Employer branding: Why it’s time marketing, execs, and HR worked together

When working at Virgin circa 1993 I recall the managing director of Virgin Games, Tim Chaney, claiming that the Virgin brand was one of the most recognized brands in the U.K. At the time, Richard Branson was building his empire on service/product promise, savvy advertising and word of mouth — well before PCs on desks with Microsoft Word and Google was commonplace. The realization of that time: the Virgin employer brand naturally inspired acquisition of talent, retention and loyalty of employees, and communicated a clear vision to optimize performance and engagement.

Everyone wanted to be a “Virgin,” and when they joined, they were loyal even after leaving the company.