Creating an employer brand on purpose

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By Jon Windeatt

The National Audit Office is the most influential organisation you’ve (probably) never heard of. From offices in London and Newcastle, they keep a watchful eye on how, and how wisely, every penny of taxpayer money gets spent. Their work influences government-level decisions about everything from health and education to defence and energy. They impact on the lives of every single person in the country. But, from an employer brand of point of view, they’re tiny.

Most people haven’t heard of them. And many of those that have think the NAO is a bit grey and sleepy. We’re proud to say that we’ve just finished working on an employer brand that tackles this, and shows the NAO we came to know during our research.

When we started getting under the skin of the NAO, we found an organisation with a huge sense of purpose and pride. We also found a varied bunch of people, growing together and taking on complex and vital work. This was the real them, and we set out to introduce it to the world.

Our theme – ‘Change your world’ – brought together the impact of the work with the career development opportunities. Because, while you’re doing work that shapes daily life for millions, you can build your own future too.

To communicate all of this, and convey the character and energy of the organisation, we came up with a bold creative style. It’s already seen the light of day in the form of a graduate campaign, and there are plans to develop it further for experienced hire and internal audiences too.

We also produced a video that let their own people explain the potentially baffling work of the NAO in their own words. This video is refreshingly informal and friendly. It’s full of people and personality. And it oozes purpose.

In other words, it’s the NAO in a nutshell – which is the purpose of an employer brand, if you ask us.