About the campaign

After developing a global employer brand for IBM in 2021, Pink Squid wanted to understand what motivated sub-segments of candidates or employees so it could adapt its messaging. With 350,000 employees across a fast-changing company, it needed to gather in-depth insight from specific groups of talent – to understand their sub-cultures, skills and roles. After this, it could develop tailored messaging while remaining consistent with the global messaging framework.

It identified five sub-segments: developers, tech sales, early professional hiring, consulting and delivery centres. Primary research involved interviews with department heads, a survey and in-depth interviews with employees. Secondary research was then undertaken, focusing on social media mentions, audience analysis, LinkedIn talent insights and competitor analysis. These focused on questions such as employees’ motivation for joining IBM, what they look for in an employer and what would motivate them to stay.

The key insight from the research was that IBM’s brand pillars continued to resonate across all sub-segments. This meant the company could build tailored messaging on top of its existing core brand. Pink Squid summarised its findings into five research reports, which will now be used for the final phase of brand evolution – flexing the employer brand.