Inside Perceptyx’s PR campaign to decode work culture

Perceptyx is an employee experience transformation company. It combines an AI-powered platform with a team of industrial/organizational psychologists to help some of the world’s largest enterprises listen to their employees, analyze the findings, develop action plans, and motivate the behaviors needed to drive measurable change.

Perceptyx wanted to increase awareness and demand among HR leaders. Specifically, it wanted to demonstrate that it had the most sophisticated solution grounded in the deepest expertise. The PR challenge, however, was tricky. Its competitors are some of the best-known software companies so standing out in press coverage about the future of work isn't easy.

Brief

The agency developed the Decoding Work research-based thought leadership campaign. The strategy was to identify a series of emerging workplace issues, survey employees and managers to understand how those issues impacted them and develop expert content to help HR leaders navigate the challenge. The resulting insights and expertise would be promoted via a carefully selected group of influential HR publications and business media, as well as via webinars, social media and email marketing campaigns.

Each issue tackled a pressing concern, provided informed recommendations and introduced a surprising twist to the prevailing narrative. Issues addressed included: workplace loneliness; the end of the return-to-office push; and the 'magic trifecta' needed for benefits equity.

A good example of the formula in action is Perceptyx’s survey about workplace loneliness. Perceptyx’s research shone new light on the topic, revealing that: 1 in 4 people feel lonely at work; men and senior leaders were twice as likely to be lonely; lonely workers are four and a half times more likely to struggle with productivity and between four and six times more likely to experience difficulty sleeping, engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms, be bothered by pain, and behave badly to family and friends due to stress at work.

The study was covered in-depth across HR publications, including HR Dive, HRO Today and Unleash as well as being reported in the business press in publications like the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Business Insider, and Entrepreneur.

The research also provided the foundations for a wider ‘Decoding Work’ PR program, enabling the PR team to unlock numerous other opportunities to convey Perceptyx’s combination of consulting expertise and technical innovation.

Numerous opportunities were secured for Perceptyx’s senior director of people analytics, research and insights to be quoted in articles. Perceptyx’s chief people officer was put forward to provide a peer point of view, resulting in interviews and articles across every HR trade publication. The data provided a foundation for a solid byline program, allowing Perceptyx experts to showcase depth of knowledge and provide concrete advice. Media relationships were established that paved the way for more in-depth coverage of Perceptyx’s platform and its innovative AI capabilities.

Results

Perceptyx doubled its share of voice compared to the prior year and rose to first place in share of voice in target publications against large public competitors. The campaign achieved a total of 103 unique feature articles in target publications in 12 months. Coverage appeared in business media multiple times, for example in Fast Compan, The Verge and BBC twice and Forbes four times.

The campaign was repeatedly covered across trade publications proven to be most influential for HR leaders, like the HR Executive, Human Resources Director, Employee Benefits News, HR Dive, SHRM, and Unleash, and overall achieved 1.1 million impressions. There were 63 spokesperson citations in the year the campaign ran. With a significant increase in inbound media inquiries about the research, Perceptyx became a highly sought-after expert source on employee experience.

Perceptyx used survey data and subsequent media coverage in marketing and sales development campaigns as demand generation offers to support new business and customer expansion pipeline. Each report drove hundreds of downloads, webinar registrations, and MQLs. Overall the campaign was highly effective in reaching enterprises that met Perceptyx’s ideal customer profile.

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