A few weeks ago, our team took a much-needed break from the studio and headed out for a walk in the stunning surrounds of Glendalough. If you’ve never been, picture lush green valleys, serene lakes, and ancient ruins—all surrounded by mountains. It’s the kind of place that instantly washes your brain.
You might ask, why ditch the office for a day? Well, as designers, we know that inspiration isn’t always (if ever) found on a screen. Sometimes, the best ideas come from simply being in nature. Walking through Glendalough, we found new creative sparks in everything around us—the shapes of the rocks, the colors of the trees, even the way the light shifted across the landscape.
But it wasn’t just about the scenery. The walk gave us a chance to chat with teammates, away from the day to day. We talked about creativity, shared a few laughs, and got to know each other better. Especially when we veered off course and found ourselves doing more hill climbing than hill walking, but that’s a story for another day!
We came back down the mountain with sore muscles and fresh ideas, energised and inspired. This walk wasn’t just a break; it was a reminder of the importance of stepping outside, both literally and figuratively. So, if you’re part of a creative team, try taking a walk in nature. You might just come back with the idea that changes everything.
In an increasingly competitive talent environment, we collaborated with Energia Group to develop a compelling employer brand built from authentic and real employee experiences. As brand partners of Energia since 2018, we explore the value of an employer brand in retaining and attracting talent.
The past two years have brought unprecedented change to businesses across every sector and every region. Almost overnight, the Covid-19 pandemic recalibrated the ways we live our lives and operate our businesses, accelerating many of the trends we were seeing before the pandemic, including those related to the future of work.
A New World for Talent The pandemic brought many changes to our work lives, accelerating the move for greater work flexibility, and for many, re-prioritising work priorities, to focus not just on how we work, but who we work for and the meaning behind the work that we do. With the tide of the Great Resignation ever-rising, it’s clear that it’s up to companies to proactively respond, with a move towards the Great Attraction and Retention.
The Importance of an Employer Brand in a Competitive Talent Environment Retaining and acquiring the best talent in a competitive market is no easy feat; however, it is crucial in generating sustainable long-term business performance, with evidence suggesting that superior talent can be up to eight more times productive (McKinsey, 2017).
Creating a strong employer brand is a critical step for both retaining and attracting the best talent, and what’s more, in the competitive talent landscape where so much is unknown, it is in organisations’ full control. Employer Brand comprises of more than just one element, perk or initiative. It encompasses three main components each of which require a dedicated approach: first, the reputation of a company in the eyes of the market and to employees; second, the employer value proposition (EVP) which articulates the employer-employee relationship; and finally, the employee experience, which comprises of the lived experience of those working in the company.[1] Creating a successful employer brand entails developing and implementing a strategy comprising all three components while ensuring an aligned approach overall.
Investing in your employer brand makes organisations more appealing to potential and existing employees, as well as the general market. Organisations with strong employer brands are three times more likely to say their brand engages and retains current employees, nearly three times more likely to say their brand reflects their organisation’s vision and mission, and considerably more likely to use employee KPIs and Net Promoter Scores to measure and evaluate their employer brand [2]. With employee turnover as high as 50% during the first 18 months of employment[3], and costing up to 1/3 of that employee’s salary[4] to replace, maximising the employees experience and investing in your employer brand makes business sense.
Our Brand Partnership with Energia As brand partners to Energia since 2018, we collaborate on brand strategy, brand identity and communications projects. In 2021, Energia Group appointed us to embark on the EVP journey with them; to develop a compelling employer brand strategy, verbal and visual identities, and key communications celebrating their people and mission ‘To provide customers with innovative, technology led solutions that help make their lives easier while contributing strongly to decarbonisation and the protection of theenvironment.”
Working with the Employer Brand dream team- Marketing and HR, we developed the platform “EnergyMoves Us” – a powerful call to arms founded on the idea that positive energy moves businesses, society and the planet forward.
There is also the duality of the word ‘moves’, it speaks to passion and what moves people. This became the catalyst to celebrate the stories of passionate employees across EV, solar, wind, hydrogen, bioenergy and smart that are so moved by the possibility of positive energy that they chose to make it their career.
A hero manifesto film was developed to showcase the passionate, ambitious people working across Energia Group, the challenges they are solving everyday and the necessary steps they are taking towards a more sustainable future.
Written by RichardsDee. Produced and directed by Double Jump
A series of short videos were developed which demonstrate the impacts of individuals across the business from Data Scientists to Off Shore Engineers, Customer Services to Business Analysts. A wide selection of social first vignettes were then produced and used to promote Energia Group’s range of exceptional job opportunities.
By empowering employees to use their voices and tell their stories, Energia Group is continuing to shape their employer brand in real-time and in a way that truly resonates with top talent.
The job market experienced a resurgence in 2021 with the introduction and offerings of new hybrid working models. This posed a challenge and opportunity to the Energia Group all at the same time. We realised we needed to bring our employer brand to life and showcase how great it is to be a part of Energia Group. RichardsDee exceeded our brief and the concept presented has given the Energia Group an exciting brand platform to really stand out in the competitive job market, across Social, Video and in Out of Home. We look forward to seeing the campaign grow in 2022.
Maria McCabe, Digital Product Manager, Energia Group
Energy Moves Us is a celebration of the stories of passionate employees across the Group from EV, solar, wind, hydrogen, bioenergy and smart – people that are so moved by the possibility of positive energy that they chose to make it their career. By building a holistic Employer Brand Strategy and content with a strong call to action, not only can existing and future talent understand the unique opportunities Energia Group provides, but from a business perspective, clear metrics are defined so the programme success can be tracked at all stages.
As part of their commitment to being the power behind rugby in Ireland, Energia have announced a new 5 year official partnership with the IRFU which includes title sponsorship of the AIL.
We’ve been working with Energia on a wide range of projects recently and were thrilled to work with them to deliver a new identity for the league that encapsulates the energy, passion and excitement of the sport.
Comprising 50 mens, 7 womens and 16 junior teams from across the island of Ireland, the All-Ireland League is the second highest level of rugby in Ireland. The partnership will also include title sponsorships of the Club International Competition, Bateman Cup and All-Ireland Junior Cup.
Sene Naoupu Mandatory and Devin Toner were on hand to announce the new partnership. Speaking at the launch, Devin Toner said:
I am delighted to see Energia partner with Irish Rugby to help support rugby clubs across the country. Playing for your country begins with playing for your club. For so many players up and down the country the journey begins in their local club. The All-Ireland League gave me the opportunity to be where I am today, doing something I enjoy and representing my country at the same time.
On the new partnership Garry Ryan, Managing Director of Energia had this to say:
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the IRFU as official energy partner of Irish Rugby and title sponsor of the All-Ireland League.
It is a very exciting time to be involved with Irish Rugby as they prepare to take on the world in Japan this autumn and we’re delighted to sponsor Irish Rugby from grassroots to the national team. We have an exciting journey ahead of us and we look forward to working closely with Irish Rugby to deliver future success.”
The Geneva International Motor Show is the most important event in the automotive calendar. This year I headed over to check out the latest design and technology from self-driving and in-car experience to electric and hypercars.
As car manufacturers continue the move towards becoming full on tech brands, it was interesting to see how they still struggled to present the in-car UX in a way that felt meaningful and personal — the emphasis is still very much on the exterior design and not on the experience.
When it comes to design, typically the German, Asian and American brands tend to err more on the safer side whereas the French brands usually take up the mantle of the weird and wonderful. This year was no different, so here’s my favourite crazy French car designs from this year’s show.
1. Bugatti La Voiture Noire
The world’s most expensive new car. At a cool €19m, it buys you the ultimate bragging rights, but as Henry Ford famously said, “You can have any color as long as it’s black.”
2. Citroën Ami One
The all-electric two-seater is intended as an alternative to public transport, two-wheelers and scooters, and is designed to meet the challenges of future urban needs.
3. The Peugeot E-Legend
Like an electrified ’70s Camaro, the e-Legend shows that you don’t have to go dull — looking at you Tesla Model 3 — to go electric.
4. Renault EZ-Ultimo
The EZ-Ultimo is the ultimate, luxury, self-driving living room. Like a mix between a luxury yacht and an executive lounge, it shows how the super wealthy of the future could travel.
2018 proved to be another busy year. We just had enough time to pull together a selection of our favourite projects from the last year.
01 — TDS
TDS is a Super Enterprise B2B Brand making the world’s largest companies and their employees safer through the delivery of access control, visitor management and life safety solutions.
Through a process of audits, interviews, trends research and brand workshops we worked with TDS to unearth their positioning – ‘Providing armour for the Super Enterprise’.
We designed a motion-based brand system to bring their positioning to life in a meaningful way that resonates with their Super Enterprise clients.
Kildare Crossings is an ambitious mixed-use development in Kildare adjacent to Kildare Village and Kildare Town.
We named and designed the identity for this exciting new development.
03 – Equiendo
Equiendo are consultants and product developers specialising in providing solutions for large-scale telecoms companies around the world.
By using predictive analytics to provide actionable insights to their clients they enable them to future-proof their networks.
We partnered with Equiendo to create their positioning ‘Predictive analytics. Powering action. Future networks.’ providing them with a clear communications strategy.
The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) represents the leading tourism interests and businesses throughout Ireland.
Having worked with ITIC on a number of projects over the past couple of years, we were tasked with designing their strategy report to 2025 which lays recommendations the government can invest in, maintain and implement to further the industry’s potential.
05 — Goshawk
Specialists in aircraft leasing, Goshawk is a young company led by a highly experienced team of aviation experts. In the five years since launch, Goshawk has become a top 10 lessor by acquiring a young portfolio of 222 aircraft, valued at over US $11.3bn.
Over the last year we have worked closely with them across print, digital and environmental communications to externalise what differentiated them from their international peers.
06 — Water Conservation
With the winter weather firmly in place it’s hard to imagine it was so hot during the summer that the country started running out of water!
To encourage people to conserve water at home and at work we launched a mini campaign with small changes that could make a big impact.
07 — Bewley’s
In 2018 Bewley’s became the first Irish company to launch 100% compostable coffee capsules.
We worked with Bewley’s on the packaging of these innovative pods that compost in only 12 weeks rather than the 500 years it takes other pods to breakdown!
08 — Bord na Móna
Positioning Bord na Móna Horticulture Professional for international success. ‘Enriching Life’s Essentials’ illustrates the benefits of using their raw material to improve yield… naturally.
Their premium products will improve the possibilities open to growing communities of the future, improving access to life essentials for everyone.
09 — IDI Mind Over Matter
The IDI national day of creativity in aid of mental health awareness took place on October 10th. Designers from the best agencies in Ireland donated their time to help raise money for Aware.
This year we were one of the gold sponsors for IDI Mind Over Matter 2018, where we supported the rebrand of the event, enabling it to have a strong and concise brand presence.
10 — 20×20
20×20 is a movement to champion girls and women in sport. To make them a greater part of who we are and what we follow in Irish culture.
By bringing together the media, Ireland’s sporting organisations and the Irish public they aim to achieve a genuine sea-change for women’s sport in Ireland.
We teamed with the 20×20 initiative to create a bold brand to reflect this ethos.
11 — Marianella
Marianella is a distinctive new development located in Rathgar, where we had the pleasure to create a signage system providing wayfinding information to help people navigate around the site.
12 – Energia & Ireland’s Most Christmassy Home
Lights, Christmas, Action! Ireland’s Most Christmassy Home saw the most passionate Christmas decoration aficionados from across the country battle it out to win the trophy, charity donation and accolades that go along with being named the Energia Ireland’s Most Christmassy Home!
Yesterday marked the official launch of Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice, together with Bewley’s. Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning, the country’s longest running one-day charity event has raised over €35 million for vital hospice and homecare services across the country.
Campaign ambassadors Brendan Gleeson and Clelia Murphy were on hand to help launch the event at St. Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown. We’ve been working with Bewley’s and the hospice and homecare groups on the campaign since we rebranded it in 2016 and are delighted to once again be involved in such a great cause.
We hope you’ll join us on Thursday September 20th to help make 2018 Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning ever.
