Branding from the inside out – the power of internal communications
Embedding culture, engaging employees and increasing productivity with internal branding and communication
Internal branding and communication are a critical part of the marketing mix for any company. Your business needs to be a place people want to work. And that goes beyond simply listing the benefits and occasionally posting something on the intranet.
Your employees need to understand your purpose and ambition, and why it should matter to them. They need to consistently feel engaged and be kept in the loop. Engaged employees become advocates for the brand, which can have a tangible impact.
What are internal brand ambassadors?
And why do you need them?
Engaging ‘brand ambassadors’ within an organisation can ensure your brand is communicated effectively and consistently between employees, leadership and the business itself. Whether it’s through workshop events, campaigns, or organically through your culture, it’s important to educate employees on your brand, its values and what’s expected of them.
"…engaged employees become advocates for the brand, and that can have a tangible impact...”
According to Deloitte, 73% of employees are more engaged when they believe they work for a purpose-driven company. And, as the Hinge Research Institute states:
"A formal employee advocacy program helps shorten the sales cycle. Nearly 64% of advocates in a formal program credited employee advocacy with attracting and developing new business, and nearly 45% attribute new revenue streams to employee advocacy.”
Internal communications
Prysmian Group is a global manufacturing giant, with over 28,000 employees worldwide. Sometimes that means that, when an opportunity comes up, the best person for the job already works for the company. But they might be on the other side of the world.
Prysmian’s HR and internal communications team needed a way to let the whole company know about these vacancies. It had to be distinct from other internal communications and stand out on the intranet.
“…a tried and tested model, all wrapped up with an eye-catching, stand-out brand campaign across various digital touchpoints…”
So we took the idea of ‘Internal Job Posting’ and made the IJP brand and campaign. By including real Prysmian people and sharing their internal recruitment story with the rest of the company, we were able to paint those who had already successfully used the service as champions, advocates and advisors.
Knowing that people you know or recognise have already been through the process builds trust. We were able to take away the ‘leap of faith’ feeling – delivering a tried and tested model, all wrapped up with an eye-catching, stand-out brand campaign across various digital touchpoints.
Internal awareness campaigns
Prysmian Group also has a programme called YES, which stands for Your Employee Shares, which gives a discounted rate to employees wanting to invest in the company, plus some free additional shares that can be sold for the full rate 36 months later. The aim is simple – reward and encourage loyalty.
In 2018, Prysmian Group acquired its American competitor, General Cable. There was some resistance to this from the new American team, as there often is when competitors merge. So Prysmian wanted the newly expanded group of companies to get off on the right foot, and to welcome the new General Cable employees in with open arms (and a new perk).
We updated the YES brand to make new and existing shareholders the spokespeople for the programme, with their ‘signatures’ all over the campaign. This meant we needed lots of original footage of those enrolled in the programme emphatically showing their support.
“…the results exceeded all expectations,doubling the number of employee shareholders in just 12 months...”
There are only small windows where people have the chance to buy into the scheme, so we had to get our timings, impact and delivery methods spot on. Lots of Prysmian’s workers don’t regularly need to use a computer for work, so the approach needed to be hybrid – on and offline – and cohesive throughout.
The results exceeded all expectations, doubling the number of employee shareholders in just 12 months.
Internal brand guidelines
The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) was in desperate need of a brand that reflected the ambitious and aspirational aims of the fund – to reduce poverty in member countries.
The brand needed to be something the internal team understood and could rally behind and be proud of. And it needed to be more clearly in line with the rest of the IsDB Group, which holds a lot of political capital.
Our work with ISFD was nominated for a Transform MENA Award in the ‘Best Visual Identity by a Charity, NGO or NFP’ category.
As part of the discovery process, which is critical to the success of any branding and change-communication piece, we gathered inputs from a cross-section of the organisation, as well as some of the external bodies they work with in the NGO and not-for-profit sector. This meant we could accurately address the needs of the wider team.
So one of the core deliverables of our branding process was a simplified strategy document, an employee handbook, a poster with the key themes of the new brand, and a simplified version of the brand guidelines, which will all be used at ISFD’s ‘launch’ day.
This would give the whole team the understanding and the knowledge to apply and represent the brand in the best and most accurate way possible, and articulate why it is so important.
The impact of great internal comms and inside-out branding
The success of each of the projects we’ve highlighted relied on getting the right information to the right people, at the right time. This is the core principle of all good marketing.
You need to bang the drum. Communicate your values and your mission – share the reason your team should be as passionate as you are.
Internal marketing has impact from the top down. Deloitte finds that “82 percent of leaders who say their companies have a strong sense of purpose expect to grow […] compared to just 67 percent of leaders who didn't feel that sense.”
“…you need to bang the drum. Communicate your values and your mission – share the reason your team should be as passionate as you are…”
If your colleagues are singing from the same hymn sheet, they will feel more engaged, more included, and more supportive of your common goals. And the way they speak to external partners, suppliers and customers will align seamlessly with your outbound marketing and brand messaging.
10 ideas to improve your internal branding and communications
1. Create digital brand guidelines
Define your tone, values, and visuals to guide internal culture and communication and centralise into a single source of truth – an online portal with templates and downloadable resources.
2. Brand advocacy videos and success stories
Find new ways to showcase how employees champion the brand and live its values through success stories, video series or peer shout-outs.
3. Tune up your internal newsletter
Develop a newsletter with a voice and visuals that reflect your brand, keeping updates engaging and consistent.
4. Host brand workshops
Help teams understand and connect with your brand through short, interactive sessions – these are especially useful after a brand refresh and can also be recorded as training resources for new starters.
6. Turn values into behaviours & celebrate them
Internal comms and behavioural nudges in the form of posters and murals can help turn values into behaviours. Once everyone’s aligned, you can celebrate employees who live the values through employee feedback streams and awards programmes.
7. Share project updates and campaign strategy widely
Let teams see the thinking behind external work to build alignment and pride – feeling like projects are secretive or top-down can contribute negatively to your company culture and employer brand so it’s important to take opportunities to lift the curtain and improve transparency.
8. Bring your brand refresh to life with a launch strategy
Use short internal videos, webinars and live presentations to launch brand updates, align teams and inspire brand advocacy. Creating branded swag such as t-shirts and water bottles can also build excitement and improve buy-in.
9. Collect ongoing feedback
Use surveys or check-ins to see what’s working and adjust your approach accordingly.
10. Celebrate key milestones
Mark launches, anniversaries, new partnerships and client wins with branded touchpoints and events that reinforce team culture.
Need help building your brand?
Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.
Email: marketing@proctorsgroup.com
Phone: +44 (0)117 923 2282
