Alan M. Siegel's Blog, page 14

Times may be changing, but the promises you make to employees never should

This article originally appeared in Little Black Book.

It’s hard to avoid getting caught up in competing buzzwords and headlines. Employers’ scramble to retain talent during The Great Resignation was quickly replaced with their fear of having to quantify talent due to an alleged, impending, economic recession. One minute employees were ‘quiet quitting‘ and the next they were ‘fast quitting‘… or were their noses back to the grindstone due to sweeping layoffs?

Talent has been trapped in a spin cycle of conflicting messaging, too. For example, while some companies evangelize an eternal Work From Home model, others are mandating a full Return To Office – sometimes gently with promises of surface-level bribery (Salt crystals! Sprinkles! Remember free food?); sometimes with threats (comply or fly). Others, still, are oscillating between options, constantly switching policies.

All these mixed messages have left everyone feeling dizzy. And the only way to get everyone back on track is to stop reading (and reacting) to every headline, stop trying to predict an unpredictable future, and actually start looking at your company’s past.

To find stability in a turbulent time, companies need to take a step back and realign with their brand purpose and core values. Yes, the way we work has fundamentally changed. But what hasn’t, or at least shouldn’t, change is what we stand for as an organization and how that shapes the way we treat and listen to our employees.

How to make authentic promises

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that we can’t predict the unpredictable. But we can create and communicate actions and policies intentionally, authentically, and transparently.

The first step is revisiting your Employee Value Proposition (EVP): The promise that encapsulates the compelling bond between your people and your organization. It is the direct reflection of your distinct brand and signals what employees can uniquely experience in their work. This EVP should have alignment to and reflect the overarching brand purpose of the organization – a statement of why you exist and what you stand for. It also serves as the other side of the coin to your organization’s values. If the EVP shares what is promised as an employee experience, the values set out how the organization and everyone inside it need to behave every day in order to make that experience real.

If your purpose, EVP or organizational values aren’t explicit, strengthen them. If they aren’t visible – for example, if your companies’ values were written across the halls, a lobby your now exclusively remote workforce no longer walks through on a daily basis – promote them, both to employees and leadership. These items are the filter leaders must use to make every single decision. That way you are building strategies based on what you stand for and the fundamental promises you want to make to your employees. Promises you know you can commit to keeping.

If you start with a reflection about what you stand for, marry that with authentic consideration of what matters most to your employees and then create experiences that deliver on those needs, it will pay off tenfold.

Explain, engage, and excite people in the promise of their brand

As people have spent the last few years reckoning with a global pandemic, political unrest, and racial injustice, they’ve redefined how they see the world and what matters most to them. So, it makes sense that they’d want to extend their value system to more aspects of their lives… including their workplace. Furthermore, talent is demanding that their employers be more human and treat them with respect, compassion, and dignity.

Our World’s Simplest Brands study surveyed more than 15,000 people across nine regions about the workplace. It found that employees’ top reasons for wanting to stay and invest in a company were: connections with other people, workplace security, the degree to which DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) is in action, and the alignment of an employee’s values to what the company holds up as sacred. Put another way: employees care about the human, often more intangible, side of their work experience, the promises behind them and how well you keep them.

In our experience, however, these are areas in which companies typically over-promise and underinvest. Following through on commitments aligned with those values, however, are keyways to turn employees into brand champions.

Building brand champions is the key to long-term success

Our research revealed that supporting the more humanistic parts of the workplace experience impacts more than just employee retention. Rather, it caters to a subset of the employee population known as ‘Brand champions.’

Brand champions are members of the workforce who have strong alignment with their company’s values and understand what the brand stands for and is committed to. They are also more likely to advocate and even evangelize on behalf of their company. Through their daily work, they lean in, doing their part to further the delivery of the brand promise.

In addition to fueling growth and forward momentum for organizations, they also provide tangible benefits that contribute to stronger business performance. For example, nine out of 10 brand champions report that they trust company leadership, feel productive at work, and will try to bring new ideas to the table in work matters. By comparison, unengaged employees were considerably less likely to do any of those valuable actions.

And the positive impact of an authentically evangelising employee has the power to impact far more than the internal operations of a company. These champions have the power to shape the external narrative about your organisation. When a brand champion shares their views, friends, family members, or even occasional social media acquaintances will take that message to heart, too. Your employees’ reach in telling the story of your organisation outstrips that of the corporate entity. For example, LinkedIn reports that brand messages distributed by employees are re-shared 24 times more often than company distributed messages. Beyond reach, employee-generated content is also consumed with a different level of trust. Employees are repeatedly cited as one of the most credible sources of information about a company. In these times where marketing budgets might be getting trimmed, a cadre of Brand Champions can be a powerful tool that comes at a very reasonable investment. But cultivating this group comes back to the principle of standing by what you say you stand for as an organisation and using that to direct the way you treat and listen to your employees.

With change as the only constant, we have probably not seen the end of turbulent times. All the more reason to revisit your brand purpose and its associated values, which might have once seemed intangible, and bring them forward into a very tangible employee experience. This gives people something to hold on to and will keep them moving forward for their own benefit as well as that of the organization.

 

Gretchen Huestis is Group Director, Brand-led Change

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ESG Impact: progress over politics

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just gave the world a dire wake up call in its new climate report. “The climate time-bomb is ticking,” emphasized UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Our world is at a tipping point, making it critical for brands—and all of us—to focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Recent attempts to politicize ESG as “woke capitalism” are misguided at best and potentially perilous.

When the Business Roundtable redefined the purpose of a corporation in 2019 to benefit all stakeholders, not just investors, it seemed a groundbreaking concept. But at its core, the idea was based on creating value, the only difference being that it was shared value. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co., noted, “Major employers are investing in their workers and communities because they know it is the only way to be successful over the long term.”

This concept upended Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman’s focus on shareholder primacy. But it wasn’t a new idea. For much of the 20th century, there was a prevalent view that public companies, as opposed to privately held ones, should serve a different purpose. Harvard Law professor Merrick Dodd argued in 1932: “The business corporation is an economic institution which has a social service as well as a profit-making function.”

Taking a broader triple bottom line view that encompasses people, planet and profit is a strategic recognition that brands will be most successful, especially long-term when all stakeholders’ needs are considered. Taking a short-term myopic focus on shareholders has proven ill-advised before, and BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico exemplifies the dangers of such myopia. Business Law professor Lynn Stout noted in “The Shareholder Value Myth“: “In trying to save $1 million a day by skimping on safety procedures at the Macondo well, BP cost its shareholders alone a hundred thousand times more, nearly $100 billion.”

Employees are a brand’s most valuable asset. Last year Disney workers staged walkouts to protest then-CEO Bob Chapek’s slow response in publicly criticizing Florida legislation that critics called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Young people want to work for companies that share their values. In a recent survey by Qualtrics, 56% of US employees said they wouldn’t even consider a job at a company if its value don’t align with theirs.

Consumers drive revenues: Sustainable sourcing and reducing the carbon footprint of products is increasingly important to them. Almost 80% of consumers are changing their shopping habits based on social responsibility, inclusiveness or environmental impact.

Moreover, a brand’s reputation is paramount, and unless a company and its leaders show they’re concerned about the people that drive their business, the brand’s reputation will suffer. While this was true before Covid, it became even more critical once the world faced the global pandemic.

As the UN report noted, the world is running out of time and faces dire consequences if brands, government and the public do not take action. Temperature changes, severe weather events and global resources will impact us all. This will also directly affect manufacturing. By 2050, heat-related manufacturing losses could equal more than $47 billion. Losses could be devastating in a country like China, where 32% of its gross domestic product comes from manufacturing. High temperatures will also put workers, and the public, at risk.

Taking a triple bottom-line approach is not “woke capitalism;” it’s a combined focus on shareholders and other stakeholders. This is a win-win strategy, not an exclusionary one. There’s been a corporate focus on “ESG” long before the UN started using this acronym in 2005. I first started working on ESG initiatives for brands like Ralph Lauren and Kenneth Cole when it was referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Then it was more broadly called Sustainability when climate change assumed a bigger spotlight (which includes Social Impact). Now, ESG has become the broadest term because it includes environmental and social issues, and ensures that companies have a governance framework in place to honor their commitments.

ESG or Impact investing has been routine on Wall Street for years. Most large corporations publish comprehensive reports about their efforts to combat climate change, drive social impact and build workplace diversity and inclusion.

In recent months, politicians on the far-right have increasingly attacked ESG, arguing it promotes liberal priorities ranging from renewable energy to the Black Lives Matter movement. President Biden recently vetoed legislation that sought to repeal a Labor Department rule that permitted retirement investing tied to environmental and social goals.

Yet, despite all the political noise and saber-rattling, environmental, social and governance investing continues to grow in popularity among investors looking for long-term value.

It’s very troubling that ESG is getting caught in the political crossfire and dismissed by some conservatives as “woke capitalism,” when it’s actually “conscious capitalism.” We saw the same politicization of mask-wearing when Covid hit. And while a vaccine was developed for Covid, there’s no vaccine to save our planet. It’s up to all of us. And brands can—and must—play a big part in driving ESG progress.

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En route to sustainable: the business travel of tomorrow

The return of business travel has been more a case of resuscitation than renaissance following the pandemic. The deeply uncertain economic outlook, full-throttle hybrid work patterns and growth in climate-conscious companies reducing their corporate travel have all led to a slow restart to the industry. Yet, meeting in person undeniably offers competitive advantage for businesses and helps to build lasting commercial relationships.

So what’s next for the future of corporate travel – how can the industry balance the often conflicting needs of human connection and the climate?

The route forward starts at the individual level and with those tasked with traveling around the world, round the clock to close deals. Amongst this cohort, there is greater awareness of climate impact and a desire to mitigate damage. As Jo Berrington, Head of Brand Strategy at Yotel, mentioned to us, “Guests we talk to are increasingly mindful of their footprint, how they try to get to places and how many flights they decide to take.”

Similarly, of the 300 people we interviewed as part of a survey analyzing sustainable travel trends, 94% told us they would maintain (27%) or increase (67%) their interest in sustainable travel over the next three years.

But this is multi-layered from offsetting to tree planting, carbon-capture to emissions. The term ‘sustainable’ is used by the media and brands without caution, generating uncertainty, confusion and understandable cynicism. A natural solution would be for travel companies to provide options for customers that align with their sustainability definitions.

So we asked people how they would define sustainable travel. 41% felt it should be a combination of low-impact travel that cares for the planet, reducing carbon footprint. Seems simple. Yet as many as 10% across all markets had no clear definition. The remaining 49% voiced an even spread of 16 varied definitions, from recycling facilities to shorter travel.

Employers and their teams are keen to ensure sustainability is at the heart of their travel model going forward, but they aren’t set on a clear definition.

Brands in the space, therefore, have an opportunity to occupy a pivotal role in the fight against climate collapse with business customers by working together to crystallize the future of sustainable travel. Transparently defining what it means to be sustainable and evolving their actions as necessary. Shifting behaviors. Setting expectations. Moving faster than regulation and playing a leadership role in the fight for the climate.

Focus on intuitive impact

To encourage corporate customers to resume traveling, communicating the positive climate impact that travel brands are making following ESG frameworks is a critical first step.

The team at Eurostar faces the challenge of communicating their climate-positive actions, including a wind power purchasing strategy, which have a net positive climate impact, but with limited emotional appeal for travelers.

Mario Rauter, Brand Director at Eurostar, gets to the heart of the issue, explaining, “The challenge is not that we’re not doing enough [at Eurostar]. The challenge is to show the power of what we’re doing, which is also sometimes quite technical.”

CIÉ, a major public transport service provider as well as a tour operator considers the powerful benefits of communicating climate positivity in travel in an emotionally intuitive way. CEO Lorcan O’Connor highlights that “if you’re on a packed train on your way to work, it’s not necessarily the most comfortable experience but, if you see a statement that says, ‘You’re saving X amount of CO2 compared to driving into work today’, you can feel pride in the choice you have made.”

In winning over customers and bringing them on the journey with you as a brand, finding the emotional way to communicate the technical benefit of your actions is critical to building trust. 

Consider the entire journey

The team at Marriott International is keenly aware of the growing desire to make greener choices at every step of the booking journey.

Denise Naguib, Global VP for Sustainability and Supplier Diversity at the hospitality giant, has seen a shift in expectation in recent years, noting that travelers feel empowered “knowing that they can make different decisions using their buying power. And that either helps companies continue to do more good, or it signals to those who aren’t doing the right things that it matters to a major constituency”.

To harness this power effectively, business travelers and travel managers need to be able to filter for sustainable practices from the outset of their booking journey, ensuring decision-making is informed at every step of the process.

Marriott International’s new proprietary web feature, therefore, makes the sustainability attributes of every one of their hotels visible, guiding bookings for the benefit of the planet rather than purely the pocket.

The journey towards a sustainable business travel market is about communicating tangible change in an emotionally intuitive way. It’s about making it easier for people to travel the right way for the planet by evolving the brand experience to become something more seamless and informative. Business travelers need sustainable travel solutions and are looking to you to help them reach their desired destination.

 

 

Emma Lewis is a Senior Strategist; Ben Osborne is Head of Insights, EMEA, and Natasha Bowyer is an Insights Strategist.

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The journey to net zero: building a greener corporate-travel industry

The past three years have yielded uncertainty in nearly every arena of daily life. But in the corporate-travel realm, one thing is certain: smart and sustainable partnerships are set to play a more significant role in the future.

Sustainable travel is undoubtedly a buzz phrase and big business. 94% of people we spoke to as part of a survey claim they would maintain (27%) or increase (67%) their interest in sustainable travel over the next three years.

At the corporate level, travel managers at half of the companies profiled in a study of the U.S. and Canada expect to focus more on the social and environmental impact of their business travel programs post-pandemic.

Yet not everywhere is at the same point in the journey towards a greener travel future. Whilst Australians are likely to be maintaining existing engagement, U.S. buyers are just beginning their trajectory, and only one-quarter of companies consider their “carbon footprint” to be of critical importance.

In a complex global landscape where brands rush to reassure us of their sustainability credentials, yet where we’re falling far short of emissions targets, it’s challenging to decipher which brands are truly taking substantive steps towards a lower carbon future and is tempting to avoid “sustainable” brand choices altogether.

But Mario Rauter, Brand Director at Eurostar, looks at this differently, explaining that “Sustainable travel is, in general, a misconception of travel without impact. All travel has impact. So, then the question is, can you turn a negative impact into a positive?”  

For organizations to continue operating in-person internationally and reach ambitious emissions targets, working with companies that provide positive climate impact is essential. That means making thoughtful partnership choices. When planning corporate travel, it is, therefore, worth considering the following: 

Who is walking the talk?

As Mario comments, “the thing we’re trying to educate people about is that airlines are mostly offsetting their co2; we’re just creating less of it”. Their ‘Greener Way to Go’ campaign highlights that not only does one Eurostar trip from London to Paris emit less than 1/14 of the equivalent flight, but they are training drivers to use a standardized driving technique that reduces energy usage by up to 5%. They’ve also built beehives in Kent, joined the UN’s race to Net Zero and have adapted the entire customer experience to reduce environmental impact. Eurostar operates from a sustainable standpoint, inside and out, and thereby offers businesses an opportunity to collaboratively work towards reaching emissions targets.

Who is evolving the entire journey for customers?

The team at Marriott International is keenly aware of the growing need for customers to make considered choices at every step of the travel journey.

Denise Naguib, Global VP for Sustainability and Supplier Diversity at the hospitality giant, has seen a shift in recent years, telling us that travellers feel empowered “knowing that they can make different decisions using their buying power. And that either helps companies continue to do more good, or it signals to those who aren’t doing the right things that it matters to a major constituency.”

Therefore, the company’s new proprietary web feature makes the sustainability attributes of each of its hotels visible, guiding travel booking decisions for the benefit of the planet rather than purely the pocket.

Building a sustainable future for corporate travel begins with brands making a transparent, climate-positive impact and enabling their customers to make considered choices at every step of their journey. In so doing, businesses can aid one another in meeting ambitious carbon reduction targets and help rebuild a sustainable, corporate-travel future.

 

Emma Lewis is a Senior Strategist

The post The journey to net zero: building a greener corporate-travel industry appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Evolving a brand to disrupt or rejuvenate

We live in a rapidly changing world. Whether you’re fearing disruption from technology innovators or rejuvenating a neglected, out-of-date company, your brand must evolve – and quickly – if it is to thrive in the future.

In this episode of Branding 101, our experts discuss how brand can be the rocket fuel that ensures a successful transformation from the inside out.

The post Evolving a brand to disrupt or rejuvenate appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

An opportunity for a free round of naming

The post An opportunity for a free round of naming appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience (March 2023)

In this month’s newsletter, we showcase our newly launched visual identity for the U.S. Army. Our experts examine the new priorities of tech-industry leaders, as well as how Netflix can reassert its dominance as one. Spotlighting our work with Canada’s top law firm, we explore how brand experience spurs success. And you’re invited to our Inclusive Storytelling x Women’s History Month virtual panel.

 

Virtual CMO panel

We conclude Women’s History Month with a special edition of our Future of Branding CMO panel.
Join us on Thursday, March 30th for a conversation—moderated by our Global CMO, Margaret Molloy—on brand building and inclusive storytelling, featuring brand leaders from AARP, Google, Unilever and more.

RSVP here

Be all you can be

“This is a great redesign that manages to imbue a bold and confident personality into the U.S. Army without having to be all gung-ho about it, and I can only imagine the complexity of getting this project done…so the fact that anything remotely interesting and creative—and this is well above that—came out of it deserves a salute.”

Read the full review of our visual identity work for the U.S. Army on Brand New.

 

Read more

Seeds of dis(content)

Can Netflix weather the storm of subscriber losses and increasing competition? Senior Strategist, Mick Smyth, examines how the streaming giant can rediscover the disruptor mindset.

 

Read more

Big tech grows up

The past nine months have forever changed how employees, investors and the media will see the tech industry. New priorities must take shape for those leading these businesses. Jason Cieslak, President of the Pacific Rim, shares how tech industry leaders can restore growth, rebuild trust and drive profit.

 

Read more

Peerless precision

Learn how we revitalized Davies’ brand experience and captured the essence of Canada’s top law firm.

 

Read more

And the award goes to…

We’re excited to share that Omnicom has been named AdAge’s Holding Company of the Year! We take pride in knowing our people at Siegel+Gale played a role in this collective achievement. Together with our global partners, we continue to raise the bar in our industry.

 

Read more

The post Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience (March 2023) appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience

In this month’s newsletter, we showcase our newly launched visual identity for the U.S. Army. Our experts examine the new priorities of tech-industry leaders, as well as how Netflix can reassert its dominance as one. Spotlighting our work with Canada’s top law firm, we explore how brand experience spurs success. And you’re invited to our Inclusive Storytelling x Women’s History Month virtual panel.

 

Virtual CMO panel

We conclude Women’s History Month with a special edition of our Future of Branding CMO panel.
Join us on Thursday, March 30th for a conversation—moderated by our Global CMO, Margaret Molloy—on brand building and inclusive storytelling, featuring brand leaders from AARP, Google, Unilever and more.

RSVP here

Be all you can be

“This is a great redesign that manages to imbue a bold and confident personality into the U.S. Army without having to be all gung-ho about it, and I can only imagine the complexity of getting this project done…so the fact that anything remotely interesting and creative—and this is well above that—came out of it deserves a salute.”

Read the full review of our visual identity work for the U.S. Army on Brand New.

 

Read more

Seeds of dis(content)

Can Netflix weather the storm of subscriber losses and increasing competition? Senior Strategist, Mick Smyth, examines how the streaming giant can rediscover the disruptor mindset.

 

Read more

Big tech grows up

The past nine months have forever changed how employees, investors and the media will see the tech industry. New priorities must take shape for those leading these businesses. Jason Cieslak, President of the Pacific Rim, shares how tech industry leaders can restore growth, rebuild trust and drive profit.

 

Read more

Peerless precision

Learn how we revitalized Davies’ brand experience and captured the essence of Canada’s top law firm.

 

Read more

And the award goes to…

We’re excited to share that Omnicom has been named AdAge’s Holding Company of the Year! We take pride in knowing our people at Siegel+Gale played a role in this collective achievement. Together with our global partners, we continue to raise the bar in our industry.

 

Read more

The post Simply Smarter: A newsletter on brand experience appeared first on Siegel+Gale.

Time for the technology sector to grow up

For the better part of 30 years, software, hardware, online and social media companies have enjoyed exceptions to almost every traditional rule in business:

Valuations based on tomorrow’s potential, not today’s financial performanceVisions of changing the world for the better with little track record of doing itOrganizational culture defined as an abundance of perks not seen anywhere else in corporate AmericaThe best and brightest talent waiting in line to change the world—and in the process, getting paid exorbitantly with little experience“Cool” campuses that encouraged late nights and acted as a surrogate for many employees’ social livesAnd, of course, tons of cachet with investors and media, who looked past the downsides for fear of missing out on the next big thing

As we near mid-2023, it’s become clear that the technology sector’s days of unbridled awesomeness and envy are behind us. The past nine months have forever changed how employees, investors, and the media will see the broader technology industry. For those in the sector, business as usual is over. And new priorities must take shape for those leading these businesses.

Priority 1: Commit to culture in a big way

Tech company culture is often defined by its perks: flexible hours, remote working, free food, game rooms, yoga, massages, sabbaticals, and numerous other wellness niceties. For many, this has defined what’s great about working in the tech and startup sector. And if you looked at the third-party rankings for best places to work, like Business Insider’s 2022 list, these niceties have come to define great workplace culture.

But perks aren’t culture. They’re part of it, sure. And as we’ve seen over the past nine months, many other ‘non-perks’ shape what it’s like to work at these companies. When the perks are reduced, or disappear entirely, what becomes, or defines, the culture?

Arguably, the more influential things that influence organizational culture include how leaders treat their teams and walk the talk, how colleagues communicate and behave, the values that shape business decisions, and how everyone is rewarded and recognized. Things like this will endure well beyond the end of sabbaticals.

Yet consider how so many of these companies went about trimming their workforces over the past six months. Many were done via mass emails or group Zoom calls. Many leaders did little to demonstrate humanity and explain why these things were happening, and real leadership, empathy, internal communications, company values, and meritocracy were all brought into question. As a result, many of these companies stumbled in a high-profile and public way, leaving workers in the industry with a feeling of betrayal and resentment.

Going forward, technology companies will need to rely on real organizational values—values that shape what it’s like to work with one another, how customers and partners should be treated, and what makes a great employee at their company. This starts in the C-suite, but human resources, middle management, corporate communications, and brand all play critical roles in helping a company find its way forward.

This approach is what tech sector companies need to prioritize. Because restoring faith with employees (and potential employees) should be job one for the leaders of these companies. Those in the C-suite in tech need to show that careers for the people they employ will be valued even in the mildest of economic headwinds. Outside of the tech sector, brands like BCG, DaVita, and Southwest Airlines have proven that values modeled from the C-suite can shape culture and enable employees to feel confident in their leadership and trust their careers to their employers – no matter what happens in the economy.

Priority 2: Develop an employer value proposition beyond compensation

As technology companies retrench, they also need to reconsider what reasonable compensation packages look like, and what their real value proposition is for employees. And in today’s climate, where most investors are asking for revenue AND profitability from their companies, higher salaries are likely off the table. To make matters worse, in recent years, many tech companies have overpaid for talent, setting up a reckoning of sorts as to what “market value” compensation means.

One February 2023 report cited that many Amazon employees saw a 15-35% reduction in their total 2022 compensation because of the organization’s reliance on restricted stock units (RSUs). As the stock sank, employees saw their compensation do the same. And what happened in 2022 may very well happen again in 2023. But Amazon isn’t alone. Many large tech companies have generous RSU or stock vesting packages that could pay well into the six figures and beyond as valuation grows—but that doesn’t fly in a flat stock market with companies increasingly worrying about their margins or racing to profitability. The industry needs to rethink this aspect of employment in a big way. But how?  

First, think hard about your value proposition for your employees. What do you uniquely offer that they can’t get at other places? How does that manifest in everyday employee experiences, professional development and personal growth? For a long time, technology companies didn’t need to spend much time on an employer value proposition because they were able to offer the best comp packages to the pick of the litter. But everyone outside of the technology sector competing for engineers, designers, product managers, and data scientists had to – and it worked.

Companies outside of tech still managed to secure top talent – by ensuring their employer value proposition and employee experiences were tied to their brand and its overarching value proposition. They also made sure the experience recruits had while ‘dating’ the company was aligned with their organizational values and purpose. That meant in-person interactions, printed, social and digital communications, and the new employee experiences all worked together to show a walk behind the talk.

But the best companies found ways to also make their employer value propositions tangible daily to those that worked there. Through the experiences in the workplace, career development programs, incentives and recognition efforts, benefits packages and in the communications that reinforced all of it daily.

Some great examples of companies that do this well include KPMG, Gartner, and PwC. And even some elder statesmen of the tech sector, like Microsoft and Apple, do a great job. It’s important to be reminded that money isn’t everybody’s sole or even top priority. Many are driven by a higher purpose, team camaraderie and professional development.

Priority 3: Be proud to stand out from the crowd

Over the past ten years, along with the rise of direct to consumer (DTC) businesses, many brands in tech have rushed to skinny down the role of design and messaging. And as a result, they appear stale and emotionless.

One look at the visual and verbal identities in technology, and you’ll quickly realize it’s become a boring sea of sameness. Lowercase logos, similar fonts, blue color palettes, narrow and limited visual systems, and indistinguishable verbal identities that all sound “friendly.” What was once supposed to be a point of distinction – branding – has now become criteria for fitting in. Today, we have an industry that should look, feel, and sound very different but appears as homogenous as health insurance.

We all know why this happened. Technology is one of the biggest copycat industries, with “visionary CEOs” who are more interested in mimicking the playbook of those who came before them, than blazing their own new paths. Add to it the belief that rich design and emotion gets in the way of product functionality, and you have an industry that’s missing a critical opportunity to use visual and verbal identity for differentiation, connection and growth.

It is safe to assume that over the past nine months, the rapid rise in interest rates has diminished the futures of many DTC brands. And while their look and feel likely didn’t create the headwinds they now face, copying a struggling category also seems silly. Instead, marketing and brand leaders at tech companies should look for inspiration outside of their own categories.

There are many well recognized global brands that continue to parlay a rich visual and verbal brand palette to drive growth and relevance. And their apps, websites and social media channels work just fine.

American Express, a brand that many thought would be obsolete with the rise of digital wallets, continues to thrive. And it does so by leveraging its rich library of unique visual and verbal assets to connect with consumers emotionally, be seen as something distinct, and stay relevant. You can add Bristol Myers Squibb, H+R Block, and Nielsen as additional examples of companies embracing the power of design and language to stand out, say something unique, connect emotionally, reinvent, and win.  

The entire technology sector could take a page from some of these old-guard businesses who’ve used their brands to blaze their own trails. Branding, as many have forgotten, is about standing out, not fitting in.

Priority 4: Get the brand story right

Your brand story is your investor story. Turns out, fueling rapid growth and innovative side projects is much harder than advertised without cheap money. And in a down—optimistically, flat—market, executing the famous “hockey stick of growth” chart combined with profits seems improbable. So, what do you tell investors and media who expect double-digit growth, defendable business moats, and 50%+ margins?

At the core of this answer is a brand story. Great brands tell big, clear, compelling stories—in a way that is unique to them. A story that underscores the problems they seek to solve and the value that’s unlocked as they grow. As tech companies scramble over fewer investor and VC dollars and more competitive market dynamics, a brand story will help them stand out for the right reasons and create clarity around why they’re the right choice.

One critical piece of this puzzle is clarity around what your organization does—and why. Too many tech brands perfect their initial product or service and then branch off to satisfy investor demands. In this first chapter of their growth, they often have a crisp story. But as they search for growth, that story becomes increasingly muddled and unclear.

Take Google and their Google X division for example. Combined they have a laundry list of pursuits, ranging from disrupting pharma and life sciences, autonomous cars, operating systems, advertising platforms, network infrastructure, network security, cloud services, streaming services, and energy kites. And I’m sure I missed a few. But the point is, what this company does now well exceeds what we all know it as, a company “organizing the world’s information to make it universally accessible and useful.”

And Amazon is no different. It didn’t just purchase Whole Foods; it added GrubHub, OneMedical, MGM, iRobot, Zappos, Zoox, Ring, Twitch, and Kiva. You might’ve known some of those Amazon purchases, but you probably didn’t know all. And that’s the point. With so many irons in the fire, what is the story? And where is the growth going to be? Where are the synergies with existing customers? And what are the benefits for shareholders with so many new pieces being folded into an ever sprawling and disconnected giant?  Amazon’s vision is to be the earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” But what was outlined above sure seems a lot different than that.

And while Amazon may be the industrial-sized example of having a story that doesn’t align with its purpose in the world, many smaller companies in tech do the same thing. And often, it comes at the expense of presenting their capabilities clearly and meaningfully as they go to market. Look no further than Twilio if you’d like to see a high-growth, now-sprawling company that also experienced downsizing in the past six months. Their growth has been meteoric, but one look at their products page will leave you wondering what this company does, how do all these things fit together and what is the end benefit for me as a customer? The litany of capabilities and clever names sure looks impressive. But it also looks overwhelming—and that’s not how any company should come across.

Gone are the days of dropping “SAAS,” “Cloud,” “Digital Transformation” and “Platform” and expecting the world to know what business you’re in.

So, for technology leaders, getting the brand story right is imperative. It isn’t just what you say, but it’s how you say it, and how it becomes easily accessible for those inside and outside the organization. Clarity can be a game changer not just to customers, but investors as well.

It’s been a good run for those in technology. Defying all the business and market norms that shape every other industry for three decades is unprecedented. But it couldn’t last forever. The early years of the sector – ranging from technology stalwarts to high-flying startups – have changed many aspects of business and culture around the world. And that’s impressive.

But change is here, and it cannot be ignored. It’s time to grow up and take a page from those that came before you. And if you do it right, you can restore growth, rebuild trust, and drive profits.

 

Jason Cieslak is President, Pacific Rim 

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Rediscovering the disruptor mindset: how Netflix can evolve with a changing industry

This article originally appeared in The Drum.

For over a decade, Netflix has been a, if not the, leader in video-on-demand. Growing from mailed rental DVDs to streaming to content creation to Oscar winner, the brand has innovated exceptionally to disrupt the core of an entire industry. However, although subscriber numbers peaked during the pandemic, things have become complicated of late.

While the pandemic provided the brand with a golden opportunity to boost growth, that same opportunity was also afforded to competitors, many of whom had a pre-existing content catalog. The cost-of-living crisis, increased competition, and a subscriber base with more time to consume content pushed customers to seek entertainment beyond the incumbent. Netflix subscriber numbers have been fluctuating; April 2022 saw their first decline in over ten years. The company share price took a hit following concerns within the business of a further loss of 2 million subscribers; layoffs soon followed.

To counter the consequences of solidified competition and fluctuating customer numbers, Netflix announced several new policy changes. From a new payment tier with an ad-based model to a clampdown on password sharing, the brand is actively seeking new revenue streams. This reflects its desire to move away from subscriber numbers and use revenue and profit as the key metric for success, signaling a potential refocusing of its priorities.

The landscape has changed

Netflix recognizes that the market is now saturated. It also understands that it has likely hit the glass ceiling of the maximum number of subscribers it can expect at any time. Compounded by possible over-consumption of content during the pandemic and new content potentially taking years to be produced, driving new subscribers through new content is looking less like a viable short-term strategy for Netflix.

To deliver on shareholder expectations of growth, the brand is now tasked with finding new ways of increasing revenue without relying on increasing user numbers. However, shareholder expectations and customer expectations may not align. Unfortunately, this revenue increase will likely mean a hit to current customers in one form or another.

Increasing complexity does not go unnoticed

Consumers may already feel like they’re being left behind. Suggestions that Netflix is prioritizing profit over programming have been circulating for some time. Accusations abound of the brand maximizing profits by canceling successful shows in favor of new investments to avoid increased fees for actors and production crews.

Viewers opting for the new cheaper, ad-based model also appear to be suffering from a lack of access to some content on the platform. The “one simple subscription” still touted by Netflix is looking increasingly complex.

Social media is swimming with people sharing their experiences with the platform’s service changes. From college students living between campus and home to people that travel for work, frustrations are being aired around a lack of consideration for their unique situations. Many have promised to cancel their subscriptions, some of which have been in place for over a decade.

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Customers are partners and should be brought along on any journey of change

In truth, Netflix is at a crossroads. Currently, it is the only genuinely profitable streaming service (if it is to be believed). But it operates within an increasingly competitive market. The innovations that separated it from traditional television – the lack of advertising and the ability to binge-watch – are slowly being eroded. Increasing revenue while keeping customers satisfied requires delicate balancing.

Customers are partners and should be brought along on the journey of any major business changes. This is something that, up to now, the brand has always considered. Netflix has long used its brand purpose, ‘entertain the world’, to guide its decision-making. Above all else, entertainment was the disruptor’s most crucial aspect. Has that changed? Has Netflix’s reason for being altered along with its key metrics?

Don’t lose who you are

From its inception, Netflix has sought to do things differently. To make it simpler for people to access the best content wherever they are – driving an industry on a journey of innovation and ensuring customer expectations are aligned with the business.

Difficult decisions must be made as the industry evolves and becomes more competitive. That’s inevitable. But it would be a shame for a brand to lose what customers have come to love it for.

Mick Smyth is a Senior Strategist

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