The inaugural Internal Communications and Engagement Awards are taking place in London on 13 May. Brandworkz has been shortlisted at the awards

‘One brand, one voice’ is a maxim you hear more often these days, and quite rightly, so we believe. But what does it mean? Why is having a united and consistent brand so important for an organisation, even internally? Along with sharing a vision and values, sharing a consistent brand identity (both visually and verbally) can be a powerful tool in aligning and engaging teams to work together under one banner.

However, we see that when businesses are growing – through international expansion, through acquisition or through diversification into new markets or services – managing brand usage can become even more complex. Variations in brand usage can start to creep in (or be left behind as a legacy), and consistency takes a back seat.

This fragmented presentation can have a negative commercial impact in terms of customer perception (and indeed in attracting talent), especially when firms are trying to compete against established multinational brands. It can also mean that employees do not feel as though they are part of the same company, and are therefore not acting effectively as a true team.

Compounding this, even slight differences in brand identities makes it much harder to share assets and collateral, so there is considerable duplication of effort, and little collaboration on creating materials (not to mention cost inefficiencies).

Investing in brand consistency and engaging employees with that process can have a huge impact on their perceptions of the business they work within, and how connected they feel towards colleagues in the rest of the organisation. For example, when leading accountancy and advisory network Baker Tilly recently undertook a global rebrand – to unite under one name, with one visual identity – it recognised how important it would be to engage 30,000 employees worldwide in swiftly adopting the new brand.

In order to realise this strategic vision and maximise the return on investment, Baker Tilly needed to find a way to ensure consistent usage and application of the new brand identity, and to provide the necessary tools to create touchpoints. By establishing a brand management platform to facilitate that, the team are reporting not just excellence in brand presentation and consistency, but are seeing a seeing a whole raft of benefits from actively bringing the team together to use one interactive portal. According to Jo Luck, brand manager at Baker Tilly International, “The global teams have been empowered…We are seeing greater engagement, and greater collaboration.”

The role that brand – and effective brand management – has played in unifying the teams at Baker Tilly worldwide has been significant. In the words of Ben Lloyd, Baker Tilly International’s chief operating officer, “A consistent brand position makes it easier for people to appreciate who we are, what we do, and how we operate across markets.” And that, to us, is a fantastic example of what ‘one brand, one voice’ should really mean.


Jens Lundgaard is the founder and CEO of Brandworkz

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