How workplace culture is related to branding (and how a copywriter can help)
Strong brands connect people to their vision, mission, and values. Only then can company culture thrive.
But experience has made me wonder how many organisations refer to their brand strategy like the directional compass it’s designed to be.
Over the years I’ve worked for several businesses who’ve invested thousands in their brand strategy—indeed have even sold me on how great their company culture is—only to find it was all smoke and mirrors.
One experience in particular several years ago was with a reputable agency known for their branding expertise. To my delight I was accepted for interview, and as this wasn’t long after I’d finished studies, I was pretty darn excited.
Before the interview, I took time to learn about the business when I read through their website. I discovered one of their core values was health, which is one of mine too. Then and there, I was determined I wanted to work there. I wanted to be with a team who shared my pledge to being a vital, well person.
As it turned out, I should've prodded deeper in the interview.
The day I started, bowls of iridescent-hued, sugar-doused snacks placed generously around the office stole my eyeballs like neon signs in a dark alley. And when I opened the fridge to put my salad in there, it wheezed out whiffs of day-before pizza and spattered beer! I thought maybe it was a special occasion at the office, so didn’t think too much about it at the time.
I soon discovered this was the norm. And I began to feel hoodwinked. I assumed their beautifully written values on the website gave me enough to trust, connect with, and validate my interest in working for them.
Now I’m all for “you do you”, freedom of choice and so forth. But when it comes to business—especially if you’re in it to steer clients in the right direction for their marketing and brand—you’d expect them to walk their talk, right?
This is only one small example, but even before this experience, I struggled to find organisations that actually lean on their brand strategy to build company culture.
My observation and eventual conclusion:
Creating a workplace culture that aligns with your brand takes more than having Friday office drinks.
Or stating a set of glossy brand values on your website expecting them to magnetise (and retain) the right employees to your door.
Brand building starts from within and is the cornerstone for seeding a culture that blooms. It takes a shared commitment to ensure those methodically thought-out statements and verbal assets are lived and breathed in the workplace so your brand strategy works for you, not against.
In other words:
If you’re not being conscious about putting all that expensive brand work into action, you’ll come off reeking like a fake—and attracting employees who will soon realise your workplace is not a match for them.
That costs more than money. Reputation, time, human resources, interruption to workflow for onboarding new staff… and I’m fairly certain such disruption wouldn’t align with any business dedicated to building equity into their brand.
So what does company culture have to do with copywriting?
For me, a lot.
I’ll always trust that any brand strategy document given to help me develop the copy accurately depicts the company’s values, voice, vision and so on.
One of the things I’ve come up against in helping clients develop their brand is the incongruencies in how the team understands it, how it should be expressed externally using their personality and voice, and how the stated values are congruent with the decisions, actions, and attitudes within their workplace.
Internal material that’s written from a clear brand strategy and well-defined voice has the power to shift the disgruntled naysayers in your workplace to raving advocates. They’re the ones who potentially become the star employees who bring in business and attract suitable future employees.
The brand strategy is best used to lead cultural development, not the other way around.
So while you might think I simply go about my research to find words to sell your business, it goes way deeper than that.
I work with clients I care about and hope to make a difference for, so when I come up against brand misalignments, I like to suggest working through them. This will help me steer clear of spouting inauthentic words on your behalf simply to get the sale over the line.
Workplace culture needs to be worked at and checked against what you’ve pledged as your brand.
And sometimes it takes grit and the potential discomfort of getting real about internal conduct, the way values are lived in the business, and how well the brand is being communicated at every customer-facing touch point.
The next question to ask is, how well do you think your company culture is aligned with your brand?
Because if the answer is "not well enough" (or you don't know how to answer this), you’re not building longevity and authenticity into your business DNA.
Better whip those spiffy brand documents out before it’s too late.
And bring in an outsider’s perspective to help you find the little leaky holes that, once they’re patched, will buoy up your business and help your team thrive.
That might be me.
Let's meet for 15 minutes to talk about it and see if we'd work well together.
I'd love to hear from you.