Understanding the difference between culture and brand

Like the word “authentic”, has “culture” become an almost-meaningless word? James Ellis shares the downsides of not defining your culture versus your employer brand, the difference between the two, and how they influence each other on his insightful podcast, The Talent Cast.

Culture is a word that is used a lot these days, so much so that people seem to forget its meaning!

But, according to James Ellis, “It’s real, not just as a definition but as a concept. The problem becomes when we get it confused with what their brand is, the difference between their culture and brand, and how they interact.”

It’s a particularly tough challenge when you’re trying to define your organisation’s culture when all your teams seem to have their own cultures.

Ellis believes the best place to start is by defining the terms.

“Culture and brand have a clear relationship. We just don’t usually define it. Your employer brand is the individual perception of what people think working for you is like. It happens in a multitude of peoples’ brains. How they see your brand isn’t something you can change, but you can shape how they see it. There are factors you can use to change their mind, adding information to their existing idea of your brand.”

The best marketing campaigns are those that force people to activate the parts of their brains that contain their perception of your brand. You can then reframe this perception. This doesn’t have anything to with culture; however, your culture can drive it!  

“Culture is what happens when you put two or more people in a room. Culture is what manifests when you put people in a space where they have to interact. Sparks fly! If they don’t interact, there’s no culture. Culture only happens with interaction.”

Interaction forces people to determine: who’s in charge? What are our goals? How are we going to accomplish this? Who are you and who am I? What’s the best way for us to work together?

The result of interaction = culture.

Some organisations describe their culture as collaborative, joyous, confrontational… But, this is not their brand. Culture grows organically when you put people together.

Your sales team may be tenacious and able to handle a high volume of stress and rejection. However, your HR team may tend to be more collaborative, open, and want everyone to coexist. These two groups can coexist in the same organisation, despite being radically different.

So, how can you put a “culture umbrella” over your organisation when each team has their own culture?

“Think of your country. Every state, city and suburb can have different cultures.”

Australia might not have a single, uniform culture, but our overarching “brand” is that everyone has opportunities and freedom to achieve, to do what they want to do. While it may not be 100% true all the time, this is our country’s brand (that is, how people perceive it).

Culture drives your brand, which is how they relate to one another.

“Whether you’re running a university or a bodega, you are driving culture under your brand. That’s how culture and brand are related. The brand is the big ideal, the concept. The culture is what manifests when you put two people or more in a room.”

There are ways to connect and correlate your culture to your brand. When two people interact, there may be instant similarities. However, when there’s nothing immediately common or obvious about their relationship, culture is something that is figured out over time.

“Commonalities tend to drive and spark the strongest cultures.”

If you’re an organisation trying to define and shape your brand, consider the following.

If your organisation’s goal is to drive change in the way organisations communicate, then it’s likely you will attract people for whom communication is important. Because you are attracting people with this trait in common, that will influence your culture (because commonalities are what drives culture!).

“Disney is the greatest example of how they insert their cultures into every aspect what they do. People who work for Disney have a connection and appreciation for entertainment. This commonality creates their culture, but this is not their brand. Disney’s employer brand is what people believe it is like to work there. But, there is overlap. Culture is a way of talking about and defining your brand to the world.”

Think about what you reward in your organisation. If you recognise, reward and promote people who are creative thinkers, you will build a culture that values creative thinking.

Even if you’re a creative organisation with a legal team who tends to be more serious and analytical, your legal team are still arguing on behalf of creative people. So, there are areas where your culture and brand overlap, but they are in no way the same.

Next time you’re in a conversation and notice someone conflating brand and culture,  remember: your brand exists in people’s minds (perception). Culture is what results from two or more people interacting.

Your policies around how you hire and who you reward have more to do with your brand that your culture, but this, in turn, creates a culture that can influence your brand!

Learn more about employer branding through The Talent Cast podcast.

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Source

Culture is not brand

James Ellis

The Talent Cast