Case Study: HR Tech → Employee Experience & Culture Intelligence (AI)
Big budgets buy attention. Bold messaging steals it.
1st of its kind category message | EU & US campaign | Designed for 100x smaller budget
Erudit was a fast-growing HR Tech startup redefining Employee Experience with real-time sentiment insights — instead of quarterly pulse reports. In a world where 70%+ of employees admit to lying on surveys, Erudit offered a more accurate view of the workplace.
Erudit’s product was fresh and strong — but it played in one of the most cluttered categories in SaaS, ruled by billion-dollar giants like Qualtrics, Lattice, and Visier.
Erudit had raised $10M Series A, but compared to the incumbents, they were an underdog with 100x smaller budgets.
Talking about “better engagement,” “happier teams,” or “better culture” wasn’t going to cut through. I had to help the GTM team create a different kind of campaign — one sharp enough to put them on the map.
The only way for a new player to get noticed — and remembered — is to say something that shakes up the entire category and forces the ICP to question their current behaviours.
So we zoomed out to wider cultural trends in Corporate Culture and HR:
‘quiet quitting’ has been trending for over a year
‘lazy girl jobs’ got covered by the Wall Street Journal
#WorkTok has 4.4B+ views — and the topics aren’t happy
If pulse surveys were working, we wouldn’t have such a broken corporate culture, would we?
That’s exactly the angle we needed: push HR to question their own habits — and give Erudit a real shot at entering the category.
Erudit AI wasn’t going to be “yet another HR tool.”
It was set to become a must-have, performing where all others had failed before.
Giants can’t be provocative. Startups can.
Updated the value proposition
The old message was forgettable. We replaced it with a line that creates tension and states the promise without buzzwords: “Make your workforce a true force.”
Built an EU + US creative campaign designed for mass reach
Raw lines that mirror mainstream workplace conversations — forcing HR to stop scrolling and question their current ways of working:
“Pizza parties make me feel valued.” — said no one ever
“I always give 100% at work. 70% of it to my side hustle.”
“Our team spirit comes from our shared hatred towards our work.”
“I’m very committed to this company,” he says as he clicks “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn
“I’m committed to applying to other jobs on this company’s time.”
Created thought-leadership materials on a €0 budget
Compiled the top 10 highest-reaching TikTok workplace trends, explained them, added commentary from an Erudit AI psychologist, and wrapped it up as:
“HR’s Social Cheatsheet: The workplace trends you’ve never heard of.”
A lead gen & PR asset that actually gets the market talking.
1st of its kind employee-intelligence category narrative
Board-approved creative rollout for EU + US
Strategic positioning against $1B+ incumbents
Memorable PoV to win disproportionate share of attention.
Market note:
Shortly after the project, the EU AI Act (Jan 2024) declared that AI measuring emotions in the workplace is prohibited, carrying fines of $15M+ regardless of intention. The company decided to close down — but the strategic work remains a powerful example of how early-stage HR Tech can differentiate in a crowded category by saying the truths nobody else dares to.
We hijacked Office Space — the cult film on broken corporate culture. Cut iconic scenes with lines like: “Ever felt your culture is… broken?”
“For office spaces that don’t feel like Office Space — try Erudit.” Instant scroll-stopper.
Erudit Christmas card? A case study with a new client: Santa. Elves burnt out, reindeer overdue for a comp review, not enough collaboration at the North Pole - Erudit diagnoses it all and fixes it just in time.
HR carries the emotional load when layoffs hit. So we created a “Survival Kit” for them: lavender candles, chamomile tea, stress balls, and an HR Zen playlist. A thoughtful touch that our competitors would never think of.
In crowded categories, having the best product is not enough — you also need a strong POV. That's doable, even in HR, if you zoom out and look at the broader culture surrounding the product. Going bold is exactly how startups can win against the big guys!
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