Your employees are media

It's important that each employee understands the brand and feels prioritised. There are three significant trends happening within business that mean every employee is an important stakeholder:

• the competitive advantage of service
• the all-pervading influence of social networks
• the fragmentation of today's workforce.

Embrace internal engagement

When I work on projects involving an organisation's employees, I receive an ‘internal engagement' brief. Internal engagement used to be viewed as the poor cousin to consumer engagement and limited to the distribution of stress balls, screensavers and ringbound pamphlets. As part of this book, I surveyed high-level marketers and CEOs on their priorities within their organisation. Figure 9.1 was particularly interesting. Everyone said ‘meeting the needs of the customer and understanding their needs' was most important, ahead of brand and communications strategy. The least important priority was internal brand engagement. Sir Richard Branson didn't complete the survey, but I wonder what his response would have been.

But there are some green shoots. Internal engagement is on steroids in many large technology-driven companies. There is the budget for it, and they also treat their brands like an ecosystem inviting staff, suppliers and customers to trade shows and festival-type conferences. Accounting software company Xero and customer management software company Salesforce are examples that come to mind. Taking their lead from cult-like companies such as the Steve Bulmer–led Microsoft, these tech-driven companies are spending more time, money and resources on making sure their staff understand what the brand and company is about.

Tackling the faceless ride-share companies

In the age of Uber, would you want to be in charge of marketing for the taxi industry? Liz Attia became head of marketing at the taxi company 13cabs at a time of intense disruption in the sector. Her task was to transform 13cabs from a service into a brand. Taxis had to stand for more than ferrying passengers from A to B. For decades, the taxi industry had no significant competitors because government regulation made it difficult for others to enter the market. It meant the existing taxi service was coasting. Before Uber and other ride-sharing operators hit the market, the passenger experience in a cab was unpredictable. You didn't know if the car would be clean or the driver would be rude or would even turn up. Passengers didn't believe the company's tagline, ‘13cabs will get you there'. When ride-sharing services hit the market, passengers had greater choice. It also meant drivers had options other than working for 13cabs.

I clearly remember the first meeting with Andrew Skelton, CEO of Cabcharge, because it was important for both parties. Cabcharge was evolving from dispatch and logistical services with an affiliated taxi fleet of 8500 to consolidate operations under a single national 13cabs brand and 13cabs app. It was under pressure to select the right agency to help it with this period of transition, and Thinkerbell was in its infancy. Andrew listened as we presented our credentials and our assessment of 13cabs. We said the service was patchy and that some of the drivers were rude, unprofessional or disengaged. But we thought an ethnically diverse driver base was a positive because it offered the chance for passengers to chat with someone from a different background.

Andrew then told us his story. When he was in high school and at university he worked in taxis to help pay his way, and he quickly became a manager at a local taxi organisation. After finishing university, Andrew practised as a lawyer in mergers and acquisitions. But taxis, he told us, were in his blood. He was passionate not only about taxis but their role in society. According to Andrew, becoming a taxi driver was often the first job for an immigrant and important in helping them to integrate into their new country. He was disappointed and ashamed that ethnically diverse drivers were seen as a weakness in the company. The taxi industry has done more for inclusion than just about any other industry.

After winning the account, we started by drilling down with management about their customers and the 13cabs brand. Uber was the main competition. But at the time, Uber was facing negative press around the world for a series of internal and business-related issues. Uber, according to the narrative, would do anything to increase its revenue, including controlling drivers through micro rewards and positive reinforcement to keep them driving for longer. But it was still hard for them to make decent money. Further, Uber gave the appearance of not caring about the disruption it was causing to communities of taxi drivers. Uber's image was of a faceless corporate giant interested in profits over people. Well, it wasn't completely faceless; its then CEO, Travis Kalanick, contributed to the perception issues following a series of well-documented indiscretions that ultimately caused him to resign.

Uber offered an extremely efficient service, mainly through its app. 13cabs matched this with their app. However, 13cabs had an advantage: its full-time drivers had greater allegiance to the company than those from Uber. Further, 13cabs had strong connections in the suburbs they served. Pubs, clubs and RSLs relied on cabs, as did hospitals and other care organisations. These taxis transported hospital patients, war veterans and the elderly — none of whom ordered a cab from a smartphone or paid using a credit card.

From these insights, we developed a central brand proposition: ‘people moving people'. People are on both sides of the equation — passengers and drivers. We established the features and benefits of the brand, its value and personality. A brand book captured the proposition.

The way in which we communicated the brand was vital. We put the drivers first and the customers second. We knew we needed to improve the fleet and improve perceptions. A full internal engagement program is now underway. We did three things when launching the new brand:

1. Cars were re-badged to appear modern, cleaner and fresher.
2. All communications featured staff from 13cabs going about their day to amplify the 13cabs proposition of ‘people moving people'. We developed a strategy revealing the benefits of a people-focused culture for customers. The advertising put a spotlight on the inner workings of 13cabs. Radio ads featured real phone calls to the call centre. TV and cinema ads highlighted people across the company, including Nick in lost property, Karen the contact centre supervisor and taxi driver Saeed, who's been driving for 27 years. Each spoke about 13cabs and its service. Further, in digital media, we did something kind of clever. We identified when and where ride-share companies had surge pricing and ran ads that said, ‘With 13cabs, there's no surge pricing, just Serge driving'. (Quite a few of the drivers are named Serge, which is handy.)
3. In partnership with the Nine Network, we created a 12-part TV show called Anna Gare's Cab Fare, which made a strength of what was previously perceived as a weakness — the ethnicity of cab drivers.

In the series, celebrity chef Anna Gare rides in 12 taxis around Australia, chatting to the driver, asking where they are from and what food they like to eat. Anna then agrees to meet the driver at their home with their family and re-create their favourite dish. The show worked as a substantial piece of internal engagement because we communicated in a positive fashion. We asked drivers to be part of the series and received hundreds of applications before deciding on the final 12. When the show aired, the driver was featured in local media and showcased in internal communications. 13cabs continues to hero the driver in a series of initiatives that highlight an ethnically diverse driver base that's proud to work with the company.

These initiatives allowed 13cabs to remain competitive despite massive pressure and media spend by the ride-sharing companies. Over two years there have been some noteworthy results. Over 2 million people have downloaded the 13cabs app. Ninety-nine per cent of drivers have rebranded their cars to read 13cabs, and negative sentiment on social media has reduced almost entirely. Further, Cabcharge's share price increased 30 per cent,² and the company has the confidence to expand and grow, with several exciting initiatives in the pipeline. The team at Thinkerbell is enjoying the challenge.

The campaign so far was achieved without conducting consumer research. Now, however, we're adding tracking capability and market segmentation. We're also gathering upfront insights to find out what else people want from 13cabs. But the company knows what is most important to it and the shining light. And that's ‘people moving people'.

Finally, it's the smallest of tweaks, but the line has changed from ‘13cabs will get you there' to ‘13cabs, we'll get you there'. It's a reminder that people are the most critical part of the business.

The tech startup and branding from the inside out

Many technology startups have founders who are developers, or who come from the technical side of the business. The company reaches a certain size, receives funding and then it's decided it needs to do marketing. Marketing for these companies is often ‘acquisition', and generally doesn't sit at the centre of the business. There are some obvious exceptions where marketing feels indistinguishable from the product, but this is rare.

TRIBE is an influencer marketing platform company where the brand permeates the entire business. I've sat on its board and invested in the business. It always strikes me that everyone who works there gets what the business is about. Everyone understands its tone, personality and vision of the brand. Everyone is on the journey.

I remember an early all-staff meeting at TRIBE when it had approximately 20 employees. (There's now over 80 across four countries.) Founder Jules Lund gave an impassioned speech explaining the company was in its startup phase but growing quickly. He said that one day, the company will be sold or cease to exist. Those gathered could be on the journey for as long as they liked. From inception to startup to scale up to exit, you can learn and have fun doing this job. I loved the honesty of this talk. It was the first time I'd heard a business owner speak so openly to staff about one day selling the business, but framing it as a positive.

It should be no surprise that TRIBE is one of those brands in the market that has a cult-like following with Jules and his disciple, Ant, running the show. I asked Jules how he keeps his people so enthused and aligned with the brand.

• Adam: How do you understand what's on and off brand for TRIBE?

  Jules: A brand is simply a personality. The easiest way to ensure it's cohesive across all touchpoints is to have it filter through one lens. I felt the same with the social accounts for my radio shows. It really should be one voice. Otherwise it's simply a split personality, which is unnerving. I love branding … I just love building a personality from scratch. After a while, once your team has become familiar with it, and you've documented it as well as you can, it can scale beyond one guardian.

  Adam: How do you ensure everyone in the organisation understands this?

  Jules: As often as possible, expose your team to the spirit of your brand, especially internally. Tell the story over and over and over. There shouldn't be an external and internal look and feel. It's one brand you all belong to. Then empower them with the assets and guidance to express your brand in that unique dialect. And if anyone steps outside of that, punish them. Punish them good. Joke! Sort of.

  Adam: And do your staff promote TRIBE?

  Jules: Have a look online. Our people are our greatest ambassadors. They are constantly talking us up, and constantly talking about TRIBE. We share a lot, and I guess it's a really sociable company so yeah they promote us.

Customers are Number 2

To recap, get employees to rally around and understand the brand first. The great businesses and business leaders from around the world subscribe to this philosophy. For too long, internal engagement was viewed as the poor cousin to consumer-facing advertising. As brands increasingly move into the service space and people become more instrumental to the delivery of any branded good, employee engagement around the brand becomes paramount. It's no coincidence that the most recent Australian company to be valued at over a billion dollars is called Culture Amp, a business that allows other businesses to measure workplace engagement.