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
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.
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.
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, 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.
With more than 15 kilometres of records, Unilever cannot digitise everything. 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.