This article was first published in 2021.
What makes your campaigns instantly recognisable as belonging to your brand? When your employees talk about your brand online (and they do), do you know how and where? Your answers to these questions paint a picture of your brand consistency, a crucial element of a unified employer brand.
These are also the questions Kirsten Bethmann has been asking as Global Employer Reputation Lead for Mars, Incorporated. Mars set itself an inspiring goal: to become one of the most attractive employers in the world by 2025. Achieving this goal, Bethmann believes, requires a renewed focus on brand consistency.
Why brand consistency is so important to growth
Working towards greater employer brand consistency supports greater brand awareness, often the biggest ongoing talent challenge organisations face. Unless you are a much-loved consumer brand with widespread name recognition, your employer brand team is likely to know this struggle all too well.
Establishing a shared vision
A clear employer value proposition is the cornerstone of a consistent employer brand. For Mars, that EVP is built on three pillars: people, purpose and development. The employer brand team took this EVP a step further by adapting the Mars statement of purpose (“The world we want tomorrow starts with how you do business today”) into a tagline: “Your tomorrow starts today”. This personalises the Mars mission and turns it into a call to action for its employees.
Standardising brand guidelines
Companies that operate in multiple markets must strike a balance between enforcing brand guidelines and letting each market represent itself authentically. Mars began this work by creating a central platform for its guidelines, a “one-stop shop” for learning how to use colour, messaging and more.
Leaving room for personalisation
Within these guidelines, employer brand teams in each of Mars’ markets have the flexibility to make campaigns their own. The guidelines set certain standards for social media messaging, but Mars’ employer brand leaders recognise that messaging from sales employees may sound different from engineering’s. Bethmann and her team welcome those differences.
To follow Kirsten Bethmann’s work in employer brand, connect with her on LinkedIn.
Building your own employer brand
Your EVP is the foundation of your employer brand. If you want help defining yours, read about our employer value proposition consultancy.
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