When we first started working with Frasers Group, the business was already a dominant force in retail. Its portfolio of brands, Sports Direct, FLANNELS, GAME, Jack Wills, Evans Cycles, was instantly recognisable to consumers. Commercially, the momentum was obvious, stores were opening and refurbishing at pace and digital channels were scaling. The ambition to redefine retail wasn’t subtle.
But the employer story didn’t match that confidence.
When surveyed, only 13% of the general working population said they’d consider working for Frasers Group . Awareness of the individual brands was strong, but connection to the Group as an employer was limited. For a business with serious growth plans and a need for entrepreneurial talent at every level, that gap couldn’t be ignored.
So our partnership didn’t begin with a campaign. It began with a question: how do you build an employer brand that reflects the reality of a business moving this quickly, without dressing it up or diluting it?
Defining the truth before amplifying it
Before creative, we listened.
Through focus groups, interviews and perception research, we explored how Frasers was experienced inside the business and understood outside it. Beneath the noise of historic press and fragmented awareness, a consistent cultural thread kept emerging.
At Frasers, people were expected to act like owners. High pace and standards with progression coming quickly to those willing to take responsibility and back themselves. It wasn’t a passive culture; it rewarded people who leaned in.
From that came a unifying narrative: When you fear less, you achieve more. It articulating something that already existed inside the organisation and gave it clarity.
Around that narrative, we sharpened the core values, grounding them in behaviours people could actually recognise.
Own It
Think Without Limits
Be Relevant
Evolving how the brand showed up
With the proposition defined, the next step was expression.
The previous employer materials leaned heavily on product and performance imagery. They looked polished, but they didn’t always show what it felt like to build a career there. Early testing reinforced that with people wanting to see themselves, not just the brands.
So we shifted the visual language.
Bolder colour
More energy
Real employees front and centre.
We developed more than 20 films spanning hero storytelling, employee journeys, culture moments and programme narratives.
Just as importantly, we focused on embedding the brand internally. A ready-to-use toolkit and interactive brand hub meant teams across digital, finance, retail and operations could use and evolve the identity themselves. This way, the employer brand became a part of the business that presented itself every day.
Building pathways and awareness
As the employer story gained clarity, attention turned to future talent.
Frasers Group had ambitious plans for early careers and needed something that matched its commercial pace. Together, we built the Elevation Programme, a fast-track pathway designed to develop high-potential individuals across stores, warehouses and graduate cohorts.
A dedicated microsite gave the programme a proper home, showcasing structure, progression and real success stories, with an emphasis on opportunity and acceleration.
Then we took that story out into the real world.
Creating visibility where it mattered
Across six target universities, we launched a campus activation designed to introduce Frasers Group with confidence and clarity.
Spin to Win combined a bold physical presence with a seamless digital journey. Students entered via QR code, engaged with a branded microsite and gathered for live prize moments that created energy well beyond those who initially took part.
The numbers tell part of the story:
3.1 million students reached across digital and campus channels
17,503 competition entries
1,902 clicks through to the Elevation Programme site
A 10.9% click-through rate, well above the 2.5% recruitment benchmark
But the more meaningful shift showed up elsewhere: host universities saw a spike in applications, candidates referenced the activation directly in interviews, and the employer story had moved from abstract to tangible.
Over time, perception followed. The proportion of people who said they’d consider a role at Frasers Group rose from 13% to 49%, because narrative, identity and experience were finally aligned.
A partnership built on progression
Looking back, what stands out is the evolution.
Research shaped the narrative
The narrative informed the identity
The identity supported attraction
Attraction-fed programme design
Employer brand became something embedded, something teams could use, leaders could speak to and candidates could recognise.
That’s what makes perception shift sustainable.
Recognising the impact
Recently, that work was recognised with a RAD Award for Employer Brand National. Awards aren’t why we do this work, but they do matter. They mark the difference between activity and impact.
For us, the significance lies in what it represents: a long-term partnership built on clarity, iteration and shared ambition.
If you’d like to explore more of our work, take a look below:
