LIUYUN(ASHLEY) HU
A strategist with a service design mindset, dedicated to solving complex business challenges through strategic, thoughtful solutions.
Building an Employer Brand from the Inside Out
CLIENT
Mille Lacs Corporate Venture
DURATION
Mar - June, 2025 - 3 Months
CHALLENGE
Before this initiative, Grand Casino had no unified employer brand. Our messaging on platforms like LinkedIn and job boards felt disconnected—sometimes overly corporate, sometimes vague—and lacked a designed strategy or voice.
Internally, the employer brand wasn’t trusted either. A prior attempt had been created in isolation by the digital innovation team, without Talent or operational input. The result: inconsistent communication, low internal buy-in, and even brand audits initiated by frontline teams.
MY ROLE
Lead Strategist & Lead Researcher
Insight Synthesizer
Executive Storyteller & Facilitator
MY RESIPONSIBILITIES
Competitive Analysis
Customer Research
Executive Workshop
DELIVERABLES
Go-to marketing strategy & Brand Marketing Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy
Brand Persona Target
TEAM
01
Challenge: A brand that didn’t speak for its people
Before this initiative, Grand Casino had no unified employer brand. Our messaging on platforms like LinkedIn and job boards felt disconnected—sometimes overly corporate, sometimes vague—and lacked a designed strategy or voice.
Internally, the employer brand wasn’t trusted either. A prior attempt had been created in isolation by the digital innovation team, without Talent or operational input. The result: inconsistent communication, low internal buy-in, and even brand audits initiated by frontline teams.
My Role & Strategic Approach: Co-creation as both method and mindset
02
As a service designer, I reframed the brand development process to prioritize internal alignment and authenticity. I created a safe space where HR, design, marketing, and operations could shape the brand together—ensuring what we created felt both real and inspiring.
Key Roles: Lead internal and external talent research, facilitate cross-functional workshops (brand audit, essence, and prototyping), translate findings into brand essence and value propositions, guide iterative testing with employees for resonance
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Internal/External Research
Uncovered key gaps in perception and experience from the talent market
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Value Props Workshop
Defined clear employee value propositions and aligned voice, later used across job listings and internal materials
Brand Audti & Cocreation
Aligned stakeholders on the need for centralized, consistent messaging and informed the prototype design direction
Proptotype Testing
Validated if the brand concept felt real and resonant.
03
We developed a clear, shared employer brand essence, tested and validated by the people it aimed to represent. The final concept aligned three core elements:
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Our values (how we work)
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Our differentiators (why we’re unique)
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Our promises (what candidates and employees can expect)
We also co-created value propositions by employee segment—ensuring messages resonated across departments and roles.
04
The Results - A brand our employees could see themselves in
The project led to a new employer brand platform—used in recruitment marketing, Job descriptions, onboarding, and internal campaigns. But beyond the materials, it built trust and alignment.
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Positive feedback from employee test groups
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Increased cross-departmental collaboration
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The brand design team now uses co-creation as a standard approach
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Employer brand language embedded in job postings and orientation
05
What It Enabled - A replicable model for internal brand co-creation
The success of this approach inspired other departments to use service design tools—like journey mapping, participatory workshops, and testing—in their own initiatives. It showed that alignment isn’t a deliverable, it’s a process.
Reflections: Designing with, not for
06
This project reinforced one of my core beliefs: when strategy and storytelling are co-created with the people they affect, the result is more than buy-in—it’s ownership. That’s where real transformation begins.