Culturally relevant brands with toxic cultures set themselves up for failure

If you’ve been lucky enough to work with ambitious new companies, you’ve likely experienced that most of them already have great visions and even greater intentions for their brand’s impact. 

However, something crucial is often missing: So many new brands have trouble clearly communicating an identity and purpose to their employees beyond offering the world a great quality product or service. 

While a great product or offering alone can be gratifying, companies must look deeper by engaging employees to paint a fuller picture of how a brand is perceived not just in the market, but within its own company. 

The issue

We've identified a common issue with up-and-coming brands. They are caught in the grind of growing a company, and they lose focus on how to articulate a purpose that breathes life into their work. In some cases, this purpose is simply nonexistent.

Internal branding often fades into oblivion, neglected or altogether ignored by companies for far too long. The consequences are evident—a workforce left unfulfilled, lost, disengaged and questioning their very reason for dedicating their limited time on this earth to their employers. 

This is when questions begin to cloud staffs’ minds about their place and the future of the company: How do we talk about what we do? Why are we really here? Who are we empowering?

This in turn leads to plummeting productivity, crumbling morale, difficulties retaining talent, and a poisoned company culture— all of which tarnish brand reputation and inevitably erode a company’s overall success. The impact is felt externally as well; 64% of consumers have stopped purchasing from a brand after hearing news of that company’s poor employee treatment.

Although young companies may have some notion of their goals, values and aspirations, intervention must happen at a crucial moment: the very beginning of their story, when their foundations are not yet fully set, giving them the flexibility and potential to adapt, grow and refine or redefine their legacies. 

This is the exciting opportunity to reimagine how brands are built— not merely by showcasing a company's values and unique approach, but by honoring the incredible individuals behind them.

Part of our value as brand professionals is in our power to craft authentic, sustainable legacies and build the foundations that can lead to their realisation.  

By instilling a clear, resolute purpose at the heart of young companies—one that transcends mere business goals and consumer satisfaction to merge the visions of employees and executives—companies can become the embodiment of their people, and their brands hold the potential to resonate more authentically in everything they do.

Take Patagonia. Its values are not just external marketing strategies; they are deeply ingrained in the company's culture. The brand consistently demonstrates its commitment to bettering the environment, cultivating a healthy work-life balance, maintaining ethical practices and fostering community engagement.

Patagonia’s positive employee culture and high employee satisfaction are a reflection of that strong alignment between brand values and internal operations. Companies that invest in aligning internal branding with external messaging can see a 28% reduction in employee turnover.

Redistribution of power makes stronger brands

Brand value is co-created with various stakeholders and at various touchpoints.

Of all these, direct interaction between employees and customers is crucial to the quality of the brand experience. The role of employees in building the brand and creating its competitive advantage cannot be understated.

The true power to bring brands to life lies within the hands of the individuals who live and breathe the brand every day—its employees. By recognising their integral role in the brand development process, we can steer companies toward a future where authenticity, purpose and employee empowerment form the bedrock of their success. 

Approaching brand development with a sole focus on external perception puts us at risk of producing more soulless companies fixated on appearances and detached from the values and people that set them apart. We can help unlock this potential within organisations and unleash a new era of brands that resonate deeply, inspiring both employees and consumers alike.

As marketers, we must nip this lack of internal alignment in the bud, right from the earliest stages of growth and before the unfulfilling, disconnected and inauthentic internal cultures that plague so many companies today take root.

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Ash Phillips is the cofounder and CEO of Six Cinquième.