The ethics and compliance team at a global drinks bottler and distributer wanted 33,000 employees to take ownership of a more inclusive and supportive culture. One year after a major merger, they launched a harmonised global code of conduct, covering operations from Iceland to New Zealand.
With a bold campaign across multiple channels, we promoted the code of conduct and helped its people understand what’s ok and what’s not ok. We laid out simple steps on how employees can challenge each other when they see things that go against the code, and how to escalate if that challenge doesn’t work.
The main challenge for the team was over-reliance and misuse of their whistleblowing lines. Employees were using these to escalate minor issues that could be resolved with the support of a line manager. Our client wanted a single campaign that checked off multiple outcomes:
This was all to reach one higher goal: to create a more inclusive, caring and supportive culture for employees.
Employees across the organisation are united by their passion for their iconic products. We took inspiration from this to create a memorable and provocative headline question, playing on the brand’s name.
This question encouraged people to reflect on whether the behaviour they’re seeing is in line with their Code of Conduct and whether it reflects the brand, culture and business. If the answer is ‘yes’, no action is needed. If the answer is ‘no’, we provided a clear three-step action approach.
We briefed leaders and line managers on the aim of the campaign and their supporting role, giving them a simple briefing pack and shared campaign assets in advance.
Posters, desktop and mobile phone wallpapers and graphics for internal social media platforms reinforced the message and asked, ‘what’s ok and what’s not ok?’ Headlines included ‘is it banter or bullying?’ and ‘is it harmless or hurtful?’.
All were translated into local languages and provided as editable files so communication teams could roll them out to suit local cultural nuances.
With a provocative campaign that surprised people across the organisation, we asked, ‘is it ok?’. The question has given people all over the organisation a safe and simple way of asking, ‘is this behaviour appropriate?’ or ‘Is it banter or bullying?’.
The tagline gained almost instant traction. People liked the simple play on words, and the phrase passed into everyday language quickly, becoming embedded in company culture.
Stories quickly emerged. Before one colleague could challenge a microaggression directed towards them another stepped in and asked the perpetrator “Is it ok for you to say something like that?”.
The campaign identity is now being used to unite the look and feel of all Ethics and Compliance communications – from data privacy to gifts, entertainment and anti-bribery.
