They fail when they’re built as a deck, not a system—no proof, no enablement, no adoption, no measurement.

Most employer brand work fails for four reasons: (1) No differentiation (sounds like everyone), (2) No proof (claims aren’t believable), (3) No operationalization (recruiters and managers aren’t given usable tools), and (4) No measurement (success defined as “launch,” not conversion). Stakeholder-by-committee also kills clarity—brands get watered down to avoid disagreement. Another common failure: separating strategy from execution. If the team that interviews candidates can’t articulate the message consistently, your “brand” never shows up where decisions happen. The cure is practical: pick a talent segment, define a sharp position, gather proof, translate into talk tracks/templates, and track funnel improvements.