EY Canada is looking to connect with current and prospective employees by showcasing its commitment to fostering DEI.

The campaign launched earlier in July and is all based around a sense of belonging urging people to “celebrate differences.” A recurring element in the campaign creative is the brush stroke, born out of collaboration between EY’s in-house creative team and agency Junction59 that conveys the sense of uniqueness in that no two strokes are the same.

“We know how important social equity is,” says EY’s CMO, Fatima Israel. “It transcends multiple boundaries…Belonging is a feeling that goes beyond just being included.”

The professional services firm has four pillars to its corporate social responsibility: equity, education, entrepreneurship and environment. This campaign, coming to life via digital display media and paid social and organic, strongly ladders up to the equity line, Israel notes. She tells strategy that DEI is something it’s embraced since the company was founded, as Arthur Young was deaf and had low vision.

The global parent has a EY “Belonging Barometer” to get a better sense of how engaged employees feel at work and also a “People Pulse Survey,” its internal gauge.  

“Top down, DEI, as well as belonging is core to who we are,” Israel notes. 

According to Israel, there is a huge brand opportunity to lean into equity to increase distinctiveness and attract workers after the Great Resignation, but also when it comes to retaining its own employees and attracting clients who share same values.

This is about human issues, and human stories, Israel notes, calling it “B2H” (“business to human”). To back it up, EY has new platforms to give employees a voice and approaching social issues head on.

Next month, new chapters will be launched, each taking a different perspective on the idea of “belonging.” The first ones, for examples, will include new immigrant stories. According to Israel, the company is also expanding definitions of DEI by telling the stories of neurodivergent people and leaning into hiring a large number of Canadian combat veterans in cybersecurity and IT.

According to Israel, this latest “belonging” campaign is a big portion of its ad spend and resources that it will use over the course of the year. It’s thinking far more broadly about this issue as a company.

MediaCom handled the buy.