Award-winning employee experience agency

Driving market-leading engagement for Dr Martens’ share plan launch

Dr Martens, the iconic British footwear brand, was launching its first-ever all-employee share plan in 2022.

With a diverse workforce and limited previous experience with share plans, Dr Martens needed clear, accessible communications to ensure strong engagement despite challenges such as a tight timeline and a broad, varied demographic.

OUR APPROACH

UNDERSTANDING THE BUSINESS: Got to know Dr Martens’ employees and what drives them, ensuring we tailored the message to resonate with their needs.
BRAND IMMERSION: Fully immersed ourselves in Dr Martens’ brand, studying its visual style, tone of voice, and imagery.
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: Created a clear, inclusive strategy, selecting the right channels to ensure all employees received the message.

CREATIVE CONCEPT: Developed engaging copy and assets, including a brochure, emails, videos, posters, and flyers, all aligned with Dr Martens’ distinctive brand.
EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS: Created videos to educate employees unfamiliar with share plans or investment products.
TAX SAVINGS CALCULATOR: Developed a custom calculator to help employees estimate their individual tax savings.
MANAGER TOOLKIT: Produced a toolkit to help managers support their teams in understanding the share plan.

THE RESULTS

Dr Martens set an ambitious target of 15% take-up for their share plan, but results exceeded expectations, with a take-up rate of 29%. And that’s significantly higher than the retail sector average.

The plan also saw:

More women enrolled than men (59% vs. 36%)
Higher-than-expected average contributions (£94 vs. £49)

Most notably, 65% of those who signed up earned under £50,000 annually.

The campaign’s success was recognised at the ProShare Awards, winning “Most Effective Communication of an Employee Share Plan” and “Best New Share Plan.”