How brand and culture create momentum during times of change

When transformation is in the air, brand and culture can be true growth accelerators. So, how do you align teams and stakeholders around a bold new direction? Transform’s latest breakfast session with Brandpie, a global brand consultancy delivering impact at pivotal moments of business change, sought to answer just that, with the help of in-house brand, marketing and comms experts.

At a time of tumultuous change on both the national and global levels, it is now more important than ever to consider the relationship between brand and organisational culture. Transform magazine was joined by brand, marketing and comms experts hailing from a wide range of organisations – including the likes of AO Shearman, Swissport and TalkTalk – to discuss their perspectives at a recent breakfast session held with brand consultancy Brandpie.

The morning started with a lively debate on organisational culture, and who should be responsible for it. While some delegates argued that it is the responsibility of the communications team, others suggested culture could belong as part of its own, distinct discipline.

One reason for this, an advocate of the idea suggested, is because “HR thinks it knows people, but it really doesn’t. Culture being sat within HR is, I think, the worst place for it. For a lot of people, they think it’s probably the place that makes sense because it’s connected to people, but it’s not!”

The solution, therefore, is to allow culture its own space to breathe, especially in larger organisations. One delegate was even bold enough to suggest that in five to ten years, bigger companies will have their own ‘chief culture officers’, whose background expertise will lie in behavioural science as well as brand.

While the responsibility ought to be more evenly shared in smaller organisations for cultivating a coherent culture, delegates reached a consensus that senior leadership still must be the main driver in visibly championing and embodying the desired culture, regardless of company size.

But even with strong leadership commitment, embedding culture is no easy task — particularly when external political and legal forces begin to challenge or constrain internal values and practices.

One of the main challenges to organisations attempting to promote a strong internal culture is the external pressures brought about by the new US administration, which considers DEI practices as discriminatory. It has therefore become incumbent on some culture leaders within organisations to adapt their practices to ensure legal compliance. The internal discomfort such adjustments lead to adds another layer of complexity.

Then again, the US federal government’s ability to push back on DEI was, of course, ratified by voters, meaning scepticism of these practices may be rife throughout the US – and quite probably the UK. One delegate added that some employees – while acknowledging the importance of accepting everyone for who they are – felt uncomfortable about having to attend another session discussing people’s immutable characteristics.

“At some point, it reached the stage where it was creating more divisions than acting as a positive,” one delegate commented. This part of the conversation summed up just how quickly attitudes are changing. It is a tricky part of the puzzle that culture leaders will eventually have to tackle head-on, and makes it even more important they listen to what employees think about these thorny issues.

The wider landscape – when considering factors like Brexit, Covid-19, ‘the Trump tariffs’ and supply chain issues – has also conspired to create an environment where you simply must adapt constantly, one delegate noted.

“I don’t know what the new normal is,” they added. “I don’t know if anyone can realistically hope for three years of calmness nowadays.” While a lack of long-term stability has its obvious problems, it does give organisations the opportunity to step in and offer that to employees.

However, one delegate questioned what the real point of organisation culture is and whether, in fact, companies risk becoming “therapy spaces”. Another delegate politely disagreed, pointing out that their Middle Eastern office offers employees the chance to “be themselves”, which may be risky in wider society. Finding the right balance, based on the social context, may be key.

But once an appropriate culture is settled on, how do you bring about that change? The delegates agreed that, at times of transition, repetition is crucial.

“One of the biggest problems is companies where a new CMO comes in and is quickly bored of the slogan, but you’ve got to get bored of it yourself before your audiences have even begun to hear it!” one delegate said.

One effective way to communicate to a workforce – if aligned with present-day goals – can be to leverage an organisation’s heritage. One delegate recounted their organisation’s anniversary campaign which aimed to build up morale by reminding them about the organisation’s long-standing prestige.

“It did have a good galvanising effect, and people were even talking about it spontaneously,” they said. “I think giving employees a language, a story and a sense of identity means they start to have a stronger sense of belonging.”

One final crucial area of discussion revolved around the link between internal culture and external customer perception. One delegate commented that the expectation for transparency has never been greater, and that those operating at the “elite level” of an organisation must expect to face difficult questions, such as about executives’ pay or the company’s supply chain.

“I think that this is, again, reflective of the broader changes in the relationship that business has with society,” they added.

Transform magazine co-hosted this roundtable with global brand consultancy Brandpie.