EY
Employer branding creative platform and recruitment campaign

For EY, engaging Generation Z has become an increasingly significant challenge in the labour market.

Young people often viewed the brand as aloof, overly formal or difficult to approach, whilst experiences within the organisation painted a far more human and supportive picture.

Progressive’s task was therefore to develop a long-term employer branding strategy and creative platform that would simultaneously strengthen the EY umbrella brand, support recruitment within the business unit, and authentically connect with the expectations of Generation Z.

Our task was to cover the entire process: from devising the strategic foundations, through developing the creative platform, right through to creating communication and activation proposals – all based on an understanding of Gen Z’s real needs.

We created EY’s new employer positioning, centred on the message ‘Choose a character for your future!’. The concept was based on the idea that young people are looking not just for a job, but for an identity, opportunities for development and a personal connection.

One of the key elements of the employer branding strategy was the portrayal of the business lines as characters. The different areas – such as The Brain, The Hero, The Maverick and The Trusted Advisor – provided an opportunity for young people with different personalities and ambitions to find their own connection to the brand.

The communication system was built around four main narratives: professional excellence, mindset, workstyle and lifestyle. These showcased not only the work itself, but also the lifestyle, community, development opportunities and career paths available at EY.

As part of the strategy, we developed new social media content directions, Generation Z event concepts, university outreach, a Student Brand Manager programme, internal communication initiatives and employer branding activities. By closely linking external and internal communications, we were able to create authentic content that conveyed a genuine EY experience.

The creative platform also gave the brand a new visual direction: the focus shifted to real people, characters and personalities, whilst the visual system remained premium, youthful and easily adaptable.

As a result of the project, EY not only gained a new employer branding platform, but also a Generation Z-focused communication system that supports both brand-building and recruitment objectives. The new positioning, the character-based approach and the youthful visual identity have enabled EY to engage the next generation of talent in a more authentic and relevant way.

The new strategy provided the organisation with a clear employer positioning, whilst highlighting benefits relevant to the target group rather than the previous, general corporate messages. The character-based approach helped to highlight EY’s diversity and enabled young talent to choose a career path within the company that aligned with their own personal ambitions.