Employment Hero Case Study

Employment Hero is Australia’s leading HR, payroll, and employment platform, recently undergoing a significant rebrand to reflect its ambition, innovation, and people-first values. With a growing presence both locally and internationally, the brand needed a sound that could embody its new positioning and bring consistency across all touchpoints.

Smith & Western were commissioned to create a full sonic branding suite that would anchor the rebrand in sound. The challenge was to design a sonic identity that felt empowering, trustworthy, and innovative, while also capturing the bold, human tone of the refreshed brand.

Our strategy centred on building a distinctive sonic DNA that could flex across multiple contexts — from high-level brand campaigns to everyday touchpoints. We focused on three pillars: a clear and confident brand voice, a memorable sonic logo, and a versatile brand track that could scale from hero moments to subtle underscores.

The team composed and produced a three minute master brand track, supported by a suite of cutdowns for advertising and marketing. At the heart of the system, a bold new sonic logo was developed as the brand’s signature sound. This extended into a major TV campaign of three core ads, each scored and produced to highlight a different aspect of Employment Hero’s offering.
A distinctive brand voice was cast to embody Employment Hero’s approachable yet authoritative personality, ensuring every ad speaks with clarity and confidence.

The sonic branding now underpins all of Employment Hero’s advertising and communications, from TV and digital campaigns to brand activations and everyday marketing. This cohesive sound world amplifies the new visual identity, giving the rebrand a memorable and distinctive voice that connects with audiences across every channel.