“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
Management consulting guru Peter Drucker uttered these famous words back in 2006.
Roll the clock forward and it seems culture is at it again, eagerly devouring its next meal on the corporate menu: brand.
Until fairly recently, the worlds of brand and culture had little reason to collide.
The marketing team were responsible for managing the presentation and reputation of the brand (for customers), while the HR department looked after defining and building the company culture (for employees).
The lines began blurring with the emergence of employer brand in the 2010s, forcing marketing and HR teams to come together for a game of tug-of-war (with the winner getting to pick the agency).
Today, this divide is practically paper-thin. The days of audiences accepting the claims of a brand at face value – without peeking behind the curtain of its company culture – are well and truly over.
Here are 4 ways culture has been having brand for lunch in recent years…
Introducing the #1 killer of rebrands
Talk to any brand agency, and chances are there’ll be a story (or two or three) of how a brand refresh or campaign launch was undermined by a broken culture. We’ve been there ourselves – creating and launching something beautiful and powerful…only to watch it be shot down in flames by a mix of internal politics, poor leadership, and lack of employee buy-in.
Healthy cultures will reinforce and amplify your brand; broken ones will tear it down for all the world to see.
Brewdog and other tales of workplace woe
Culture had the Brewdog brand for lunch back in 2021. The global brewer was exposed for its “toxic culture”, had its B Corp accreditation revoked, and has lost its status as darling of the purpose movement. The likes of Amazon, Uber, WeWork, and Sports Direct have all had reputations damaged by tales of employees being treated badly. Add to that the countless number of companies (large and small) with well-polished brands and battered looking Glassdoor profiles, and its clear that the line between brand and culture has become well and truly blurred.
In a post-pandemic world, customers and employees alike are asking: “Are you looking after your people?”
Culture is now in the business of growth
No longer ‘fluffy’ and intangible, culture is starting to prove its worth when it comes to growth. This includes research that shows companies with a strong culture can boast 4 x increase in revenue growth – one of several studies connecting culture with performance. A recent study of UK employers on Glassdoor revealed that companies rated highly by their current employees achieved superior profitability compared with those rated poorly.
A clear picture is emerging – of culture becoming a measurable driver of business growth (much in the same way brand has traditionally been).
Purpose, the great connector
The emergence of purpose as a school of thought in business is arguably the biggest reason brand and culture are being drawn out of their siloes. No longer the vestige of the CMO and advertising agencies (think ‘brand purpose’ and ‘purpose campaigns’), purpose is now viewed as the organising principle for the business – bringing clarity, alignment and belonging to employees and customers alike.
Leaders are realising the reality that effective purpose starts at home – first with the company’s culture, then with the organisation’s brand.
So, is this end of brand as a marketing endeavour?
Companies will always need a clear, compelling, and differentiated brand – a means of intentionally shaping the perception their audience has of the company and what it offers. That isn’t going to change anytime soon.
But what was once an afterthought (“Does this reflect our culture?”) is fast becoming the starting point for any successful refresh of an organisational brand.
The future belongs to those who can build an authentic, powerful brand from the foundations of a strong internal culture.
For those who still want to play ‘don’t look behind the curtain’? Be warned – your culture is sizing up its next meal.
