Client: Unilever

CG's Leeds office won Agency Team of the Year in the 2006 CiB Northern Region awards for its work on this project.

Project background
In March 2006, Unilever announced it was selling its £1.4 billion European frozen foods (FF) business. In the UK, the decision meant Unilever's Birds Eye business was to be sold. In August 2006, Unilever revealed that private equity firm Permira was buying Birds Eye and the sale was completed in November 2006.

CG's Leeds team was asked by Unilever to join an internal communications project team, formed to manage and deliver the employee communications during the sale process.

Key objectives included:

  • ensuring Birds Eye remained focused on its targets and didn't become distracted by uncertainty about the future
  • keeping employees as up to date as possible with progress of the sale
  • reminding people that Birds Eye is a strong business with a great future and not a failing business that had been put up for sale
  • addressing people's specific concerns about the future of their terms and conditions and pensions.

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"We didn't want people to feel they were part of a failing business that was being sold off. We constantly reminded employees that frozen foods is a very strong business and that Birds Eye is a powerful brand with a great future. There was also an underlying message that the sale of frozen foods was one of the best things that could happen to Birds Eye and its people, as it will provide an opportunity to unleash the huge potential in the business. We were delighted with the execution of this project."

Helen Lo,
Former Head of Corporate Relations for Unilever Frozen Foods.

Unilever Case Study

Update PDF newsletter
The main form of communication during the sale process was Update, a PDF newsletter produced by CG Leeds. It was written, designed and distributed via email very quickly to ensure employees were kept up to date with the latest information. The format was easy to navigate via click links and could be read on-screen or printed and posted on staff notice boards.

Update became the main communication channel during the sale process and a trusted and valued source of information.

Broadcast
The most important announcement during the sale process concerned the identity of the buyer, Permira. The announcement was made by managing director Fergie Balfour at Unilever's offices in Walton, but to ensure it could be shared with factory employees, the presentation was filmed and edited into a DVD presentation by CG and sent via courier to the factories that same afternoon.

Effectiveness
By the end of quarter three, Birds Eye was ahead of its targets - a superb performance considering that the sale of the business had the potential to be a major distraction. It's believed that the quality of the internal communication, and the fact that people were kept well informed about a complex sale process, enabled Birds Eye to maintain a 'business as usual' approach.

Unilever Broadcast