Supermarket chain Tesco is not well known as a high-tech employer, but it needed to recruit almost 600 digital specialists. To do this, it needed to create an employer value proposition that built an emotional connection, would reflect a business that is a ‘tech company in retail’ rather than vice versa, and was distinctive in a competitive marketplace. This would need to work across international boundaries and multiple tech specialisms, resonate internally and externally, and connect tech with customer impact.

The first step was research, including internal interviews with employees in the UK, Europe and India, and external interviews with technologists at competitors to understand how Tesco was seen and what appealed to tech experts. Internal insights showed that technology drives Tesco forward, and that tech colleagues’ ideas turn into something real in customers’ lives. This all helped to build the EVP line: ‘Tesco’s tomorrow, made by you’.

Visuals were based on Tesco’s retail brand but included Tech colleagues and accurate coding symbols to dial up the tech appeal. Alongside the distinctive look and feel, employee stories were captured for blogs with eye-catching and personable headlines. The content was used in two ways: to excite (through headlines and stories) and inform (through impactful quotes from individual blogs). They built personas and chose channels these audiences would use every day, such as Reddit and in-game adverts. And all messages were tailored and fine-tuned to local markets. Internally, the brand took centre stage during Tesco’s annual hackathon. Thanks to the EVP and campaign, recruitment targets were met, and then some. Plus, website views skyrocketed, including a sharp increase in female website users considering the retailer as an employer.