insights
• Get advice and guidance from CD on how to best develop channel/shopper insights to build your
ability to anticipate what will and won’t work in-store

10 COURSES
Attend a training course:
• Attend Insight 24/7

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 9

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
This Skill is About:
Constantly analysing market information to inform fast, bold decision
3 making and action
• Combines broad reviewing to spot trends and patterns with
hypothesis-led analysis
• Understands how data is collected, curated and
manipulated (e.g. CMI methodologies)
Transform • Uses multiple data types & sources to inform decisions to drive
competitive advantage and net revenue management across the 6Ps
• Understands limitations in accuracy and validity of data, to
ensure that data informs judgement, not replaces it
Data Into • Knows where to find the freshest and most useful market data, from
internal, external and open sources
• Appreciates the power of individual personal consumer
data to better understand the people we serve and
Action • Handles data objectively and accurately, drilling down into
consumer, channel, SKU data to define volume, share and net
maximise the relevance (who, when, where, what) of our
marketing
revenue opportunities • Understands and acts on our responsibilities to manage
• Makes sense of and contextualises data by graphic visualisation and Personally Identifiable Information securely
storytelling

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I know what the 6Ps are and I know how we
measure their performance
• I am aware of the iO platform and the tools
accessible via it (e.g. Brand Equity, GMI,
Unilever Launch Monitor, NRM Diagnostics,
Price simulator, Strategic Price Tracker) that I
can use to help me grow my brand(s) faster
• I understand when to seek out different types of
market data: pre, during and post marketing
activities
• I am aware of the power of personal consumer
data to maximise the relevance of our
marketing activities
• I understand how customer, channel and
shopper data can help define growth
opportunities
• I understand the wide range of data sources
available to us, including new sources via the
PDC and carelines (e.g. Google Analytics,
keyword data, sentiment)
• I am aware of NRM methodology, analyses and
output and how they can help identify growth
opportunities
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I regularly use data sources across brand,
category, consumer, shopper, channel,
customer & competitor (including iO and
i-track) to inform decisions
• I understand core CMI methodologies and
know how to interpret data, including
statistical significance
• I can develop a well structured, objective
report with conclusions
• I go deep in the data to find the root cause of
an issue or define a new opportunity
• I can calculate the ROI of
a promotional activity
• I understand how to gather personal
consumer and shopper data and to create
personalised activities from it
• I can carry out standard and customised NRM
analyses and am able to draw insights from
these
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I regularly seek out the real time data needed to
inform fast, evidence based decision making
• I combine different market data sources to
accurately identify cause and effect
• I can lead agencies/partners to grow and
maximise the value of our consumer database
through People Relationship Management
activities on and offline
• I can use customer and point of sale shopper
data to build powerful in-store plans
• I confidently create and use a wide range of
reports & analyses from the entire spectrum of
data sources available (e.g. Unilever Launch
Monitor, Brand Equity, H&A, NRM, etc.) to
remain fully in control
of my business
• I know how to evaluate & assess different
opportunities that are generated from NRM
• I can challenge and improve assumptions behind
evaluation of options, pressure test and sense
check simulation scenarios, suggest new
avenues, discuss & challenge financial
modelling
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I challenge the status quo and champion the
opportunity for data-driven marketing
• I understand in detail the sources of our data
and how they are manipulated. While I’m not a
data analyst, I can hold a good conversation with
someone who is
• I can build a personal consumer data strategy
blending different data sources
• I deeply understand CMI methodologies and
often debate the findings and implications to
ensure they are fully robust
• I challenge our partners to help us unlock value
from data
• I can come up with creative solutions to
overcome limited data availability and come up
with grounded assumptions where no hard data
available.

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 10

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK How Can I Develop My Skills?
70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
3 Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
• Put aside an hour each week to get onto the iO platform and get curious. Find data you didn’t know was available. Teach
yourself to create a report
• Understand the overall health of your brand using the Brand Health Dashboard and the iO platform
Transform • Use the NRM price simulator to assess the impact of any price changes on turnover, profit, share etc
• Use the NRM diagnostic tool to spot opportunities in terms of pack price architecture
Data Into • Calculate ROI to assess and understand the effectiveness of your brand’s media investments
• See how quickly you are able to obtain ROI for a digital project
Action • Use A/B testing to get quick feedback on communication executions
• Set up Google Alerts to give you fast notification of competitor activity

Use the ‘on-the-job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Watch the “price simulator walk through” video in the Pricing Tools area of iO
• Watch the introduction to NRM video & read the Category NRM Playbooks

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Watch ‘How the weather influences our shopping habits’ video on YouTube
• Read ‘Applying advanced analytics in consumer companies’ article by McKinsey

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Seek team members with analytic skills to support and coach you
• Ask your CMI business partner to facilitate a lunch and learn session for your team on how to best use the iO platform
and how to access Tableau reports
• Ask a CD colleague to invite a key customer to share how they manage, interpret and respond to data
• Invite a sports analyst from a local university to share how they measure athletes’ performance data and transform it
into improved performance

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend ‘iO for End User’ or ‘iO for Analysts’ Live Action Workshop
• Attend ‘Shopper & Channel Insights into Action’ cB4L Bite Size Leader Led sessions

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 11

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
4 This Skill is About:
Crafting purposeful brands, inspiring others through stewardship to
Craft & build brand communities to express them perfectly
Champion • Develops and shares a clear and compelling vision for their • Understands the brand deeply and champions it, building
brand across the Brand Community brand communities who express the brand consistently at
Purposeful • Creates purposeful and compelling positioning, taking into
account range architecture, sub range, propositions and
every touchpoint in the journey
• Is crystal clear on the do’s and don’ts of the brand and is
Brands brand identity
• Crafts brands with a clear point of view, that are authentic
bold enough to say no to plans that are ‘off’ brand
• Protects and builds the brand equity over time in all
and meaningful, adding value for consumers, shoppers and channels, on and offline
customers • Engages customers and partners with the purpose and role
• Identifies the role the brand can play in Sustainable Living, of the brand to enable creation and execution of powerful
and how a compelling USLP Ambition can strengthen brand engagement
positioning

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I understand the basic theory and tools
(e.g. Brand Love Key) of brand positioning,
architecture and identity
• I understand how our brands play a role in
delivering sustainable living goals
• I am aware of and guided by the Unilever
strategic brand essential resources
(e.g. Brand Love Key, Brand Book, Brand
Development Model, Brand History, Brand
Guidelines, In-store guidelines, role of digital)
• I am aware of the key CMI tools and
methodologies that can help drive my
understanding of how to craft purposeful
brands (e.g. Needscope, Habits &
Experiences, Product Testing, Benchmarking
etc.)
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I know how brand positioning, and sub- range
propositions, are created and can make a strong
contribution when required
• I know what my brand stands for. I am
clear what’s “on” & “off” brand, our role
in delivering the USLP, and convey this
to others
• I am clear on the brand’s visual identity/ design
guidelines; and tone of voice and ensure it is
expressed across all the 6Ps
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I can lead refinement and updating of the
Brand Love Key
• I build differentiated range propositions,
sensitively evaluating brand stretch
• I take action to deliver our USLP Ambition in the
Brand Love Key
• I’m plugged into the connected world and embed
digital thinking and action in my strategies to
bring purpose to life
• I am an inspiring brand ambassador, proactively
ensuring that everyone, including customers,
know what the brand is about, feel inspired to
work on it and help express it consistently
across touchpoints
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I can crack difficult problems in developing
or refining the Brand Love Key
• I can enrol my Brand Community and drive
stewardship plans over the short and long
term to bring the brand to life consistently
• I have transformed the success of a major
brand through the crafting of a more
powerful positioning
• I have successfully created the USLP
ambition, and action plan for a brand purpose
• I am prepared to take unpopular decisions to
protect the long term integrity of the brand
• I build alliances and lead and inspire external
partners to help us with our crafting
• I anticipate and act on relevant trends and
technologies that will serve brand purpose,
changing ahead of need

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 12

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
How Can I Develop My Skills?
4 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
Craft & Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
• Regularly visit your Brand Centre(s) on the cB4L Hub to stay up to date with all the news on your brand(s)
Champion •
•
Always ask yourself if what you do is ‘on’ or ‘off’ brand and why?
For every activity you do, ask yourself which part of the Brand Love Key this will help to build
Purposeful • Lead brand immersion sessions to inspire and enrol others as passionate advocates for the brand
• Participate in customer working sessions to educate and communicate to them what the brand stands for
Brands and create ‘on brand’ channel plans
• Consider a brand you love. What can you learn about it’s compelling idea & superior product experience that
you can build into your brand?
• Regularly search and shop the brand online in different sites to understand brand context in ecommerce
• Review how the USLP Ambition can help sharpen the whole Brand Love Key

Use ‘on the job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read ‘Brand Love Key’ and ‘Brand USLP ambition’ guides on cB4L Hub
• Read Brand Development Model, range architecture online

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Watch ‘Golden Circle’ TED talk by Simon Sinek

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Ask your Global Brand leader to host a brand session (e.g. Axeology)
• Get advice and guidance from a CD colleague on the best ways to brilliantly express your brand(s) to
customers
• Work with the eCommerce team to understand how the brand exists in the omnichannel environment

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend ‘Maximising growth from your Brand Purpose’ leader-led workshop

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 13

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK This Skill is About:
5
Defining insightful strategies and plans that make clear choices and set a
clear direction and destination to grow our brands and our business
• Defines a powerful, ambitious, insight-led vision for sustainable •Focuses on growth through penetration and growing our bestselling
and profitable category, brand, channel and customer growth by core SKUs
Create putting people first
• Identifies key trends, technologies and growth drivers of the
•Uses NRM insights & analyses to inform growth strategies (especially
brand/channel portfolio pricing and pack price architecture)
Focused connected world, bringing together multiple data sources
• Defines an agile and competitive strategy, maximising the power
•Makes tough choices – knows when to say no; prioritises and aligns
resources holistically behind fewer, bigger, better initiatives

Growth of Unilever’s brand portfolio to develop the market, build brand •

love, capture market share, and achieve our Sustainable Living
Plan objectives
Takes, or recommends, conscious and visible calculated risks that
increase opportunities for higher returns and learning

Strategies • Ensures global and local marketing is connected and aligned,

from Category Strategy to BSP, BD and MD models, through to •
•Demonstrates sound commercial acumen and a strong P&L
understanding to build profit for Unilever and our customers
Ensures alignment and agreement on investment levels and sources
& Plans BMP to ensure plans are ready to execute (see Skill 10)
• Ensures marketing planning is connected to CD planning
of funding (e.g. global / local) for asset development and activation
• Ensures plans have a time imperative – “when do we expect to
through Customer Facing Category Strategy , customer and achieve xyz?”
S&OP planning, and ready to execute (see Skill 10)

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I understand how brands grow – by developing
the market and by growing share, focusing on
penetration
• I understand the importance of achieving
competitive superiority across the 6Ps, to
strengthen equity
• I am aware of the Brand Equity tool and how
the output is used to help sharpen the
strategic plan
• I understand how Unilever defines and aligns
plans and allocates resources through
Integrated Business Planning
• I understand the importance of Market and
Brand Development, and what’s needed to
create lasting behaviour change, at differing
maturity stages
• I understand the role of pricing in the wider
category strategy and the factors that
influence/inform a strategic price target
• I understand the different roles our brands
play in the portfolio and how the right
pack/price architecture can drive penetration,
frequency, AWOP etc
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I have a strong commercial awareness and
understand how my strategies and plans will grow
my brand as well as my business
• I understand the role of Category Strategy and
Brand Strategic Plan, the role they play in NRM
and can work with these to provide strategic
context for local plans
• I use insight from de-averaging to prioritise
audiences, missions, channels and customers and
identify specific penetration opportunities and
create the right pack price architecture for these
• I can turn growth issues and opportunities into
insightful, well written Jobs to be Done
• I can turn Jobs to be Done into well chosen
activities and design a brand marketing plan
• I set clear & realistic strategic price targets based
on solid NRM analyses
• I use relevant data to plan and set measurable
marketing objectives, and forecast the impact of
activities on my category/brand P&L, then to track
and refine performance
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I develop Market and Brand Development
Models and the Brand Strategic Plan / MCO
category P&L plans
• I support the development of Category Strategy
• I partner with CD to support development of
Customer Facing Category Strategy and Joint
Business Plans to ensure strategies and plans
grow our brands through key channels and
customers
• I recognise the opportunities that come from the
potential to purchase throughout the consumer
journey through omnichannel
• I ensure that strategies are insightful and
address behaviour change barriers and triggers
• I ensure JTBD are fully funded and make activity
choices that deliver ROI and build brand equity
• I can define NRM opportunities in brand/channel
portfolio pricing and pack price architecture
• I am able to aggregate NRM opportunities into a
holistic integrated NRM plan
• I successfully engage and align stakeholders
behind my strategies and plans
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I lead the development of Category
Strategy and the operationalising of strategies
and plans in, or across, MCOs
• I identify the need for new Market and Brand
Development Models
• I develop disruptive new strategies, business
models and plans to grow our brands faster
(incl. pack price architectures)
• I lead CCBT to deliver MCO P&L – setting total
BMI and making tough trade offs across/ within
categories
• As CCBT leader I ensure the alignment of S&OP
and customer planning with brand and category
planning in BMP
• I ensure our strategies and plans are future
proofed for a changing (constrained or enabled)
world, and consider the business case for
sustainability
• I meet key contacts from our priority customers
and take time to understand
the role my brands/category will play in
their business

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 14

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK How Can I Develop My Skills?

5 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB

Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
Create • Lead or participate in the annual IBP process (incl. discussions around NRM) for your brand and use the JTBD to align the
extended team
Focused • Regularly meet key CD colleagues and, where possible, key customers to understand the role that your brand/category
will play in growing their business
Growth • Analyse your consumers (Category Consumption Occasions) & shoppers (Channel Shopping Missions) in detail to inform
your pack price architecture
Strategies • Develop ‘stress test’ scenarios for key strategic decisions. How might competitors react? How would we react to their
reaction?
& Plans
Use ‘on the job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read ‘Category Strategy’, ‘Brand Strategic Plan’ and ‘Brand Development Model’ summary guides
• Watch the NRM related e-modules available

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Read ‘Grow the Core’ book by David Taylor
• Read ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ book by W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne
• Read ‘How Brands Grow part 2’ by Jenni Romaniuk and Byron Sharp

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Identify someone in your business who can clearly define and articulate their
strategies and choices – how do they make choices and what do they do to make them so clear and compelling?
• Work with your Finance business partner to ensure all your recommendations are commercially robust; understand how each
6P impacts the P&L

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend Perfect Launch leader-led module 1 (Align)
• Attend ‘Jobs to be Done’ cB4L Leader Led session
• Attend ‘Growth Issues and Opportunities’ Leader Led session
• Attend ‘Grow Penetration through the 6Ps’ live-action leader-led workshop
• Attend NRM leader-led workshop

10 COURSES
Attend a training course:
• Attend the ‘Leading Local/Regional Mix Development’ training course

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 15

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
This Skill is About:
6 Pioneering and partnering to generate breakthrough ideas and
translate these into concepts that deliver on our strategies
Pioneer And
• Recognises the fundamental importance of ideas to meet new • Pioneers new sources of ideas, from agency partnering to open
Partner For needs, future needs or current needs better, to connect
effectively with consumers, or build new business models or
sourcing
• ‘Steals with pride’ to adopt and adapt great ideas from inside or
Breakthrough ways of working
• Uses local and/or global insight to ensure ideas have scale and
outside the organisation
• Balances speed, scale and rigour to bring to market
Ideas relevance
• Brings an innovative, creative spirit to generating breakthrough
breakthrough ideas with conscious risk and testing built in,
championing fast, iterative learning where relevant
ideas across the 6Ps (from comms to instore, on or offline) that • Builds in shopper and retail channel thinking early on
have the power to deliver long term through innovation, market
development or brand led growth • Uses sustainable thinking as stimulus for ideation, and to
screen ideas that would challenge our USLP ambition
• Can develop ideas into compelling and differentiated winning
concepts that connect with people across the 6Ps

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I understand the importance of ideas as
solutions to deliver our strategies
• I understand the pathway of ideation,
from empathy and understanding, to
need, to concept and prototype
• I understand how IPM works, and the
principles of project management in
delivering innovation
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I am on the look out for branded solutions and
experiences, not just line extensions and
incremental product features
• I get stimulus from outside: immersions,
trends, new technology, experts/ journalists,
etc.
• I value and apply different lenses (e.g.
category, brand, channel, sustainable living)
to generate and screen ideas
• I know how to apply a variety of creative
techniques to get beyond the obvious
• I understand the need for on time, in full
(OTIF) delivery of innovation to MCOs
• I ensure that planned innovation OTIF delivery
dates consider local launch windows
• I ensure local insight is used in local projects,
and fed into global projects as appropriate
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I bring high levels of creativity to situations and enable
team members across functions to contribute in idea
generation
• I embrace the power of technology to help generate,
screen, build and prototype ideas
• I can use Sustainable Living as stimulus to create ideas
that deliver business success
• I creatively adopt and adapt ideas from
other places or partners
• I develop winning product, packaging, pack/price, format
and service concepts which grow the core across
channels and occasions
• I screen concepts to kill poor ideas quickly and enhance
good ones
• I manage projects through IPM to deliver OTIF
• I ensure ideas have value and scale through developing
and aligning on robust local business cases
• I translate the 6P mix and assets into inspiring Brand
Experience Toolkits as appropriate, OTIF
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I successfully apply learnings from adjacent
categories and other industries to help
develop breakthrough ideas
• I tap into open innovation streams (e.g.
crowd sourcing, inventors, customer test
stores, start ups) and seek new models for
generating and developing new ideas
• I use design thinking to innovate total
solutions, not just product concepts
• I think beyond product and experience and
seek ideas for new business models and
ways of working
• I develop new ways to screen and improve
ideas (for example using the PDCs)
• I empower the right teams in the Brand
Community (global or local) to develop ideas

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 16

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK How Can I Develop My Skills?
70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
6 Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
• Lead Idea and Concept Development for a project

Pioneer And •
•
Look for opportunities to spark ideas by talking to and collaborating with people outside of your usual network
Develop ideas beyond the product; what new services, or experiences would delight the people you serve?

Partner For •
•
Post rationalise a great idea that you really like – What do you think the idea was at the start of the process?
Think about the people you met in your last immersion: what would they like to see, have or experience?

Breakthrough • Partner with key CD colleagues and, where possible, key customers to hold innovation brainstorming sessions to help develop
new shopper and channel ideas

Ideas • Brief The Foundry to identify new partners or approaches

• Use the Sustainable Living Lab tools (Clash Tool, 6P to the power S, Circular Economy, Partnership Toolkit) to help stimulate
and build ideas

Use ‘on the job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read the Brainstorming 101 guide to quick-start creative idea generation
• Read the ‘Crafting Great Ideas’ summary guide

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Watch ‘How to build your creative confidence’ TED talk by David Kelley
• Read ‘Sticky Wisdom’ book by WhatIf
• Read ‘Lateral Thinking’ book by Edward de Bono
• Subscribe to ‘Contagious’ free weekly newsletter or ‘Springwise’ innovation bulletin

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Identify someone who regularly challenges the status quo and creates different thinking and outcomes – ask them to help you sharpen
a specific project that you are working on
• Ask your CMI business partner to explain how they foster and encourage innovative thinking
• Ask your Sustainability Champion to showcase some of the best USLP examples from around the world at your team meeting
• Ask one of your key CD colleagues to help you build key shopper & channel thinking into your idea generation
• Ask CMI how to use the CTI tools e.g. for fast screening
• Ask CMI how the PDC can help screen or give feedback on ideas

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend ‘Crafting Best Seller Concepts’ leader-led workshop OR the whole team can attend book a facilitator-led
session.

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 17

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
This Skill is About:
7 Designing and nurturing product and packaging experiences which
attract shoppers, delight consumers and make a positive USLP impact
• Demonstrates deep product intimacy, loving every aspect of the • Understands the importance of product review and
Design product from the “goo in the jar” to the shelf-ready packaging or its
digital representation
feedback
• Uses physical prototypes to ensure the total experience is
Bestseller • Is obsessed with knowing all about Unilever and competitor
products, and the experience at all touchpoints in the consumer
journey – in use, in hand, on shelf, online
aligned across all senses
• Partners R&D and design agencies to develop winning
Product • Ensures that all details within the product & pack design are firmly
connected with the brand’s positioning and creative guidelines, and
innovation platforms and roadmaps for products and
claims that appeal to consumers, build brand equity and
deliver our Sustainable Living objectives.
Experiences product quality meets Brand Performance Standards and beats
competitors
• Uses holistic design thinking to ensure products are easy to find and
• Applies a strong aesthetic sense to product and pack
design across online/offline worlds
use, and that deliver experiences that delight and build equity • Actively considers the product format beyond the shelf and
• Turns winning concepts into Product and Design Briefs, inspiring the ensures that the design is translated into Omnichannel
design of superior product, packaging, or service experiences e.g. Assets (hero image, back of pack etc)
subscription models, refill solutions

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I have a deep understanding and experience
of my products and competitor products
• I am aware of the key tools and approaches
we use for new product development
and testing
• I understand how we evaluate product quality
and how we benchmark against competition
• I understand the key dimensions of product
innovation in my category e.g. formulation,
recipe, fragrance
• I understand which product attributes drive
consumer satisfaction in my category and on
my brand, and build value
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I can develop pack format briefs that enable
us to better meet user needs
across channels
• I understand the ways my brand will deliver
the USLP through product innovation
• I use data to identify opportunities
to improve product and packaging
performance
• I have a strong aesthetic sense of what will
feel and look good online and offline
• I participate in innovation project teams,
using IPM and CMI CTI tools to strengthen
delivery
• I understand channel/customer implications
(shopper, online and offline shelf, profitability
etc.) and build this thinking in early
• I bring product experience to life through the
BET, and share assets via TAB and PIM
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I lead product, pack format and design briefs to
deliver superior product experiences that build
equity and win share
• I work with R&D and Legal to develop claims to
underpin product superiority
• I move as fast as possible to prototypes, to bring
my ideas to life for others
• I partner with CD and CiiC to craft mixes and
experiences that work for shoppers and consumers
• I take an omnichannel approach to ensure we
maximise consumer & shopper experience across
all relevant channels (e.g. from general trade to
e-commerce)
• I set the standards for quality and benchmarking
of brands to beat our competition and drive
preference
• I lead project teams to deliver product and
packaging innovation OTIF
• I have a sophisticated appreciation of the craft of
my category (beauty, chefmanship, the digital
opportunity etc.)
LEADING EDGE
And...
• I set a clear vision for the future direction of
our product experience, and set positive
pressure to make change happen
• I have strengthened my brand’s preference
through creating great product and packaging
design or innovative solutions
• I am known for my expertise in crafting the
finer details and artful touches: flavour,
recipe, fragrance, packaging tactility
• I partner R&D in building future growth
platforms and claims roadmaps
• I pioneer ways to improve our sustainability
and reduce our environmental impact
• I ensure that our product experiences pioneer
delivery of USLP goals
• I empower the right teams in the Brand
Community (global or local) to develop
product experiences

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 18

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK How Can I Develop My Skills?
70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
7 Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
• Watch how shoppers choose products in-store and how they use them at home as consumers to gain a deep understanding of what
Design drives peoples choices and satisfaction
• Spend time in-store and online with your key CD colleagues to observe and discuss product and pack innovations from a range of
Bestseller categories and channels
– how can you learn and reapply them to your brand? How do on and off line product experiences differ?

Product • Challenge yourself and your team to think about how artful design touches (e.g. recipe, flavour, smell) can help you create a
differentiated experience
• Immerse yourself in your brand’s brand book, creative guidelines and packaging guides to ensure you fully understand the equities
Experiences and creative language palette of your brand

Use ‘on the job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read ‘Claims Development’ 1 pager
• Watch the Design for Life video on u-view to dive into design innovation
• Read Design Conversations 1-pagers to help you develop a design-centric vocabulary
• Read the Visual Thinking One-pager to help you visualize ideas & tackle problems through sketching

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Watch ‘Mark Parker on Innovation & Design’ and ‘Nike Nature Amplified Design Ethos’ YouTube videos about Nike innovation
• Read ‘The Game Changer’ book by A.G. Lafley & Ram Charan
• Read ‘Return on Ideas’ book by David Nichols
• Read ‘The Designing for Growth Field Book: A Step-by-Step Project Guide’ by Jeanne Liedtka for a comprehensive overview of recent design
methods that could help with your next project

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Partner with your Sustainability Champion to develop new product/packaging ideas to achieve the brand’s USLP objectives.
• Ask your R&D and Supply Chain business partners to arrange a day at a factory where your brand is made and get them to take you
through the journey from raw material sourcing to the final end product and packaging
• Ask Omnichannel team to share best practice on how products are experienced online
• Actively seek out innovation experts to brainstorm with and ask them to be a sounding board to challenge your thinking
• Ask your design agency to prepare and present a best practice learning session
• Join the “Design for Life” Chatter group to connect with the global design community

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 19

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
8 This Skill is About:
Create Creating effective engagement through the consumer journey that
builds brand love and inspires people to buy, use & recommend
Engagement • Uses the 5Cs Connected World model as the start point to • Uses calendar moments (e.g. Lifebuoy around major festivals,
Through The understand, build engagement and meet needs of consumers
to drive Influence, Trigger and Action
Haj, monsoon) to increase relevance
• Works with partners (e.g. NGOs) who can help us engage in
Consumer • Understands the power and role of communications in a
connected world, throughout the consumer journey, with a
‘mobile first’ approach as appropriate
different, credible and relevant ways
• Uses communication to drive penetration by balancing
coverage, frequency and quality of engagement
Journey • Makes clear choices across channels to design powerful and
joined-up brand experiences that delight and engage people at
• Is able to personalise engagement at scale through data driven
marketing
scale, in line with the JTBD
• Understands how commerce / conversion to purchase is part of
• Understands the role of different types of content through the the journey and eCommerce and Direct to Consumer are
journey; ‘seek out’ passion and need content and ‘interrupt’ marketing (not just sales) opportunities
news and core advertising

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I understand the typical roles and
strengths of different channels (paid,
owned, earned)
• I understand the need to plan out the
consumer journey to build and deliver
integrated, joined-up brand experiences
• I ‘live the digital space’ and understand the
role of digital and mobile for my
consumers and my brands
• I understand the differences between
‘always on’ and campaign planning and
how we integrate them
• I understand how we seek to be both
locally relevant and globally scaled
• I understand the importance of building in
the customer voice into our plans to
ensure support for great retail execution
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And…
• I immerse myself in the media channels and
online spaces preferred by the people my
brand serves
• I build a communication channel plan based
on deep insight into media/digital habits and
create appropriate assets and platforms that
compliment the consumer journey
• I ensure that I’m taking a ‘mobile first’
approach where appropriate, optimised for
4G/3G/2G as needed
• I clarify the role of communications and set
measurable objectives up front
• I focus investment on the few communication
channels that will help achieve the brand’s
objectives
• I design plans to be robust in terms of reach,
frequency and cost effectiveness while telling
rich engaging stories
• I build on global thinking with local insight by
Unlocking the BET
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And…
• I can prioritise the key channels that support the behaviour
change required to deliver the strategic objective e.g. Market
Development vs. Brand Share growth
• I confidently build campaign and ‘always on’ plans (e.g.
search, social, mobile)
• I can use tools such as Celtra and Ultra to deliver context
related or personalised communication
• I can use Search Engine Optimisation to define context
relevant search messaging
• I understand how online and offline channels impact on and
build on each other through the consumer journey
• I design immersive, multi-sensory experiences that have the
power to inspire Key Opinion Leaders/ early adopters to
participate and tell others
• I take an omnichannel approach to media, recognising
people can learn about and purchase our brands in many
places on and offline.
• I consider how my plans align to relevant moments in
people’s lives (as individuals or communities)
• I use a range of tracking tools to course- correct in real time
LEADING EDGE
And…
• I experiment with new and innovative media
ideas to achieve breakthrough and learn faster
• I set aside time and budget to respond in real
time as our campaigns are ‘in flight’
• I develop agency relationships that encourage
brave planning ideas
• I build partnerships with 3rd parties (e.g. NGOs)
to help us find common goals and new models
for engagement
• I use the power of digital to maximise the
relevance of every brand interaction (who, what,
when, where)
• I ensure early collaboration with CD and
priority customers to build breakthrough
execution in store
• I understand how changing technology and
technical capabilities offer us new opportunities
to engage across the consumer’s journey

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 20

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK How Can I Develop My Skills?
8 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
Create • Before you start planning a campaign or ‘always on’ activation, look on-line and see what other brands, with similar
objectives, have done well and apply the key learnings to your brand plan
Engagement • Follow some creative brands (e.g. Burberry and Oreo) across platforms (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
Periscope, Snapchat; think about how they engage, what they talk about, how do they take you on a journey through
Through The paid, owned and earned?
• Develop an ART brief that reflects a deep understanding of how consumers and shoppers live their lives
Consumer • Create an optimised engagement plan which demonstrates the difference and benefits of key media channels (paid, owned,
earned & retail)

Journey • Live the space: look up one interesting piece of content each day on a channel such as Tumblr, Pinterest, or a mobile app
• Develop a contextually dynamic or scalable personalised campaign with Celtra or Ultra

Use ‘on the job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read ‘2016 Media Golden Rules' best practice guide from the Media Team
• Watch ‘7 Omnichannel Assets’ bite size learning video
• Read ‘Perfect Store 2.0 guide with best practice examples’
• Watch the CMI ‘Localising Consumer Journeys’ video and use the toolkit

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Follow Digital Experts on Twitter like Avinash Kaushik and Jeff Bullas
• Watch ‘Coca Cola Content 2020’ video on YouTube
• Read ‘How Brands Grow’ Part 1 and 2 by Byron Sharp

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Find experts who can teach you about emerging social platforms (e.g. Periscope) to stay current on all social trends

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend ‘Good 2 Great Communications’ Leader Led session
• Attend ‘Effective Sampling’ Leader-Led session
• Attend ‘Perfect Store 2.0’ Leader-Led session
• Attend Perfect Launch module 2 (Unlock the BET)

10 COURSES
Attend a training course:
• Take part in Connected World programme
• Attend the ‘Crafting Better Connections and Consumer Journeys’ training course

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 21

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
This Skill is About:
9 Crafting bold, effective creative work for communication that is
Authentic to the brand, Relevant to consumer’s lives and that has
Lead & Inspire Talkability built in
Bold, Effective • Brings innovative ideas to life in communication by crafting
inspiring, aligned ART briefs with clear objectives and a
• Understands the opportunity to build briefs from the USLP
Ambition (e.g. Vaseline healing project)
focused JTBD that catalyse great agency work
Creative • Understand the need for fit between creative and channel,
• Develops assets using brand guidelines faithfully
• Sees the potential in early executions and applies creativity and
context in consumer journey (e.g. need for mobile first and judgement to nurture them, learning iteratively from real
opportunity to personalise at scale), and role of content (e.g. exposure (e.g. A/B testing) to strengthen them further
interrupt or seek out)
• Understands CMI creative testing methodologies and knows
• Recognises the value of a wide range of potential agency how to interrogate outputs to ensure it informs the creative
partners and is capable of orchestrating a combined team of process rather than drives it
partners to create and nurture integrated ideas, developing
and managing powerful agency relationships over time • Is prepared to experiment and take risks, to develop work that
breaks through and to learn faster than competition

How Does M y Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I know the basics of developing
a good ART brief
• I understand how the Brand Communication
Idea serves as the foundation for all executions
and work to ensure ideas
are “on brand”
• I am aware of best practice techniques to aid
creative judgement (e.g. ART judging tool) and
testing methodologies/CMI ART tools
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I lead development of tactical and always
on creative including Omnichannel assets
• I work with agencies to craft a brief that’s
single-minded and clear
• I seek to understand creative ideas deeply
before judging them too quickly
• My feedback to agencies is clear and well
structured. I make sure that the agency
gets only one set of feedback
• I ensure that creative is right for its context
in consumers’ lives, within the consumer
journey
• I understand how to create creative,
impactful work, whilst ensuring
consistency with the brand
FULLY OPERATIONAL
And...
• I can lead the development of highly effective
creative for key media for the brand
• I use feedback to nurture strong ideas and kill
weak ideas quickly
• I review mobile creative in a mobile
format first
• I develop creative with the flexibility to
personalise at scale as appropriate
• I engage stakeholders and truly listen, but am
careful not to erode a good idea or great
creative work to please everyone
• I understand and use a range of test
methodologies (e.g. Preview, A/B testing)to
help inform my judgement on creative work
• I work with customers to experiment and test
new ideas across the consumer journey.
We jointly learn and adapt to build
breakthrough work
• I share the role of creative assets through the
BET and the assets themselves via TAB
LEADING EDGE
And…
• I develop Authentic, Relevant, Talkable Brand
Communications Ideas that inspire multiple
great campaigns over time
• I inspire agencies by setting a bold
ambition and fostering a challenging,
risk taking environment
• I am expert at crafting good ideas and creative
work to make them great
• I deeply understand the various creative
testing methodologies and often debate the
findings and implications to ensure they
robustly inform the creative process
• I empower the right teams in the Brand
Community (global or local) to develop
creative assets

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 22

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
How Can I Develop My Skills?

9 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB

Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
Lead & Inspire • Find ways to infuse inspiration from new sources – hold creative sessions in new places, get new people into the process
and pro-actively learn from shoppers & customers
Bold, Effective • Review creative for leading brands across different platforms (e.g. TV, YouTube, Snapchat) with your creative agency – what
works on each platform and why?
Creative • Push the boundaries with your creative ideas - would anybody be shocked by what you have developed?
• Think about your last People Immersion: how would they react to your creative idea?
• Complete a robust evaluation of the BCI using cB4L Hub Tools to ensure idea is ‘on’ brand
• Work on developing creative that can flex at scale according to context and personal information

Use the ‘on-the-job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Engage in ‘CMI Communication Research’ e-learning
• Engage in the ‘A.R.T. Creative Brief’ and ‘A.R.T. Judging’ bite sizes on the cB4L Hub

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Read ‘Predatory thinking’ book by Dave Trott
• Read Harvard Business Review Article ‘Keep Customers, Keep it Simple’
• Read ‘How to get the most out of your agency (and client)’ blog by Martin Weigel
• Read ‘Liberation of Magic’ book by Martin Weigel

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Ask your creative agency to organise a session where they showcase examples of recent good & bad briefs to identify
what constitutes best-practice
• Ask your creative agency to run a session to review Cannes Lions Award Winners and help analyse why they won
• Regularly work with CD colleagues and key customers to learn how they create impactful Marketing to Shopper Assets
and what works and does not work in-store

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend ‘ART: Briefing Great Creative Work’ and ‘ART: Judging Creative Work leader-led sessions’

10 COURSES
Attend a training course:
• Attend the A.R.T. ‘Briefing Creative’ and ‘Judging Creative’ training courses

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 23

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
10 This Skill is About:
Executing the plan brilliantly, tracking against clear KPIs rigorously
Execute and being agile to optimise ‘in flight’ to achieve targets
Brilliantly, • Executes planned engagement, customised to local insight and
culture as appropriate and necessary
• Plans Perfect Launches, from JTBD and business case
alignment to first 100 days intensive care

Track • Consistently engages with extended teams (e.g. agencies) and

customers to achieve brilliant day 1 execution of all agreed
• Implements launches as agreed and planned, with focus on
launching on time in full (timing, scale and investment levels)
activities to deliver agreed business case
& Optimise • Rigorously and regularly tracks performance against priority
KPIs relevant to the JTBD (with penetration, price and
• Shares knowledge widely and learns to improve - uses ROMI
analysis & other data sources to achieve consistently greater
distribution as a minimum) to understand and respond in agile returns over time
way to performance and market dynamics
• Recognises the short and long term effects of engagement,
and plans over the short and long term for impact and lasting
behaviour change

How Does My Skill Level Build?

BASIC APPRECIATION
• I understand the key measures used to
track 6P performance
• I understand the role of IPM in managing
innovation to market
• I understand the Brand Marketing Plan
• I have a basic knowledge of the way we buy,
execute, track and manage all our
communication channels (TV, Search etc)
• I know what Perfect Launch is, and the
importance of project planning and agile
response in the first 100 days
WORKING KNOWLEDGE
And...
• I set clear goals, plans & deliverables
across the 6P’s, ensuring cross functional
involvement from the start
• I define the 3 mandatory KPIs (penetration,
price and distribution) and others as
appropriate and can use the appropriate
tracking and evaluation tools to learn and
dynamically optimise plans
• I apply project leadership skills to achieve
brilliant activation on all campaign
elements
• I use PIM and TAB to access the right
assets at the right time
• I understand the IPM Market Deployment
criteria for demonstrating launch readiness
• I use a wide range of data sources and tools
to track performance and enable agile
response, including i-track and the PDC
(e.g. social listening)
FULLY OPERATIONAL LEADING EDGE
And... And...
• I execute activities flawlessly, with • I am able to lead and inspire teams to land
meticulous attention for detail plans and exceed targets; dynamically
• I test the performance of our activities in learning and adjusting plans
real time • I use the latest techniques to get real time
• I make sure that the brand is executed in an feedback from the marketplace in order to
integrated way throughout the consumer make fast, sharp and incisive decisions
journey, in line with brand guidelines • I share learning widely, helping to build
repeatable models so that great work can be
• I dynamically manage across the 6Ps, making
timely choices and trade-offs, to prioritise the adopted and adapted across categories and/or
activities that will have the biggest positive markets
impact on growth and brand health
• I demonstrate a strong bias for action in
aligning key stakeholders (including CD and
customers) and driving for fast decisions
• I constantly track NRM initiatives, incl. price,
mix and promo & and have clear plans in place
on how to act in case things don’t track as
expected

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 24

 SKILLS
SKILLS FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
10 How Can I Develop My Skills?
Execute 70 LEARNING ON THE JOB
Brilliantly, Identify projects where you can practise your skills:
• Review your brands latest PLE & MMM outputs with your CMI & Media business partners to
Track understand the key best & worst practice learnings
• Work with CD to evaluate your historical brand/category executions compared to competitors and
& Optimise other ‘best in class’ examples to help optimise forward plans
• Work with the S&OP team to learn about how to achieve accurate forecast assumptions for your brand
• Use the Perfect Store 2.0 and Perfect Launch toolkits to build in best practice into your plans
• Review monthly OPSO reports for your brand / category and implement learnings
• Set up and lead regular reviews with your team of your collective KPI’s and JTBD to track progress
and to course correct where required
• Use the Brand Ambition toolkit to help set KPIs and optimise your plan
• Track sentiment relevant to Brand Ambition via the PDCs

Use the ‘on-the-job’ how-to guides and self-learning resources available on the cB4L Hub:
• Read the CMI guides on ‘Metrics the Matter 3.0’; ‘In-Market Comms Tracking’ and ‘Brand
Equity scores’

Read and watch stimulating and thought leading materials from external experts:
• Read ‘Long and Short of it’ paper from IPA (how campaign results develop over time)

20 LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Work with others who can help you build your skills:
• Invite experts from agencies (eg MWB, BASES, IRI, Kantar etc.) to share best practice tracking each
quarter
• Ask your CMI business partner to present case study examples of flawless executions at your
team meeting – what can you learn and apply to your upcoming activities?

Attend a leader-led Live Action Workshop or training session:

• Attend Perfect Launch module 2 (Unlock the BET)

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 25

 WE HAVE REVIEWED THE SKILLS PROFILES TO REFLECT THE
ROLES ARISING FROM THE ‘DONUTS’ OF MARKETING 2.0

Brand Strategy Category Business Management

and Strategy

Use consumer insights from Build and proactively manage

key markets to develop a category business model (for
brand identity and the assets Unilever and our customers),
and strategies to go with it through the brand portfolio

Innovation Brand Engagement

Find and scale winning product Understand and deliver what

designs to amplify trends and local consumers want from a
address consumer needs brand, connecting across all
relevant touch-points

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 26

 WHAT ARE THE TARGET RATINGS FOR THE 10 SKILLS?
Please note that the target ratings are based on standard roles and have been set at the top end of each work level
so please work with your line manager to apply judgement when comparing them to your specific role & level of experience.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Global Explore with Generate Transform Craft & Create Pioneer and Design Create Lead & Execute
Marketing Empathy & Powerful Data Into Champion Focused Partner For Bestseller Engagement Inspire Bold Brilliantly,
Curiosity Insights Action Purposeful Growth Breakthrough Product Through The Effective Track &
Brands Strategies & Ideas Experiences Consumer Creative Work Optimise
Plans Journey

LE
FO
GBVP WK

WL4 BA

Global LE
Brand FO

Director WK

WL3 BA

Global LE

Brand FO

Manager WK
BA
WL2

Assistant LE

Brand FO

Manager WK

WL1 BA

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 27

 WHAT ARE THE TARGET RATINGS FOR THE 10 SKILLS?
Please note that the target ratings are based on standard roles and have been set at the top end of each work level
so please work with your line manager to apply judgement when comparing them to your specific role & level of experience.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Local Explore with Generate Transform Craft & Create Pioneer and Design Create Lead & Execute
Marketing Empathy & Powerful Data Into Champion Focused Partner For Bestseller Engagement Inspire Bold Brilliantly,
Curiosity Insights Action Purposeful Growth Breakthrough Product Through The Effective Track &
Brands Strategies & Ideas Experiences Consumer Creative Work Optimise
Plans Journey

MCO big LE

‘C’ategory FO

leader WK

WL3 BA

MCO small LE
‘c’ategory FO

leader WK

WL3 BA

MCO Brand LE
Manager – FO

Global Brand WK

WL2 BA

MCO Brand LE

Manager – FO

Local Jewel WK

WL2 BA

Assistant LE

Brand FO

Manager WK

WL1 BA

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 28

 WHAT ARE THE TARGET RATINGS FOR THE 10 SKILLS?
Please note that the target ratings are based on standard roles and have been set at the top end of each work level
so please work with your line manager to apply judgement when comparing them to your specific role & level of experience.

Local 1.
Explore with
2.
Generate
3.
Transform
4.
Craft &
5.
Create
6.
Pioneer and
7.
Design
8.
Create
9.
Lead &
10.
Execute
Marketing Empathy & Powerful Data Into Champion Focused Partner For Bestseller Engagement Inspire Bold Brilliantly,
Curiosity Insights Action Purposeful Growth Breakthrough Product Through The Effective Track &
Brands Strategies & Ideas Experiences Consumer Creative Work Optimise
Plans Journey

Cluster LE
Category FO

VP WK

WL4 BA

Cluster small
‘c’ategory LE
manager – FO

Non PC WK

WL2 BA

cB4L Marketing Skills Framework August 2016 29