Article by Jill Collins, PhD
This article originally appeared on Forbes
When we think about branding, we usually think of “external-facing” work: marketing efforts and materials intended for public audiences. There are many instances, however, where it pays to do some “internal-facing” convincing as well. An internal launch signals to your people that their opinions matter, and turns a major brand shift from something that’s happening to them, to something that’s happening with and for them. For medium to large companies, putting thought, resources and effort into an internal launch is definitely a worthwhile investment.
When should I consider an internal launch?
It’s easy to take for granted that people who work for your company are invested in the same priorities when it comes to your shared success, but it isn’t always the case — success often looks different for different people. High-impact commercial changes require your team to be on-message and on-side. When you’re launching a new brand, you want everyone in your company to understand the strategy behind it so that they can embody it and truly sell it to others. When you’re launching a new product, it’s important that everyone in your company can concisely convey what it is, what it does, and how you want it to be perceived in the market. And when your company has undergone a merger or acquisition, you will almost certainly experience some initial friction — defining your new, combined culture, mission statement and goal is important to get everyone pulling in the same direction. No matter what project you’re undertaking, an internal launch can help make the big changes at your company feel less scary for the people working there, and help boost morale.
Step One: Before you launch, you must first align.
Just like external audiences, your internal stakeholders have their own unique needs and values, which should inform the way you talk to them. You’ll want to consider how the different personas and contributors at your company fit into the new brand vision, what their role in the external-facing changes are, and how the new or revitalized brand ladders back to a bigger mission or purpose that matters to them.
You may find that the answers look a little different for each stakeholder. Your new brand story might mean something different for the R&D team than it does for Sales & Marketing, or for your executive team. For a merger or acquisition, you may want to work to bridge those narrative gaps. For something like a brand launch or revitalization, it might instead be worth recognizing and celebrating the ways that each role fits into the new brand story. Either way, your goal should be to align on a core message that can unite each member of your organization.
Step Two: Find your Big Idea.
In marketing we talk about a Big Idea (or creative concept) as a singular message that forms the creative foundation for all other brand materials. Rallying all internal and external communications around one Big Idea helps build awareness, connection and engagement. It also helps form a cohesive wrapper around all internal launch day activities, and will help internal stakeholders get excited about changes taking place, offering a sense of pride and ownership in the process.
Step Three: Prime for liftoff.
Once the core team behind your branding has finalized messaging, and centered it around a memorable Big Idea, it’s time to plan for an internal launch day. Build excitement and awareness (and emotionally prepare people for upcoming changes) with tools like teaser emails and environmental signage. If you don’t have something in place already, I always recommend working with HR to set up an employee engagement survey or Net Promoter Score to serve as your baseline prior to launch. This will help you assess current employee loyalty, and serve as a comparison point later on to measure the effectiveness of the new branding.
Step Four: Launch Day!
Whether your launch is an in-person event or a virtual announcement, there are some key elements worth including. I recommend centering your launch day around an executive presentation. This signals that the new brand is being taken seriously at the top level, and encourages buy-in throughout your organization. For larger companies, it can help to select and train brand ambassadors. Their goal should be to keep the new brand strong and consistent at every level of your company. Especially at first, many may default to their previous way of doing things, so having dedicated personnel and various internal resources is one way to promote consistency moving forward.
Providing branded swag is a great way to give employees a way to own and be part of the new branding. Environmental signage in and around your office space can also help keep the new brand top of mind. For remote workplaces, materials like video call backgrounds, LinkedIn profile banners, and desktop backgrounds can achieve a similar effect.
Step Five: Keep up the post-launch momentum.
After your internal launch, you’ll want to keep the momentum alive internally, and empower your team to support your external launch. Reinforcement activities and ongoing reminders about the new brand pillars can help maintain the excitement around your new brand. If you have an intranet for employees, you can have challenges and rewards for people exemplifying the new brand attributes or for sharing testimonials of how they’ve used it successfully with customers.
Remember that employee NPS score you established earlier? Now is a good time to gather a follow-up to assess how your efforts are being received. Your brand ambassadors are a valuable resource during this stage, as they can help you proactively respond to the reception of your new brand, as well as help brainstorm ways that your company can better live and promote it.
At the end of the day, your company is only as strong as your people. Ensure your internal stakeholders are passionate and aligned with your new brand vision so they can enthusiastically represent it to the market. In order to do this, you need to give your new brand the attention and respect it deserves with a proper internal launch.