The Foundation: Building Empathy into a Global Message
Mimi Turner of the B2B Institute once said, “If B2C marketers thought like B2B marketers, Coca-Cola would market itself as “brown, fizzy, and sweet”.” Mimi, if we could give you a penny for your thoughts we’d give you a million. What an incredible analogy for our strategic shift from ‘chairs’ to ‘cares’.
Uncovering the Idea: An Enduring Solution
We began with a question: how can we simply convey what Workiva has to offer to Finance, ESG, Audit, and Compliance professionals within the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) market? Yes, of course, Workiva has best-in-class data connection, automation, collaboration, and reporting tools. But what does that really mean for our customers? It means they can work with confidence, efficiency, and precision. It means they can spend less time digging and more time elevating.
And it means they can trust that Workiva is the single most assured and integrated platform for “Your Most Important Work.”
“Your Most Important Work” is an invitation: assuring customers that Workiva is made for their most complex, high-stakes responsibilities. It was about showing outcomes and empowering customers to tackle their most critical tasks with the right tools for the job. More than a tagline; it was a promise to help customers achieve their most meaningful work.
Local Cultural Fluency
When it comes to “Your Most Important Work,” not just any tool will do. This foundational insight shaped our approach to cultural fluency across EMEA. We illustrated this by localizing the creative to draw from regional references while staying true to the global message. As we like to say: it doesn’t have to be matching language luggage, but it does need to all be at the same airport.
Across EMEA, we tapped into the universal language of football (the non-American kind, kids) with the provocative, “You wouldn’t take a penalty in flip flops. When it needs to be done right, don’t rely on inferior tools.” From there, we developed specific city-based variations to ensure relevance:
- London: “You wouldn’t make your Sunday roast in a toaster.”
- Berlin: “You wouldn’t eat curryworst with a fork and knife.”
- Amsterdam: “You wouldn’t eat French fries with ketchup.”
These localized adaptations ensured that “Your Most Important Work” grabbed the attention of local audiences, our Trojan Horse to introduce the power of Workiva.
Turning Strategy into Results
We’re so proud of this one. The “Your Most Important Work” campaign delivered measurable, impactful results for Workiva. Together we achieved:
- Programmatic advertising drove a 20% higher click-through rate than industry benchmarks.
- Unaided brand awareness increased by 15%, building recognition in new markets.
- Decision-maker trust improved by 12%, reinforcing Workiva’s positioning as a reliable partner.
- Brand recall among target audiences rose significantly, a key engagement indicator for long-term customer loyalty.
- Generated over 2 billion global impressions, firmly establishing “Your Most Important Work” as a trusted brand promise that resonates globally and locally.
Lessons Learned from “Your Most Important Work”
- Empathy Over Everything
Centering messaging on customer “cares” drove meaningful engagement and brand loyalty across diverse markets. - Cultural Adaptation Matters
Tailoring the message for EMEA audiences increased regional relevance while maintaining global consistency. - Metrics That Matter
The campaign delivered over 2 billion global impressions. In EMEA, unaided brand awareness rose by 15%, and decision-maker trust improved by 12%.
Moving Forward: A Global Rollout
The success of “Your Most Important Work” has cemented it as Workiva’s new worldwide brand platform, including over 10 million impressions at their 10th anniversary at the NYSE. By scaling the “chairs to cares” strategy across all markets, we positioned Workiva as a brand that doesn’t just solve problems but partners with customers to tackle their most critical work.
Because, at its core, marketing is about creating a brand that people believe in.
And that’s some truly important work.
