Winner
Chasing the Miracles of Science
Summary of work
After decades of M&A, Sanofi felt disconnected. To catalyse change, all sub-brands would be retired and the whole company unified under the Sanofi brand. But that meant employees would now need to start thinking about themselves fundamentally differently – as interconnected parts of a single whole.
The rebrand announcement had to exemplify, and ignite, that attitudinal shift by visibly ’connecting’ all 100,000 employees in 65 countries simultaneously – while contending with COVID restrictions on gatherings and the fact that one-third of staff were non-office-based. With just 12 weeks until launch, run by a very limited group in strict secrecy, and with all assets required in multiple languages, what followed was a creative and logistical tour de force: mobilising, training and coordinating 200 communicators, 320 brand champions, 54 employee advocates and five creative agencies; weeks of late nights creating all the assets required of major change programmes (toolkits, templates, FAQs, media, portals, hotlines, helpdesks, etc); and the planning and delivery of a major global event.
With just hours until launch, we were still making tweaks to assets and creating new digital banners. But everything was delivered without a hitch, and Sanofians worldwide indeed came together to begin their journey as a unified company.
Judges’ comments
United Minds and Sanofi have produced an impressive and comprehensive programme, which had both internal and external impact. The complexity and challenge the team took on, all within a very limited timeframe, was impressive. The entire submission was outstanding from analysis to implementation, and the judges particularly appreciated the honesty with setbacks. The results speak for themselves.
