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Welcome to SMRS.

We’re a culture, brand and communications business.

At SMRS, we help organisations around the world change for the better.

Our work connects culture, brand and communications as one to raise engagement and commercial performance. We strengthen teams, sharpen identities and make a meaningful impact.

Our multi-dimensional approach doesn’t just help organisations change. It changes them for good.

Who are SMRS?

We’re a purposeful, B Corp-accredited business, driven by a belief that opportunity should be open to everyone. Because when it is, organisations and their people perform better.

Based in Manchester and London, we work with Brand, Marketing and People leaders and their teams around the world. We support them to shape healthy cultures, build meaningful brands and bring them to life through communications that have impact.

Our impact extends beyond our clients, shaping thousands of individual futures every year. That’s why our purpose matters. Because transformational change starts with people. Our people. Your people.

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Meet some of our experts:

Richard Badley

Managing Director

Sarah Sturgess

Chair & Managing Director

We’ve got all kinds of other talented people across SMRS.

How we can help you:

Culture

We shape cultures
that bring the best out in people

 

When you create an inspiring culture and improved experience for your colleagues, you perform better.

Focusing on happiness, performance and wellbeing, our experts can help you nurture the organisational culture you want to see – making you a fairer and more empowering place to work and learn.

Our culture services:

  • Culture Diagnostic

  • Strategic Narrative

  • Culture Strategy and Roadmap

  • Diversity and Inclusion

Brand

We develop brands
that connect with people

Our experts shape identities that reflect your culture. Not just with headlines and visuals, but in how people experience you every day.

We’ll help you express who you are in a way that inspires belief, attracts the right people and build lasting connections with the audiences who matter most, from prospective students and future employees to customers, partners and communities.

Our brand services:

  • Brand Strategy and Development

  • Employer Brand and EVP

  • Target Value Propositions

  • Ambassador and Advocacy programmes

Communications

We create communications
that inspire people to act

We help organisations across the globe turn strategy into results, attracting the right students, engaging the right talent and converting interest into real-world outcomes. From the first click to the final decision, we create communications that drive performance.

Our communications services:

  • Global Talent Attraction

  • Education Media Services

  • Propensity Modelling

  • Student Market Insights

  • Content Strategy and Creation

Our awards and accreditations:

The work we do creates change. It wins plenty of awards, too.

Award

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The Rad Awards

Winner of Employer Branding Research, Insight and Strategy 2025

The LEGO Group

Award

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IHR Awards

Bronze for Best Video Campaign 2025

MBDA

Award

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IHR Awards

Gold for Best Employer Brand 2024

The LEGO Group

Award

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IHR Awards

Silver for Best Recruitment Campaign 2024

RWE

Award

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IHR Awards

Bronze for Best Recruitment Campaign 2024

MBDA

Award

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IHR Awards

Bronze for Best Early Careers Initiative 2024

MBDA

Accreditation

verified
B Corp

We meet high standards of social and environmental impact, balancing purpose with profit.

B Corp

Accreditation

verified
Living Wage Employer

We commit to fair pay that reflects real living costs and supports financial wellbeing.

Living Wage Employer

Accreditation

verified
Living Hours Employer

We guarantee secure, predictable hours that give people stability and fair income.

Living Hours Employer

Accreditation

verified
Supporter to Good Employment

We promote responsible, highquality employment practices across our organisation and industry.

Supporter to Good Employment

Accreditation

verified
Disability Confident Leader

We champion inclusive employment and remove barriers for disabled talent.

Disability Confident Leader

Accreditation

verified
Science Based Targets initiative

We set carbon-reduction targets aligned with climate science to reduce our environmental impact.

SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative)

Accreditation

verified
ICO Registered

We uphold strict data protection standards and safeguard personal information responsibly.

ICO Registered

Accreditation

verified
CAN response to UK riots - Conscious Advertising Network

We support ethical advertising standards that protect people and promote responsible communication.

CAN (Conscious Advertising Network)

Accreditation

verified
Cyber Essentials

We follow robust cybersecurity measures to protect our data, systems, and clients.

Cyber Essentials

Recent work:

An employer brand that sparks
imaginations for the LEGO Group.

Despite being a global brand, the LEGO Group is a mystery as an employer. Not enough people know:

  • how big and global the LEGO Group is

  • what kind of career development is possible there

  • the diversity of roles they recruit for

  • what their culture is actually like

It was time to show the culture, people and near-endless opportunities behind the bricks.

Leading a New Era of luxury travel to attract elite General Managers for IHG Hotels and Resorts.

IHG Hotels & Resorts is home to some of the more recognised and prestigious names in global travel. We supported them with hyper-targeted, super-relevant content that grabbed their attention and told a powerfully personal story which:

  • Embodied the luxury.

  •  Appealed to all the senses.

  • Weaved consistency throughout.

  • Was brave enough to be different.

The video and supporting campaign captured people’s imaginations immediately.

Shaping a stronger portfolio for King’s College London.

King’s College London needed us to help them shape their professional and executive development portfolio, with a view to growing it in the future. We supported them with:

  • A range of research methodologies.

  •  Pioneering deep dives.

  • Future-proofing the institution.

We gave them the insight they needed to make decisions on their portfolio’s content, structure, delivery and cost.

How research helped to build AUB’s reputation and increase conversion to application and enrolment.

AUB wanted to create a differentiated position, within an increasingly competitive market, that would raise levels of spontaneous awareness in the UK, internationally, and in the USA. We needed to help them:

  • Identify and establish current brand proposition/narratives.

  • Measure brand awareness, brand association and the impact on conversion.

  • Establish a benchmark for brand strength and approach for ongoing brand tracking

We created a future strategy to drive consideration through the conversion funnel and advocacy for the brand.

Insights and events:

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