Building Brands from the Inside Out - How Aviva and Royal Mail Use Storytelling to Drive Employee Engagement
- Engage Employee Summit
- 20th - 21st May 2026
- Joseph Welland, Workvivo by Zoom - Ashleigh Carter-Adams, Aviva - Paul Smith, Royal Mail
What does it take to build an internal brand that truly resonates with employees? In this panel discussion, Workvivo customers Aviva and Royal Mail share how they've developed distinctive internal communications identities to drive meaningful employee engagement, across diverse workforces.
From Aviva's seamless alignment between external brand and internal communications, to Royal Mail's beloved "Robin" platform, both organisations have taken bold, creative approaches to connecting with their people. Despite operating in very different environments, they share a common philosophy: smart tactics get employees through the door, but compelling storytelling keeps them engaged.
Join Joe Welland, Strategic Customer Success Manager at Workvivo, alongside Ashleigh Carter-Adams (Aviva) and Paul Smith (Royal Mail) as they explore the challenges, strategies, and future ambitions behind building internal brands that genuinely move the needle on employee engagement.
Joseph Welland
Workvivo by Zoom Strategic Customer Experience ManagerI love helping people and businesses be their best. It goes a long way to explaining why I am passionate about my role as a Customer Success Manager.
A data-lover at heart, I take a strategic approach to helping customers while always considering their goals and objectives - so don’t be surprised if I crack out a chart or 3 in a presentation!
On a more personal note, I am a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and am always seeking to play a more active role in supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives. I’m also mad about languages; fluent in English, French and Spanish, and always learning another on the side (currently German). I am also an avid baker and a keen amateur ballroom dancer.
Ashleigh Carter-Adams
Aviva Head of Internal Communications, Group and FunctionsI lead the Group and Functions internal comms team at Aviva, covering everything from financial results to big all colleague campaigns and the regular cycle of people comms. Before life at Aviva, I was at Unilever, Disney and M&S Food, so I’ve seen first-hand how loved brands build trust. I’m passionate about creative, clear storytelling that colleagues understand, care about and connect to.
Paul Smith
Royal Mail Strategic Campaigns & Planning ManagerPaul has worked in Internal Communications at Royal Mail since 2018, with his main responsibility being managing several employee channels across digital, social and print. Most recently, this has seen him take an enhanced role as Workvivo Product Owner, following Royal Mail launching the platform in May 2025. That came alongside additional responsibilities for Corporate Affairs Paul has taken on for his Director, leading on strategic campaigns and planning across the functions of four key departments. Previously, Paul was a journalist at numerous local newspapers and a sports correspondent for a national press agency with a particular expertise in multimedia. That played to the dad-of-three's passion with sport, particularly football and cricket, where he gets most of his enjoyment from life.
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