I wrote this six years ago, still as relevant today. Why admen, marketeers and CEOs agree that employee comms should help drive brand communications

1. Building
Brands with
Employee
Comms
www.coxc.co

2. “The central problem of
brand-building is getting a
complex organization to
execute a simple idea.”
Marty Neumeier: The Brand Gap

3. Alex Bogusly was a modern day Mad Man
Voted Creative Director of the Decade
by Advertising Age in 2010

4. In that same year, he turned his back on the
Ad World and wrote a book explaining why
brands must think beyond advertising…

5. “The old rule was: Create safe,
ordinary products and combine
them with mass marketing.”
“The new rule is: Create truly
innovative products and build
the marketing right into them.”
Alex Bogusky: Baked In

6. “While collaboration with
customers is key, the ability to
collaborate internally is even
more important.”
Alex Bogusky: Baked In

7. Fellow AdMen,
Zeus Jones agree...

8. Modern brand
strength is built by
sticking to your
beliefs not by
opening your
wallet
Modern brand
strategy is an
HR discipline
Modern brands
live in the hearts
of your employees,
not in the minds of
your customers
Zeus Jones: Modern Branding

9. David Aaker is a leading
marketing academic...

10. Aaker argues that spanning
internal silos has become an
imperative for the chief
marketing officer
David Aaker: Spanning Silos

11. “In this age of dynamic markets,
new media, and globalization,
getting the different parts of
your organization to collaborate
is more critical—and more
difficult—than ever.”
David Aaker: Spanning Silos

12. “It’s up to chief marketing officers
to break down silo walls to foster
cooperation and synergy.”
David Aaker: Spanning Silos

13. IDEO CEO,
Tim Brown agrees...

14. “YOUR INTERNAL
BEHAVIOR IS YOUR BRAND”
Tim Brown: Authors@Google

15. Tony Hsie sold a shoe store
for $850 million

16. Amazon paid him $850 million
for a brand driven by culture

17. “If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff—like
great customer service, or building a great long-term
brand, or passionate employees and customers—will
happen naturally on its own.”
Tony Hsie: Delivering Happiness

18. “THE BRAND IS JUST A
LAGGING INDICATOR OF A
COMPANY’S CULTURE”
Tony Hsie: Delivering Happiness

19. Marketing guru,
Seth Godin agrees...

20. “IN AN ERA BEYOND THE MASS
MARKETING INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
A COMPANY CULTURE IS NOW THE
NEW DIFFERENTIATION”
Seth Godin: Seth’sBlog

21. AdMen, marketeers, and CEOs
would seem to agree…

22. In a world where branding is baked-in,
collaboration is king and company
culture is the new differentiation...
...perhaps it’s time for employee comms
to help drive brand communications?

23. Chris Cox grew up inspired by Mad Men, became the
Creative Director at a global PR agency, before
graduating to employee comms.
He works with clients to design and deploy programs
that inform, inspire, involve and improve employees;
helping organizations and brands become better,
rather than just look better or sound better.
www.coxc.co