Apr 2024
EVPs and Employer Brands - A picture really can paint a thousand words
I’ve always loved presenting creative work and especially EVPs and Employer Brands. It’s that bit in the meeting when everyone’s body language shifts and people tend to lean forward in their seats or closer to the screen in expectation. Up until that moment, all the talk has been about who should be on the focus groups?, what did the research throw up?, and all the ‘less sexy’ part of the process (some might say). The bit that I love is getting all of that good, factual, nutritious information based on a lot of hard work and, along with a copywriter, creating the EVP and Employer Brand. It’s the bit where people go “That’s exactly us!” or “That’s made me feel really emotional”. And when that happens (and it has on several occasions) it’s amazing. The next bit is even better.
We’ve been lucky to have worked on some amazing EVP and Employer Brand projects with some amazing clients and the thing that always gives me a proper buzz is when you involve their own people in either the photoshoot or video shoot. Or both. After all, there’s nobody better to truly reflect the personality of the business than the people who do it all day. So, picture the sheer excitement when they’re taken out of the office to a photography studio for a day of something completely different. And we always try and make it fun for them too. A few bowls of sweets, a good playlist on good speakers and we let the enjoyment begin.
We’re lucky to have some brilliant partners who we’ve built long-lasting, trusted, and special relationships with, and who we know will get those shots and footage we need. And it’s that captured personality that reflects the business that the client works in that truly elevates a strong EVP message and a considered Employer Brand into something that means something to the businesses and the people working in them. It brings everything to life. We’ve gone back a year or so later to retake new images for some clients’ Employer Brands and it’s brilliant to see the same faces who have come up through the ranks and who have stayed with the business and who fondly remember the first time that we met in the studios.
On one recent shoot, the client said that ‘it was probably the best day of my working life’. And that was something really special for us to hear. But the resulting imagery that we ended up over the two days of the shoot was a true reflection of the people in the organisation and how they felt about working there. And that’s also pretty impactful from an employee advocacy stance too, right? But that’s a different story…
In categories: Employer Branding, Creativity
