Rexona Rivals
Unilever translated the high-energy entertainment of "Rexona Rivals" directly into the retail environment, connecting top-of-funnel sporting passion to store conversion.
new-to-brand customers
deodorant sales week ever at Woolworths
sales growth
The Background & Objectives
Rexona was facing declining market share and brand power as competing brands dominated the social conversation around sports. Younger Gen Z shoppers, in particular, represented the most disengaged demographic within traditional personal care aisles.
To reverse this trend, Unilever set out to break routine shopping habits with a culturally relevant retail idea. The primary objectives were to connect entertainment with first-party audience targeting, drive Woolworths market share expansion, and recruit high-potential new buyers into the category.
Connecting Cultural Sporting Energy to Store Conversion
While competitors were owning the sporting narrative online, Woolworths basket-affinity insights revealed a massive opportunity to reach prospective shoppers outside of the traditional Personal Care aisle.
To bridge the gap between top-of-funnel sports affinity and shelf conversion, Unilever connected broadcast entertainment and retail commerce, extending above the line content into the path to purchase. The sport vs sport 'Rivals' energy carries through brand creative across the shopping journey while limited-edition packaging and promotional activity intercepted customer journeys to engage target shoppers out of category, wherever they choose to shop.
Solutions
To maximise retail impact, Unilever executed a unified full-funnel strategy that brought the "Rexona Rivals" campaign seamlessly from above-the-line sports media directly onto Woolworths store shelves.
By pairing limited-edition packaging with precision first-party targeting, the solution actively engaged customers beyond the traditional personal care aisle and converted top-of-funnel sporting excitement into immediate basket additions.
From Broadcast Media to Retail
Extended "Rivals" broadcast entertainment directly onto store shelves through brand creative and a "Back Your Team" retail call to action.
Find Prospects Beyond Care
Utilised Woolworths insights and basket-affinity signals to target high-potential customers across complimentary, non-personal care aisles.
Unified Planning Success
Leveraged unified full-funnel planning with cross-functional collaboration and early engagement across Woolworths commercial and brand teams to carry the above-the-line brand messaging seamlessly across customer touchpoints.
The Results
Unifying above-the-line sports media with precision retail targeting, the Rexona Rivals campaign seamlessly guided shoppers from entertainment engagement straight to shelf conversion, driving Woolworths' highest-ever single week of deodorant sales.
Awarded Campaign of the Year and Best use of Unified Planning at Cartology’s 2026 Campaing of the Year Awards, Unilever’s activation proved how connecting cultural relevance with invaluable insights delivers massive brand scale:
Record-Breaking Sales Performance: Generated a +22% Rexona sales lift vs. last year, delivering Woolworths' No. 1 deodorant sales week in history.
Massive Customer Acquisition Engine: Recruited 539K+ new-to-brand customers, making up 34% of all Everyday Rewards buyers during the campaign period.
Historic Target Penetration: Achieved the highest-ever Rexona Men campaign period penetration on record.
