Unilever's Sketch Pro Launch Takeaways:
- Sketch Pro, built with IPG Studios, uses AI tools to create testable assets in two hours and speed up production threefold.
- Early wins include 6M+ organic TikTok views during Ramadan in Jakarta, boosting Rinso/Sunlight visibility by 22–22.5%.
- The initiative marks a strategic pivot from TV-first to social-first storytelling, aligning content with real-time cultural trends.
Unilever just cut content production time from weeks to hours with one move.
The multinational consumer goods company has introduced Sketch Pro, a new in-house design studio developed in collaboration with IPG Studios.
It will accelerate creative production for the CPG giant's home care division.
Focused on delivering culturally relevant content at speed, the studio replaces a traditional TV-first model with digital-first assets crafted for social media marketing.
Sketch Pro currently operates in four major cities: London, São Paulo, Mumbai, and Jakarta.
Unilever aims to bring the initiative to 21 countries by 2026, with planned rollouts in cities such as Istanbul, Durban, and Shanghai.
The unit relies on a rotating set of AI tools including Adobe Firefly, Google Veo 3, and large language models.
This approach allows Unilever teams to respond quickly to market trends and consumer conversations, rather than working against long production lead times.
According to Unilever’s Global Marketing Director Mario Dughi, the new setup helps the company keep pace with how people engage with home care products today.
“The magic of Sketch Pro lies in how it fuses top-tier human creativity with best-in-class technology.
Our partnership with IPG supercharges our ability to ideate, iterate and deliver high-quality design assets with speed and cultural relevance.”
One of the studio’s key claims is speed. Teams can develop a design concept suitable for consumer testing within two hours.
In Jakarta, for example, Sketch Pro produced content tied to Ramadan that reached over six million organic views on TikTok and increased visibility for home care brands Rinso and Sunlight by over 22%.
@rinso.indonesia Ramadan adalah waktunya kita semua untuk jadi lebih, tapi nyatanya gak segampang itu. Terlebih bagi Sekar, kakak pertama perempuan yang berusaha mewujudkan harapan sang ayah dengan membimbing adik-adiknya meningkatkan ibadah—meski tingkah mereka sering kali membawa masalah. Ikuti kisah #IklanSekar meniti jalan kesabaran demi jadikan semua kembali bersih bersama Rinso yang bikin pekerjaan rumah cepat beres, jadi banyak waktu untuk lakuin kebaikan. #BebersihGampangIbadahTenang♬ original sound - Rinso Indonesia
In São Paulo, creative tied to Fernanda Torres’s Oscar nomination led to a 4% reduction in Meta advertising costs, according to a report from Marketing Communication News.
Meanwhile in Mumbai, design workflows have become 2.5 times faster, and in London, the Comfort team delivered over 30 concepts at a pace seven times quicker than previous systems.
Rethinking the Creative Process
Sketch Pro is not a standalone platform but part of a larger rethink of how Unilever approaches marketing across its home care category.
With younger audiences moving away from traditional television, the company is realigning how it delivers brand messages.
The goal is to create timely content that resonates within social platforms, where relevance and speed often dictate performance.
The studios are intended to help Unilever act on cultural moments with precision.
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From celebrating local holidays to responding to real-time trends, the creative teams aim to develop assets that feel timely and context-aware.
IPG Studios also emphasized the importance of adaptability across Unilever’s diverse portfolio.
Sebastiano Mura, head of business leadership at IPG Studios EMEA, explained that the studio’s structure was intentionally built to reflect the distinct identity of each home care brand.
“This integration allows us to create compelling, culturally relevant content at speed.
Our flexible tech stack is tailored to Unilever’s needs and adaptable to each Home Care brand’s unique identity.”
Sketch Pro’s launch reflects the company’s increasing use of AI across its portfolio, including recent developments like digital product twins for Dove.
As Unilever grows its social media and influencer investments, Sketch Pro could signal a change in how legacy brands manage content at scale.
This rapid content strategy aligns with Unilever’s broader plan to reignite brand engagement through influencer marketing, as outlined by its CEO in a DesigRush podcast.
Our Take: Is Sketch Pro Just About Speed?
Speed matters, but control is the bigger play.
I see Unilever making a calculated move to bring creative execution in-house so they can respond faster and stay in sync with consumer behavior.
Cutting timelines is only part of it.
The real edge comes from removing layers between insight and output.
For agencies, this raises the bar on what value really looks like.
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