The Next Normal Of Employer Brand 8

The Next Normal Of Employer Brand

Welcome to this new weekly video series on “The Next Normal” of employer brand, by Bryan Adams and Dave Hazlehurst of employer brand agency, Ph.Creative. We’ll be sharing some cool content that we as an agency are interested in, and also some content that you lot as a community are driving. We hope you find our views and take on the industry just as interesting - and unusual - as we do.

In episode eight, Dave and Bryan discuss…

The endgame, looking back on today's circumstances

We can see a lot of organizations focussing on the here and now, when actually you need to look into the future on what you'll be judged on. Consider from an outsider's point of view how you acted during this crisis, what was your social conscious like, your convictions to change? 

Was it meaningful and was it real?

Start to think ahead about what's going to be really valuable to your target audience, and how do you need to change and show that through storytelling. 

Jumping on the trend

Trends are trends for a reason, the majority of brands jump on trends to stay relevant and current, and that's okay. A lot of the time though, it's not real, it barely scratches the surface and doesn't really sit with who they are. 

With a trend or the latest news, don't just take advantage of an opportunity for the sake of marketing. It needs substance and it needs to be sincere. You need conviction to make a lasting change and make it your day-to-day, rather than jumping on something for a moment.

Newsjacking, to say something as a knee-jerk reaction to satisfy the perception of who you are. 

Unfortunately, these things don't happen overnight, real, significant change takes time.

Longform stories 

Instant gratification to an audience's appetite to put you in the best light isn't the right use of the tools you've got. The number one currency in 18 months time is looking back on now and reflecting on how did you change and did you have the conviction to stick to it.

Documenting change through longform stories is interesting. Take documentaries, they've been around for years but the concept of them in the mainstream has probably never been more popular than they are right now on the likes of Netflix or Amazon Prime. 

The key thing here is the span of time that's being documented, it's a story that's told over time. It's storying building, not storytelling, you're building that journey over time.

There's an important lesson here, the journey of a thousand steps starts with taking the first step, the pandemic has brought on the opportunity for organizations to embrace their vulnerabilities, by revealing where their starting position is and telling the harsh realities. Start to build your compelling story.

The audience wants to believe and see it, it's important to them now more than ever before to see the real you. Start with trust, transparency and conviction, and document that change.

If you're still wondering how to cope with the effects of COVID-19 on your employer brand, then check out our new content series, The Value of Employer Brand at a Time of Crisis, part one is out now; Part I: A Tension Between Profitability and Employee Well-Being.


We hope you enjoyed this week's episode! Don’t forget to sign-up to our newsletter to receive notifications on The Next Normal of Employer Branding. 

If you’re ready to refresh or jump-start your employer branding strategy, book your spot in Ph.Creative’s Employer Brand Sprint Course today.

We'd also love to hear from you and get a discussion started on storytelling, comment here and let us know what you think!