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    • A smiling receptionist with long blonde hair and a pink scarf sits at a desk, welcoming a visitor.Smiling worker in a high-visibility vest sits in a busA ground crew member in an orange vest labeled "Operations" signals an incoming airplane with red paddles. The runway is clear and the sky is partly cloudy.Two airport security officers inspect a luggage item at a screening station.Four firefighters in bright orange jackets and protective gear walk confidently, holding helmets. A fire truck is visible in the background at an airport.A smiling air traffic controller with long dark hair and glasses wears a headset while working at control tower monitors. Runways are visible outside.Smiling worker in a high-visibility vest sits in a busFour firefighters in bright orange jackets and protective gear walk confidently, holding helmets. A fire truck is visible in the background at an airport.A smiling air traffic controller with long dark hair and glasses wears a headset while working at control tower monitors. Runways are visible outside.A smiling receptionist with long blonde hair and a pink scarf sits at a desk, welcoming a visitor.

    OUR EMPLOYER BRAND JOURNEY WITH MAG

    OUR EMPLOYER BRAND JOURNEY WITH MAG

    OUR EMPLOYER BRAND JOURNEY WITH MAG

    OUR EMPLOYER BRAND JOURNEY WITH MAG

    Services

    • EVP
    • Brand Build & Guidelines
    • Photography

    The UK's largest airport operator

    Voices shaping the work

    Airports united under one story

    Explore how Wiser helped MAG bring its employer brand to life, uniting three airports under one shared story to build pride, trust and engagement across the business.

    Odds are, you’ve travelled through a MAG airport. As the UK’s largest airport operator, MAG connects millions of passengers every year across Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airport.

    But the industry had gone through tough times. Famously, COVID wasn’t great for airports, and redundancies followed by urgent rehiring had weakened trust amongst their people. With £2.5bn investment and ambitious growth plans, MAG urgently needed to re-engage and attract top talent to help them scale.

    We partnered with them to build an employer brand grounded in real employee experience, designed to unite thousands of people under one shared story.

    A smiling air traffic controller with long dark hair and glasses wears a headset while working at control tower monitors. Runways are visible outside.

    MEETING THE JOURNEY MAKERS

    MAG already had a tagline, ‘We are the Journey Makers’, which was very well-known across the business. It was everywhere on walls, lanyards, posters, powerpoints. But their people felt like it was just a slogan; they didn’t connect with it or attach much meaning to it. 

    We needed to tell a story around it, connecting the line with real employee experiences to create an emotionally resonant employer brand.

    So we started where we always do: with the people living it.

    At a glance

    From terminals to tarmac, we immersed ourselves in life at MAG. We listened to engineers, security teams, firefighters, operations staff and corporate functions to uncover what really makes the business tick. We saw parts of the airport we never knew existed, and heard stories that even got us a bit emotional. By the end of our research journey, a story of teamwork and pride had emerged.

    Employee survey results

    VIP airpasses obtained

    Focus groups hosted

    In-depth interviews

    Competitors analysed

    Meetings paused to watch planes land

    MORE THAN A FEELING

    One thing stood out to us almost immediately: people at MAG truly love the feeling of working there. Employees spoke passionately about the energy of the airports. The pride of helping millions of people travel. The excitement of being part of something constantly moving. It really is a unique workplace: a city that never sleeps, with people from all walks of life moving through every single day. It’s the people at MAG who help travellers get to their long-awaited holidays, to their important meetings, to their emotional family reunions. (If you’ve ever seen Love Actually, you know exactly what we’re talking about.)

    They talked with that same passion about the supportive teams, opportunities to carve out your own path and the fulfilment they get from keeping the world connected.

    A BOLDER, WARMER BRAND

    Those stories became the foundation for a new brand narrative, focused on the feeling.

    We added depth through three messaging pillars that each represented a different type of journey making: the journey of MAG’s people, the journey of the business, and the journey of the passengers.

    Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands all carry huge local pride, and we didn’t want to lose the airports’ individuality. So we built a flexible narrative system that connected the group while leaving room for regional personality. We encouraged teams to sound like actual humans rather than polished corporate spokespeople, with regional phrases and everyday expressions becoming part of the brand itself.

    Visually, we moved MAG towards something bolder and more modern, inspired by digital airport systems and tech brands, to match their aspirations for the future. A new friendly photography suite kept the identity feeling warm and welcoming.

    Tablet displaying "We Are the Journey Makers" overlaying presentation slides with placeholde
    Digital billboard in an airport reads "We Are the Journey Makers" with two smiling airport staff, conveying teamwork. A "Start Yours Today" button is visible.
    A stack of navy blue boxes with the top one displaying the bold text, "We Are The Journey Makers", against a light gray background
    A person holds a smartphone displaying an inspirational Instagram post that reads, "Discover what you're truly capable of," with an airplane icon.
    Two airport workers in safety vests, smiling and talking by an airplane. Text overlay reads "People at Our Core," conveying a friendly and positive atmosphere.

    TIME FOR TAKE OFF

    Once the foundations were laid, it was time to get the brand out there. We focused on embedding it properly across the business, creating all the tools and training they needed to confidently kick off. We created launch assets, messaging guidance, an employer brand toolkit and tailored workshops for teams across talent acquisition, social media, learning and development, training, internal comms, reward and wellbeing.  Building strong foundations, to make sure the brand really landed with everyone, in every airport. 

    The result is an employer brand that makes MAG’s people proud. One that connects three airports, thousands of roles and millions of journeys. A story that’s used day to day, strong enough to unlock their future growth.

    And rightfully so; they deserve to feel proud. Because next time your airport journey runs smoothly, there’s a good chance a Journey Maker helped make it happen.

    To talk to us about this case study,
    get in touch

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