Project Types: Employer Branding
Client: RBS
Following the acquisition of ABN AMRO by RBS, we asked to undertake a brand integration exercise, the objective of which was to determine precisely how to articulate the established, acknowledged RBS employer brand from the UK into the Netherlands. This involved researching the perceptions and motivations of RBS/ABN AMRO employees and key target employees in Amsterdam.
The project timeframe was ten weeks from planning to reporting. Specific elements of the project comprised depth telephone interviews with Netherlands-based recruitment consultants to enhance our understanding of the candidate marketplace; programme and materials design for provision to RBS enabling them to conduct internal research within ABN AMRO, and external focus groups amongst carefully selected target candidate groups – experienced professionals in corporate banking, global markets, central finance and HR roles. Finally, we designed and implemented and analysed an online questionnaire, circulated amongst 2,500 banking and finance professionals in the Netherlands.
Findings from the exercise enabled RBS to evolve the articulation of their brand and the stated drivers of that brand using messaging, language and emphasis that was tailored to the Netherlands marketplace. A really positive effect of the exercise and one which had not been anticipated, was the level of interest in, and enthusiasm for, RBS that was generated amongst the focus group participants, as a direct result of the exercise.