Driving adoption across a frontline workforce
Successfully launching a new internal communications platform in a complex organisation requires more than technology.
We designed a launch campaign that combined bold promotion with hands-on activation. Alongside core comms, competitions and content, two elements proved critical: a network of Robin Champions driving local uptake, and a branded coffee tuk-tuk visiting sites across the country.
This wasn’t a launch you could deliver from behind a screen. The internal communication team at Royal Mail knew they needed to be on the ground, helping colleagues download the app, answering questions and removing barriers in real time. That physical, human approach helped move colleagues from awareness to action.
Improving internal communication at an organisation with 130,000 employees — many frontline, shift-based, without desk access — is no small challenge. At Royal Mail, multiple platforms, including an intranet, social tools and standalone apps, had created a fragmented employee experience. Engagement was low, with just 36% activation on their primary internal social platform, and critical communications struggling to reach frontline teams.
For a workforce where the majority are operational, traditional internal communication channels were not reaching everyone effectively.
Royal Mail needed a single employee communication platform designed for frontline accessibility, relevance and regular use.
Transforming internal communications with a mobile-first employee app
The solution: A mobile-first employee engagement platform
The answer was Robin, a single digital workplace powered by Workvivo. Robin brings together internal communications and company news, HR services (including payslips and holiday booking), employee recognition and engagement tools, and social interaction and community features.
One platform. One login. One consistent experience.
All great news and social platforms have a clear identity — a personality that resonates with people. That thinking sat at the heart of our work on the Robin brand.
The goal was to create an identity that imbued the app with character and warmth. And, as often happens in the creative process, the idea was a fusion of influences.
‘Robin’ works on many levels. It’s one of the UK’s most familiar garden birds, strongly associated with Christmas, the busiest time of year for Royal Mail. There’s also the lesser-known historical link: in Victorian times, posties were nicknamed “robin redbreasts,” a reference to their red jackets.
From that heritage, Robin emerged as a friendly, slightly cheeky presence — approachable, familiar, distinctly Royal Mail. A functional platform with personality that helped:
- Build trust with frontline employees
- Increase emotional connection to the platform
- Drive adoption beyond the launch
Recent work
Our clients
All the work AB has done on getting to this point, the materials, animations, design etc has been faultless
Strategic campaigns and planning lead at Royal Mail
I found working with AB so very easy. They demonstrated great curiosity by seeking to understand exactly what our newly formed team wanted to achieve, and how we needed to be perceived by stakeholders
Senior Manager, the LEGO Group
Working with AB on the campaign to reopen the refreshed seventh floor of our head office building was a great experience. The team brought fresh and creative ideas to the table
Communications Executive, Transport for London
