NIL
The hundred thousand faces of NIL
An employer brand strategy and a video series in which employees talk about cyber security and working in IT
- Client
- NIL
- Year
- 2020–2021
NIL is one of the first Slovenian providers of IT solutions and cyber security. It has been around since 1989 and has been part of the Danish group Conscia since 2019. Despite its long tradition and leading position, it competes in a job market where experts are scarce and global companies lure them away with high salaries.
NIL first wanted a single presentation video. After research and the first workshops, we turned the project upside down: we repositioned the company as an attractive and transparent employer with a relaxed and dynamic environment, and put the people who work there at the centre.
In numbers
- 200+
- Experts in networks, data centres, cloud, development and cyber security who are the face of the company.
- 5
- Company pillars for which we prepared the starting points and scripts of presentation videos.
- 3
- Episodes of a series on data and cyber security, with a trailer for social media.
- 2
- Shooting days in which we filmed all the interviews for the series.
01The starting point: the race for experts
Digitalisation keeps raising the demand for IT specialists, developers and cyber security experts, and with it salaries and competition between companies. Employees are a frequent target of headhunters, and a few negative reviews by former and current employees on job seeker portals had further hurt the company's reputation.
In May and June 2021 we carried out desk research on HR trends in IT and working sessions with the client, and prepared an extensive report. It identified the problems and set out which aspects of employment and which target groups NIL should focus on: top IT experts, technical students and existing employees.
What the analysis showed
-
01
A traditional image
From the outside, NIL came across as a serious but somewhat rigid company, which does not attract younger experts.
-
02
Employee loyalty
When competitors offer more, what keeps people is mostly the culture: knowledge, the team and a sense that the work matters.
-
03
A talent drought in cyber security
The field with the highest demand has the fewest candidates, so the company has to stand out.
»There are more than a million cyber security vacancies around the world.«
Jan Bervar, NIL
02The umbrella concept: a hundred thousand faces
Instead of a typical corporate video, we designed a concept that puts employees' faces at the centre. They present their knowledge and the pulse of the company openly and without embellishment. We prepared a content strategy and visual guidelines that break the dryness of technical talk: dynamic and relaxed elements that bring an expert topic closer to everyone.
Umbrella concept
Not one video about the company, but the faces of the people who make it.
Five pillars, five stories
Communication, connectivity and business.
The teams that keep clients' networks running. The story shows what a field IT engineer's day looks like and which challenges they solve for clients.
Cyber security and data protection.
The field with the greatest talent shortage. Experts present work that seems straight out of a film but is everyday life: from network monitoring to forensics in cloud systems.
Data centres and data storage.
Work the user never sees, but without which nothing runs. The video shows how the infrastructure that businesses run on is built and maintained.
Software development and systems operation.
Developers who connect systems and write custom solutions. A story for technical students looking for their first serious environment to grow in.
Solutions for effective remote collaboration.
The departments that set up remote work tools for clients. After 2020 a topic everyone knows, which makes it the right way into the company's world.
03From script to camera
For the selected speakers in each pillar we gathered their internal presentations and job descriptions and adapted the draft scripts to them. As the production partner, we aligned HR, management and recruitment agencies with what could be done in front of the camera. The result was authentic portrait interviews and insights into the company's culture.
Project timeline
-
2020
Starting point
NIL wants a video that presents the company as a good employer and can also be shown at a business forum in Bled.
-
May–June 2021
Analysis
Desk research on HR trends in IT, working sessions with the client and a report with target groups and focus areas.
-
2021
Concept and strategy
The umbrella concept, content strategy, visual guidelines and starting points for five presentation videos.
-
2021
Pre-production
Internal presentations and job descriptions of the selected speakers, adapted scripts and alignment with management.
-
2021
Filming
Two shooting days of portrait interviews with employees.
-
November 2021
Release
A trailer on social media builds anticipation, followed by the three episodes of the series.
04The series: data, value and people
The three episodes on cyber security were made both to present NIL as an employer and to present the company to business clients. Each focuses on one aspect, and employees explain it so that anyone can understand. The first is about the enormous amounts of data we produce today. According to the employees, its value is comparable to that of oil.
The second episode explores how companies use and abuse data. Thoughtful use of data is a solid basis for strategic decisions, for example in advertising, where ads are shown only to people who are interested in them.
The third episode turns to people. Given the same data, artificial intelligence will always make the same decision. People have more up-to-date information and also act on instinct, which is why humans remain essential in IT and in the development of AI.
What changes
- The image of a serious but somewhat rigid company
- One presentation video for one event
- Technical talk only experts understand
- Employees in the background
- A transparent employer with a relaxed and dynamic environment
- A strategy and a content series for several channels and audiences
- Stories about data, security and people that anyone can follow
- Employees as the face of the company
05What the project delivered
NIL received an analysis and a clear focus for its employer communication, an umbrella concept it can use for years, starting points and scripts for five pillars, and a video series with a trailer. The same content serves three purposes: attracting experts and students, involving existing employees in the company culture and presenting the company's expertise to business clients.
The biggest change is in the approach: the company no longer talks about itself on its own. The people who work there speak for it.
06Where this project sits in our matrix
We work across all of these layers, and any combination is possible.
- Who we worked for
- Executive leadershipCorporate communicationsHRMarketingPublic sector
- Project scope
- Small brand storyAlways-on communicationBig brand story (a full campaign)
- What we improved
- ProcessesRelationshipsContent
- How we approached it
- StrategicallyDigitally, with AICreativelyIn an advisory role
- How long?
- Short-term (up to 3 months)Mid-term (3–12 months)Long-term (a year or more)
- What we created
- DocumentsPresentationsVisual identitiesDesignWebsitesSocial mediaCopywritingPhotographyVideo storiesAnimationsPodcastsEventsWorkshops