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If you have a habit of doomscrolling before bed as I do, chances are you’ve already met Kathryn Turner – the internet’s newest favourite icon. As Director of Product Development at M&S Food, she has racked up millions of views across TikTok and Instagram by taking us behind the scenes of everything from new product launches to cult-favourites (M&S cookies, I’m looking at you). And while watching the videos hasn’t been doing my wallet any favours, it’s definitely doing wonders for their brand.
The proof lies in the comment section – filled with people declaring they’re running to the store as they’re typing, petitioning for Turner to be given a knighthood or blaming M&S for giving up on their diet. In other words, Kathryn’s content is doing exactly what great brand-building content should: getting people talking, sharing and, ultimately, buying.
The outcome no one saw coming
But there’s something else happening here, too. M&S might have set out to sell people the next product they need to try, but what they probably didn’t account for is that by introducing us to ‘Owen from Dips’ or ‘Harry from Cookies’, they’re also quietly building their employer brand without even trying.
Because while millions of people are tuning in to see what’s coming next on the shelves, they’re getting something else along the way: a glimpse behind the products, through the people who actually make them happen. They’re putting faces to the job titles, personalities to the products and, without the usual trappings of employer advertising, giving people a feel for what it might be like to work at M&S.
The proof lies in the comment section
And if you don’t want to take my word for it, take theirs. Scroll through the comments, and you’ll find people calling M&S their dream employer, asking how to break into “the dips field”, campaigning to become the next “Donna from Desserts” and, in one particularly enthusiastic case, offering to work for free. Nobody asked them to say any of it. They just watched someone talk about ice creams and started wondering how they could get a foot in the door.
Employer advocacy changes the game
This is what makes employee advocacy such a powerful employer branding tool. You can tell candidates about your culture until you’re blue in the face. You can list your benefits, talk about your values and tell them you’re a great place to work. But there’s a limit to how much of that people will take at face value.
Put an actual employee in front of them, talking naturally about what they do, what they’ve worked on and why they care about it, and suddenly the message feels very different. It isn’t a prescribed list of benefits. It’s a person.
And in the age of AI slop, where anyone and everyone can churn out polished content in seconds (and yes, I’m being extremely generous when I say ‘polished’), authenticity is becoming harder to fake – and more valuable than ever.
Talent attraction is just the starting point
Which is why the real opportunity for employer brands isn’t simply to attract great people. It’s to give those people an experience worth talking about once they’re through the door. To help them get recognised for their work, feel like they belong, give them the space and support to thrive – and, eventually, turn them into the people who tell everyone else why they should join, too. Truth be told, that’s where the investment in employer brand pays back most powerfully: when the people you attract become the people who advocate for you.
If you’re looking to build that kind of advocacy for your brand, our Hi-to-Thrive strategy connects every stage of the talent journey – from that first hello to the moment your people become your strongest advocates.
