When, why, and how do consumers cope with a status threat by choosing to “pivot” to alternative domains?

Branding Mag (rightly) calls "shenanigans" on what feels like every company embracing the concept of "purpose" as a driver in their marketing. To the author's eyes, it is obviously self-serving and has been used to the point of uselessness. That's not good news for us employer brander folks, many of whom rely seriously on the concept of "inspiring purpose" in their EVPs (I mean, now many times in one newsletter am I allowed to use the term 'over-indexed' before this thing gets silly?). But there's some good, news, especially for brands who aren't just slapping a fresh of coat of "purpose" in the brand as the solution d'jour. Defining and proving how your company is trying to create a change in the world is the first step. Get it right, make it real, or just don't both.

Make the best of bad reviews. Perfect for your review sites.

HBR makes a solid case that the best way to keep your entry and younger talent is to focus on professional development and emotional intelligence. (That's pretty much what the data at Universum has been showing for a few years now).

I know you want to make BFFs with your marketing team, but a lot of you are having trouble making making it work. The culprit? It's that marketing doesn't understand you. They still see your team as a funnel-filler or Glassdoor review watcher. They treat your team as untested and untrained dilettantes "playing at marketing." Which is why I wrote this for you (to give to them): The CMO's Guide to Employer Branding. It's a long read, I'll grant you, but it should speak their language about your value.

If you see employer brand as crafting the rosiest picture possible around a company, the safest play is to write great stories to paint that picture. Done right, using text primarily to talk about your brand can hide a multitude of sins, effectively letting a brander put lipstick on the proverbial pig. But a brand isn’t just (or even) the words you use. It is found in the actions of your company.

I’ve talked before about different attributes that can help define your brand (how does your company approaches personal/professional development, what’s the level of internal transparency, amount of hierarchical structure, etc). Here’s one I hadn’t thought of before: Courage. How does your company reward courage? Can you disagree with your boss? Do you have to do it quietly one on one, or are you allowed to disagree more publicly? What about disagreeing with leadership? Answers to these simple question (assuming leadership and front-line staff agree on the answer), go a long way to defining your own company.