A personal view on Vedior’s Multibranding Philosophy by Zach Miles

Brands are strange and exotic beasts. Lurking behind any corporate logo you can find an emotional minefield of perceived attributes, irrational preferences, illogical biases and subjective assumptions. It has to be said that consumer preference for a model of car, a cup of coffee or a range of clothing is not based on wholly rational behaviour. Inevitably, this makes the subject of branding as much of an art as it is a science.

Like other industries, the appropriate choice and use of brands in the recruitment sector is absolutely vital. One of Vedior’s core strategies is to utilise a multibranding approach deploying a range of different brand names appropriate for the various sectors and markets in which we operate.

It is Vedior’s strategic goal to grow in the highly specialised professional and executive segments of the market, and extend our leading market position worldwide. Multibranding provides us with a number of important strategic and tactical advantages to help us realise that goal. Such advantages are not available, or are more limited, with a ‘monobrand’ approach.

Branding within a diverse organisation

Vedior uses a multibrand approach for the simple reason that we are a very diverse and decentralised organisation, operating in 19 distinct industry sectors and 44 international markets. Our brand philosophy best reflects Vedior’s unique corporate culture.
Multibranding is a well-established and well-respected strategy in many other industries, particularly within the consumer products sector. Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Diageo and Heineken are all examples of parent companies with a strong umbrella brand operating diversely branded product ranges. I would argue that the rationale for using such an approach is just as compelling within the service sector as it is within the consumer products sector, if not more so.

Client and candidate characteristics differ markedly among the different sectors in which we operate. Jobseekers like to deal with a recruitment company that fully understands their profession, its trends, qualifications and terminology. Likewise, employers also appreciate working with consultants who understand their require­ments and business culture. Many of our staffing consultants operating within niche markets are, themselves, qualified within the sector in which they specialise be it engineering, information technology, or teaching etc.

Sectors as diverse as, for example, interim management and light industrial are very different types of business. We believe that the delivery of a credible quality service within each of our market sectors can only be effected through separate offices, separate personnel, separate sales strategies and, logically, separate brands. After all, a brand is a visual realization of a company’s activities.

Vedior’s brands are freestanding and individualised for specific target markets. A number of these brands operate within very tightly defined niches such as, for instance, aviation engineering, pharmaceutical marketing, or audio-visual. While they may not be internationally recognised, these niche brands have a very strong franchise among their chosen audience based on strong domain understanding and knowledge of the local market. These brands are also better positioned to make effective use of selective media appropriate for their targeted skills base.

Vedior’s clients can be reassured that they are dealing with consultants who have the experience, training and expertise to deliver a focused service in tune with their particular needs. Such a branding approach is also completely in tune with our sales focus on local SME business.

Brand efficiency

One argument against having a large portfolio of independently functioning brands is that it is inefficient and resource-intensive since each brand must be separately marketed and legally protected. Vedior actually owns over 1,000 registered trademarks. But this perceived disadvantage is, we believe, heavily outweighed by the benefits we gain from a multibranding approach.

Multibranding allows our operating companies to have a greater clarity of purpose, a greater sense of employee ownership and a stronger spirit of entrepreneurship. The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope and a brand that tries to stand for everything actually ends up standing for nothing.

Given the diverse and decentralised nature of our organisation, people are often surprised to discover just how efficient and cost-effective Vedior is.

“...the best way to increase perception of quality is to narrow the company’s focus. When you narrow a product’s focus, you become a specialist rather than a generalist and a specialist is perceived to know more, or be of higher quality than a generalist.” Source: Al & Laura Reis, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding