Many employer branding campaigns are based on big topics that have a strong emotional or social meaning. These topics often touch society deeply and get a lot of attention. But what should a company do if it is not a popular or loved brand? What if people do not feel a strong connection to the company?
What happens if the product is hard to understand or needs a lot of explanation? Or what if the product is just simple and not very exciting? These situations make employer branding much more difficult.
That is when the real challenge starts. In this article, we share useful tips on how to handle this tough situation in a smart and creative way. Employer branding is not about polishing your image. It does not try to make your brand look better than it really is. Instead, it seeks to become truly meaningful to the people you want to reach.
What really matters is resonance. Brands earn resonance by forming a genuine connection with their audiences. They spark that bond in three main ways: tapping into emotions, giving people a sense of shared identity, or standing firmly for a common belief. Sometimes they do this with humor or charm. Other times they do it through genuine pride or by showing an honest glimpse of everyday life. The key is to ignite that spark so people feel it immediately.
Here is the great news: every company already holds what you need. You can find the authentic story, spirit, or insight inside your own organization. Here is the tough part: you almost never see it in agency or marketing briefings. And if it does appear, it usually hides under a mountain of marketing buzzwords.
Four Steps to Discover Relevance in Industries That Seem Dry or Boring
1. Understand the Brand – Don’t Just Describe It
The first meeting with a brand is very important. A person who interacts with a brand for the first time sees it with fresh and open eyes. This moment is very valuable and must be treated with care and attention.
Ask helpful and simple questions like: What exactly does this company do? What kind of things does it make or offer? Why does the company do what it does—what motivates it every day? What success stories has the company experienced? What are its past failures or mistakes? What common beliefs or misunderstandings do people have about the company?
These questions help us understand the brand more deeply. But there is one important thing to remember: Just knowing facts and theories is not enough to understand a brand properly.
2. Experience the Brand – Use All Your Senses
We can truly understand something only when we combine both knowledge (theory) and personal experience (practice). Let’s take an example to explain this better.
You can tell someone how a roller coaster ride feels. You can share the excitement by giving facts like heart rate, fear, or fun levels. You can even explain how the body reacts during the ride using science. But all of this is still just information. You will only really understand how it feels when you actually sit in the roller coaster and ride it yourself.
This is also true for understanding companies and their products. When you hold a product in your own hands, you notice what makes it special or different. When you talk to the people who created it, you feel how passionate and excited they are. When you visit the company in person, you understand the working environment and culture.
Good employer branding does not come from slideshows or office documents. It comes from real, personal experience. It comes from leaving the meeting room and stepping into the real world. So go to the workshop. Visit the office. Talk to the staff. Get involved in the real action. Only then will you truly understand the brand.
3. Find the Aha Moment
If you carefully explore data sheets and employee interviews, you will discover a very special moment. This moment gives you a powerful new idea or feeling. It changes how you think about the company. We call this the "Aha Moment".
This moment could be many things:
A unique color that stands out in the office space
A shared belief or attitude that all employees have
A cool and interesting chemical process
Smart and clever technical details
Funny or strange product names
A secret that many people know but don’t speak about
A sound that you hear when using the product, and it feels special
Sometimes this moment reveals something unexpected, like:
“Our customers are not buying the product itself—they’re buying something more.”
“We just wanted to do one thing, but something totally new happened by accident.”
“There is something amazing that no one really knows about us…”
These small insights are like treasures for employer branding. They make the brand feel personal, warm, honest, and even a little imperfect. And that’s good. People like things that feel real. You can always find something that touches the heart or sparks interest. And when something moves people emotionally, it can also inspire and motivate them.
4. Show Courage – And Make Your Message Clear
Now comes the hardest part. You must choose one clear idea or message and stand behind it fully. This needs courage and confidence. Why? Because when you choose one main message, you must leave out other ideas—even if they also seem important or useful.
This is where many people struggle. Instead of choosing one focus, they try to include everything. They do this because they are being polite, unsure, or afraid of missing something important.
But remember this: Being relevant doesn’t mean including everything. It means being clear and focused. So the important question is not: “What are all the important things we should say?” The real question is: “What is the one most important thing that helps people quickly understand why this brand is right for them?”
Example: A Campaign Without Gloss, But Full of Meaning
We created a campaign for our client Netze BW GmbH. We named it "Läuft nur mit dir" (which means “Runs only with you”).
Instead of showing romantic pictures of power lines or using dramatic tech language, we took a different approach. We showed what everyday life looks like when employees are missing. No gaming under LED lights. No singing in a warm shower. No relaxing in the sunny garden room.
We used simple everyday scenes and added funny touches to them. We did not use fancy videos that explain things. We did not show future dreams or use empty buzzwords. Instead, we stayed close to real life—clear, honest, and friendly. Of course, the big industry topics were still there. But they stayed in the background. They were not the main focus.
The Aha Moment Behind the Campaign
In the company’s earlier communication—and also in the entire industry—we kept seeing the same type of images again and again:
Workers wearing full uniforms
People standing near large power boxes
Repairs happening at night, under rain and drama
These images looked very technical, serious, and far from normal people’s lives. But when we talked to employees, they kept saying one thing: “Almost no one knows us as an employer, but without us, nothing works in Baden-Württemberg.” That sentence changed everything. We realized the focus should not be on technology. It should be on daily life and real human experiences. Not future ideas, but everyday moments with real values. From there, the big idea was born: Relevance comes not from explaining too much. It comes from closeness, humor, and real, relatable moments.
Conclusion: Depth, Not Trends
Strong employer branding does not come from sitting around conference tables. It comes from places where people really understand the company. It grows when people listen, ask deep questions, and simplify complex ideas.
It also grows when you stay strong enough to handle complex truths—without turning them into fake marketing words. Real power does not come from what’s popular or trendy. Real power comes from the core of the brand. And you can only see that true core if you take the time to really look.
Comments
Post a Comment