London/Rotterdam
- Innovative marketing and media tech startups will pitch to a panel of leading brand, agency and Venture Capital decision makers for the chance to be crowned The Next Big Thing at ad:tech London after Unilever agreed to partner the initiative and the trade show’s Future Media & Technology Summit.
In this new move, Unilever
becomes the first consumer brand to partner the conference and
exhibition which this year celebrates its 10th birthday with a ‘Digital Decade: Past, Present, Future's'(Link opens in a new window) theme.
The Next Big Thing(Link opens in a new window),
created in collaboration with Collider, will be working with some of
the UK’s leading tech startup hubs to showcase the country's rising tech
stars. The initiative will provide the opportunity to pitch to a panel
of leading industry players with the winner being crowned ‘The Next Big
Thing’ – a prestigious accolade won last year by mobile native
advertising network Avocarrot. Shortlisted startups will also secure
free ad:tech exhibition space in a Unilever Foundry show floor feature.
This partnership underlines Unilever’s commitment to innovation through collaborating with start-ups. The Unilever Foundry(Link opens in a new window)
enables innovative companies to pilot their technology with Unilever
brands, tap into talent and expertise through the mentoring programme
and apply for investment through Unilever Ventures.
The
partnership will see Unilever take headline sponsorship of ad:tech
London’s Future Media & Technology Summit in which Marc Mathieu,
Unilever’s SVP Marketing will reveal Unilever’s strategic marketing and
media investment plans...
The partnership will also see ad:tech
host up to 50 Unilever marketers who will participate in guided tours
and special networking events designed to connect startups and
technology providers with investment decision makers at Unilever.
Marc
Mathieu, SVP Global Marketing explains: “Startups are pioneering the
future of marketing. Our partnership with ad:tech enables us to showcase
these technologies to the wider marketing community and challenge our
existing partners to collaborate with these innovators.”
“As
event organisers our job is to connect people and this partnership is a
great example of how we can do that in a more effective and efficient
way. Unilever’s enthusiasm and drive to make this happen shows their
commitment to forging the way when it comes to embracing digital,
technology and new forms of community engagement,” says James
Drake-Brockman, Head of ad:tech in EMEA & India.
