--- title: Digitising Unilever’s Global Archive description: In this interview, Claire Tunstall of Unilever discusses archive digitisation with TownsWeb, and improving access to global heritage collections. image: https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/Blog%20Header%20%26%20Images%20(54).jpg --- [![TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png?width=260&name=TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png)](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) [![TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png?width=260&name=TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png)](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) [![USE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382) - [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/) - [Bound Volume Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/bound-volume-collections/) - Registers, guard books, journals, diaries and more - [Archive Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/archive-collections/) - From index cards, maps, posters and reports to letters - [Photograph Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/photograph-collections/) - All 35mm slides, glass plates, transparencies & photos - [Film Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/film-collections/) - Including aperture cards, microfilm and microfiche - [Audio Visual Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/audio-visual-collections/) - From Betamax, compact audio cassette and CD to VHS - [3-Dimensional Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/3-dimensional-collections/) - Including 3D and 2D object photography and VR tours - [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/) - [Audio Visual Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/) - Make audio searchable by transcribing content to text - [Handwritten Text Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/handwritten-text-recognition-htr/) - Make handwritten text searchable through automatic text recognition - [Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/ocr-scanning-service/) - Make typed text searchable with accurate data capture - [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/) - Make ambiguous records fully searchable with data entry - [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/metadata-transcription-service/) - Make handwritten text searchable through transcription - [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/) - [Digital Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/pastview/welcome-to-pastview) - Manage, publish and share digital collections online - [Digital Records](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/chronicle-cemetery-management/) - Reimagine the digital management of cemetery records - [Virtual Tours](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/virtual-reality-tour/) - Bring internal spaces to life digitally with a VR Tour - [Industry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/) - [Academic](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/academic/) - Futureproof education with digitally enabling online resources - [Bereavement Services](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/bereavement/) - Counter operational costs with digital control and management - [Business and Corporate](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/business-and-corporate/) - Protect brand value & discover the power of digital management - [Cultural Heritage](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/cultural-heritage/) - Harness the value of collections with financial autonomy - [Public Sector](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/public-sector/) - Combat damage and loss with robust digital duplicates - [Military](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/military/) - Respectfully and globally mark significant figures and conflicts - [About](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about) - [Our Vision & Mission](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#vision-mission) - Supporting collections to thrive in the digital landscape - [Our Values](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#values) - Integrity, Empathy and Truth – Our commitment to you - [Meet The Team](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#team) - Dedication with a personal touch – names and faces! - [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/recruitment/) - Passionate about culture and heritage? Join the team! - [TWA Digitisation Grant History](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/grant-history/) - From our very first winners to our latest success stories - [Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners) - Trusted organisations offering associated services - [Our Work](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/our-work) - [Blog](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) - [Contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) [![USE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382) [![TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png?width=260&name=TownsWeb-Archiving-Logo-Black-Stacked.png)](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/) - [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/) - [Bound Volume Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/bound-volume-collections/) - Registers, guard books, journals, diaries and more - [Archive Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/archive-collections/) - From index cards, maps, posters and reports to letters - [Photograph Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/photograph-collections/) - All 35mm slides, glass plates, transparencies & photos - [Film Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/film-collections/) - Including aperture cards, microfilm and microfiche - [Audio Visual Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/audio-visual-collections/) - From Betamax, compact audio cassette and CD to VHS - [3-Dimensional Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/3-dimensional-collections/) - Including 3D and 2D object photography and VR tours - [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/) - [Audio Visual Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/) - Make audio searchable by transcribing content to text - [Handwritten Text Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/handwritten-text-recognition-htr/) - Make handwritten text searchable through automatic text recognition - [Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/ocr-scanning-service/) - Make typed text searchable with accurate data capture - [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/) - Make ambiguous records fully searchable with data entry - [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/metadata-transcription-service/) - Make handwritten text searchable through transcription - [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/) - [Digital Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/pastview/welcome-to-pastview) - Manage, publish and share digital collections online - [Digital Records](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/chronicle-cemetery-management/) - Reimagine the digital management of cemetery records - [Virtual Tours](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/virtual-reality-tour/) - Bring internal spaces to life digitally with a VR Tour - [Industry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/) - [Academic](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/academic/) - Futureproof education with digitally enabling online resources - [Bereavement Services](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/bereavement/) - Counter operational costs with digital control and management - [Business and Corporate](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/business-and-corporate/) - Protect brand value & discover the power of digital management - [Cultural Heritage](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/cultural-heritage/) - Harness the value of collections with financial autonomy - [Public Sector](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/public-sector/) - Combat damage and loss with robust digital duplicates - [Military](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/military/) - Respectfully and globally mark significant figures and conflicts - [About](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about) - [Our Vision & Mission](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#vision-mission) - Supporting collections to thrive in the digital landscape - [Our Values](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#values) - Integrity, Empathy and Truth – Our commitment to you - [Meet The Team](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#team) - Dedication with a personal touch – names and faces! - [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/recruitment/) - Passionate about culture and heritage? Join the team! - [TWA Digitisation Grant History](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/grant-history/) - From our very first winners to our latest success stories - [Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners) - Trusted organisations offering associated services - [Our Work](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/our-work) - [Blog](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) - [Contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) [Home](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) » Digitising Unilever’s Global Archive ## Subscribe to the TownsWeb Archiving blog Curated articles, news and advice on digitisation, archives and creating open access to digital cultural heritage. [Subscribe Here](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/email-newsletter-sign-up-form/) --- ### Share this article: - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/digitising-unilevers-global-archive) [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/digitising-unilevers-global-archive) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/digitising-unilevers-global-archive) # Digitising Unilever’s Global Archive | **Published By:** [Paul Marks](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/author/paul-marks) **Published:** March 10, 2026 **Last Updated:** September 10, 2026 | | --- | ![Unilever-1](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Unilever-1.jpg?width=801&height=464&name=Unilever-1.jpg) ### How Did Digitisation Open Up Unilever’s Global Archive?  Digitisation has made Unilever's global archive - spanning a 13th-century deed to records created today - accessible to brand teams, historians, and researchers worldwide, while reducing the need to handle fragile originals. Since 2020, Unilever has worked with TownsWeb Archiving to digitise materials including advertising guard books, product imagery, and historic business records such as a 1939 report on a senior executive's visit to India. At Unilever, the archive is far more than a static collection. It reflects the story of a global business, its people, its brands and the many places it has operated over centuries.  In this interview, **Claire Tunstall**, Global Head of Art, Archives & Records Management at Unilever, shares how digitisation plays a critical role in making this vast and diverse archive accessible, usable and relevant today.   *“Digitisation is a key enabler for us because it allows us to increase access to the collections. By doing that, we can increase the value and use of those collections as well. And from a conservation and preservation point of view it means that we don't have to access the material quite so often.”* *-* Claire Tunstall, Global Head of Art, Archives & Records Management at Unilever #### A global archive with deep historical roots Unilever’s archive spans an extraordinary timeframe, from a 13th-century deed to records being created digitally today, by TownsWeb. These collections document not only the evolution of brands and packaging, but also social, economic and cultural change across the world. Image collections, for example, capture far more than brand placement. They preserve moments in time, showing how shops were laid out, how people dressed and how products appeared in different markets, from Europe to Africa and beyond. As Claire explains, these materials act as a time capsule of Unilever’s global presence. ![Unilever - through the looking glass](https://2351684.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/2351684/hubfs/Unilever%20-%20through%20the%20looking%20glass.png?width=1200&length=1200&name=Unilever%20-%20through%20the%20looking%20glass.png) Through the looking glass. Inside Unilever's archive. #### Guard books, brand history and storytelling Among the most valuable collections are Unilever’s advertising guard books. These dated volumes provide snapshots of brand promotions, packaging and messaging at specific moments in time. For brand teams, they offer insight into how identities have evolved. For external audiences, they provide rich material for research, storytelling and engagement. Making these materials accessible through digitisation allows Unilever to support brand teams, historians and researchers while preserving the original items. ![Unilever display materials](https://2351684.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/2351684/hubfs/Unilever%20display%20materials.png?width=1200&length=1200&name=Unilever%20display%20materials.png) **On display:** Fragments of Pears Soap brought back from Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1917 #### How do we ensure digitisation is an enabler, not an end? Digitisation is an enabler rather than an end in itself because it increases access to Unilever's collections without exposing fragile originals to repeated handling - and OCR applied to digitised documents, such as historic visit reports, makes them fully text-searchable for faster research and analysis. Digitisation is a key enabler for Unilever. By increasing access to collections, it increases their value and use, while also reducing the need to handle fragile originals. Digitised materials can be shared internally and externally through [Unilever’s archive website](https://archives-unilever.com/), supporting both business needs and public engagement. Since 2020, Unilever has worked with **TownsWeb** to digitise a range of archival materials. Recent projects include historic visit reports, such as a 1939 report documenting a senior executive’s visit to India. These records provide valuable insight into Unilever’s operations at the time, while also capturing broader social and economic context. With optical character recognition (OCR) applied, these reports become fully searchable, allowing faster discovery and deeper analysis for both business users and academic researchers. ![20251031_121845](https://2351684.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/2351684/hubfs/20251031_121845.jpg?width=1200&length=1200&name=20251031_121845.jpg) Behind the scenes, filming with Claire Tunstall #### Deciding what to digitise With over 15 kilometres of archival material, Unilever prioritises digitisation based on value, usage frequency, access needs, and conservation urgency - following a rigorous internal identification and preparation process before material is passed to TownsWeb. Decisions are made based on value, usage, access needs and conservation priorities. Digitisation is targeted where it can deliver the greatest benefit, while ensuring materials are preserved for future generations. Before anything is digitised, there's a rigorous internal process involving identification, conservation and preparation. Only then is material passed over to us to digitise. TownsWeb Archiving is a proud digitisation partner for Unilever, and we look forward to digitising more incredible materials in the future! Watch the full interview on YouTube [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnL4U-6Yd0A) [![](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20March%202019/Images/phone-small-icon.png)CALL US 01536 713834](tel:01536%20713834) [tel:01536%20713834](tel:01536%20713834) [![](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20March%202019/Images/quote-small-icon.png)REQUEST A FREE QUOTATION](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) [![](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/TWA%20March%202019/Images/calculator.png)USE OUR ONLINE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-quote-calculator-sign-up/) ### Explore recent articles ## Keep up to date Sign up to our newsletter and be the first to know about the latest cultural heritage news and updates. 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