Case Study
United Workforce

INDUSTRY

Consumer goods | diversified products

CHALLENGE

Unify internal communications across a fragmented post-merger organization with incompatible systems and strong cultural resistance

SOLUTION

Launch a mobile-first internal communications app to bypass infrastructure limitations and deliver timely, engaging content to every employee

EXPERTISE

Internal communications

Digital enablement

Change management

Culture integration

HOW AN APP UNITED A MERGED WORKFORCE

Following a major corporate merger, a newly formed consumer goods company emerged with a portfolio of more than 100 brands – spanning everything from camping gear and candles to baby strollers and slow cookers. But unifying the corporate identity was only part of the challenge. Behind the scenes, two vastly different operating philosophies were colliding.

One company brought a traditional company with centralized, standardized, and tightly integrated operations. The other had thrived as a holding company, allowing each brand to operate independently with its own leadership, systems, and communication channels. The result was a cultural clash, several different IT ecosystems, and no single way to reach all 60,000 employees.

As the organization tried to function as one unified entity, the reality was anything but. Inconsistent email domains, incompatible intranets, and siloed business units meant company-wide communication was nearly impossible. The internal communications team faced a challenging question: how do we talk to everyone when the systems won’t let us?

HOW WE DID IT

A SINGLE SOLUTION TO REACH THEM ALL

The answer came in the form of a mobile app that would bypass traditional infrastructure altogether. The team at Arketi Inside partnered with the company to evaluate vendors and fast-track the launch of a single communications platform that could reach every employee, regardless of which system they used.

Within a month, the team launched a fully functional app using SocialChorus (now Firstup), designed to be accessible, secure, and scalable. To get employees to adopt it, the company pulled three levers:

  1. Function: Critical documents like pay stubs and cafeteria menus were only accessible via the app.
  2. Incentive: Employees were offered high-demand swag − like unreleased products − in exchange for downloading it.
  3. Engagement: The app housed all the information employees had previously struggled to find, from benefits materials to town hall recordings.

Behind the scenes, a creative authentication solution avoided the need for unified active directory access: employees simply used their unique payroll number, synced nightly via an automated spreadsheet. No IT overhaul required.

FROM COMMS HUB TO CULTURAL TOUCHSTONE

Once initial adoption took off, particularly among 30,000 “wired” employees with digital access, we helped them double down. Communications went from top-down to peer-led as managers were empowered to create private channels for their teams. Leaders could now share updates, rally their people, and field questions directly − turning the app into a dynamic, two-way communications tool

From safety updates and product launches to community initiatives and leadership recognition, the platform became everyone’s in-pocket intranet. And while rollout to frontline manufacturing employees was more complex, the phased approach ensured momentum and credibility.

THINK BEYOND EMAIL

The company’s internal communications transformation offers three core lessons for any organization facing integration or complexity:

  1. Where there’s a will, there’s a workaround. No system is too fragmented to overcome with the right strategy and speed.
  2. Incentives open the door, meaningful content keeps them inside. Employees show up for perks, but they stay for value.
  3. Empowered leaders drive sustained engagement. When team-level managers own the message, employees listen.

 

 

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