Frasers’ portfolio includes brands such as Sports Direct, Game and Flannels, and the company seeks to create unique in-store experiences alongside some of the most visited websites in the industry. But although career opportunities abound at Frasers Group, brand perception and employer brand awareness were low for their target talent group. It comes up against outdated views that retail careers are transactional and unrewarding, so needed to change the story.

The first phase was to research, define and test the brand. Working with Wiser, it held multiple focus groups, almost 200 interviews, more than 1,000 graduate perceptions and 20,000 feedback elements from candidates. This showed that while work is hard at Frasers, progress is quick and “people dive in head first”. This defined a proposition that “when you fear less, you achieve more”. To complement this it developed a set of values: Own it; Think without limits; and Be relevant. It tested two brand approaches and found an energetic, people-focused brand worked best.

A hero film featured three real employees, taking viewers through the challenges of working at Frasers and how they tackle them. This was one of 20 films that tracked employee journeys and showcased the Frasers HQ. It developed a ready-to-use toolkit including animated social posts, email signatures and welcome cards. The brand was activated across the company’s first ever graduate programme, showing how they could fast-track their careers and earn high salaries after just two years. Campus pop-ups improved brand awareness, including a giant prize wheel offering students the chance to win up to £5,000. This was all complemented by a huge digital campaign that drove people to a landing page.

Since the brand launched, the proportion of people considering a career at Frasers Group has soared to 49%. Millions of potential candidates were reached in-person and across digital campaigns, supported by robust brand guidelines, more than 30 toolkit assets and more than 20 films.