Danone's global Inclusive Diversity initiative needed to resonate with employees in a very different cultural context. As Creative and Art Director, I reinterpreted a global brief into an employee-led experience that encouraged participation through personal stories, making an international message feel authentic rather than imposed.
Global messages rarely succeed unchanged in local cultures.
Danone's Inclusive Diversity initiative celebrated perspectives that, in Iran, touched on subjects many organisations avoided discussing publicly. A direct translation of the global campaign risked feeling disconnected—or worse, preachy. The challenge was to preserve the spirit of inclusion while expressing it in a way employees could genuinely relate to and willingly embrace.
Rather than asking employees to accept a corporate message, we built the experience around their own identities. Every activity encouraged participants to contribute something personal, making the campaign feel co-created instead of delivered from the top down. By shifting ownership from the organisation to its people, inclusion became something employees experienced rather than something they were told about.
Employees actively shaped the campaign through their own contributions, making the message feel personal rather than instructional.
Danone's international objectives were successfully translated into an experience that respected local culture without compromising the campaign's intent.
The retreat was later referenced internally as the standard for delivering challenging organisational messages with creativity, empathy and cultural sensitivity.
David found the sweet spot between creative engagement and cultural respect—transforming a global message into a local celebration.
Sahar SemsariHR Director, Danone
Helping organisations, teams and brands grow through clear, purposeful creativity.
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