Employer branding that you feel

Why do activations work so well?

An activation goes beyond sending a message. Where campaigns focus on visibility and reach, activations are about interaction, emotion and experience. It's not just something you see or hear — it's something you feel and experience. A good activation gets people moving, creates immediate impact and sticks around.

Recruiting talent with activations

A strong employer brand is about visibility and experience. Visibility is important, but without experience, an employer brand remains superficial. Candidates need to feel and experience what makes your organization unique. Activations make this possible — they bring the brand story to life and immediately show what you stand for as an employer.

1. From getting acquainted to experiencing

Open days and recruitment events are often about talking and listening. Why not let it do it? Put candidates in an escape room where they solve real cases that reflect your way of working and values. Or challenge them with a skills challenge that shows how they think and work. This way, they step directly into the company culture and discover for themselves whether it suits them.

2. Application as an experience

A vacancy text and a conversation tell something about a job, but a real experience really leaves an impression. Organize a hackathon where IT talent solves a cybersecurity challenge, or a simulation where sales candidates have a customer conversation. This way, applicants show their skills and immediately experience the dynamics of the company.

Activations make applications tangible and provide a direct connection between talent and organization.

Internal activations: culture you experience

A culture program can look great on paper, but how do you make employees feel connected to it? Activations play a key role in this: they bring culture to life and provide engagement, pride and motivation. An experience leaves a lasting impression, much more than words do.

Internal activations don't have to be big. It's about interaction, brand experience and recognition.

• Core values that you feel

Introducing new core values is one thing, making sure employees really feel connected to them is another thing. Let them not just read about the values, but actively choose them. This can be done with a voting round, but also with tangible elements, such as vases and balls that symbolize each core value. What looks like a small action creates ownership and engagement.

• Appreciation that sticks

A compliment from a colleague is extremely valuable, what if you make it structural? Create a “Wall of Appreciation” where colleagues leave compliment cards for each other. A small activation with a major effect on job satisfaction, connection and team spirit.

• From internal communication to interaction

A newsletter about cultural change? Fine. But getting people to really move is what you do by letting them participate. Think of an idea board where employees share their opinions or an action square where teams create their own content, from short videos to creative selfies.

From moment to movement

An activation is not an independent action, it is a strategic tool that sets something in motion. It attracts talent, reinforces brand preferences and connects employees. It makes the difference between hearing something and experiencing something—whether it's at a trade show or within your organization. That's why it sticks.

Curious about how to make an activation really impactful, with concrete results? Read the interview with Head of Creative Kirsten and Senior Communications Advisor Marlous.