You can’t fake a great employer brand.

Candidates know when it’s real and when it’s just marketing fluff.

Maybe your careers page looks okay. Maybe your culture video got a few likes. But if you’re still not getting the right people through the door, something’s off.

That’s where a great employer branding agency can help. Not the ones that throw you a tagline and call it done. The ones that dig into what makes your company worth joining, and help you tell that story in a way people believe.

Here are 5 agencies that do just that.

What Makes a Great Employer Branding Agency

A quick pulse check on what matters when choosing a partner.

It’s easy to get caught up in agency portfolios packed with slick visuals, clever slogans, and stock-photo smiles. 

But a great employer branding agency does more than make things look good.

The hard part is turning your culture into something candidates believe, without overpromising or underdelivering. 

So, what should you be looking for in a partner?

1. They start by listening

Not just to your CMO or VP of People, but to the people doing the work. The agency you want will spend time understanding what it feels like to work at your company. The good, the bad, and the stuff no one puts on LinkedIn.

2. They keep it real

They won’t sell you a glossy version of your culture. They’ll help you tell a version that’s honest and still compelling. Because the best hires come when the story matches the reality.

3. They work across silos

Your employer brand touches HR, Talent, Comms, Marketing, and even Legal. A solid agency knows how to bring all those folks to the table and keep them aligned.

4. They care about more than aesthetics

Sure, you’ll get a nice brand guide. But they’ll also help you ship better job posts, candidate journeys, recruiter outreach, and onboarding touchpoints. 

5. They don’t vanish after the pitch

The agency you want is in the weeds with you. They’re there when your execs want a rewrite. When your recruiters say, “This doesn’t feel like us.” When you need a fast pivot for a hiring push.

Read More: Recruiting & Employer Branding Tips from SKIMS

Tired of the Same Old Messaging? These Agencies Break the Mold

1. Universum

Best for: Data-backed EVP strategy & global benchmarking

Source: Universum

If your EVP still lives in a slide deck from 2021, Universum is the agency that’ll bring it back to life, backed by real-time insights.

They’ve been studying what talent wants for over 35 years, with data from 250,000+ students and professionals across 15+ global markets. Translation? They know what top candidates care about and how your brand stacks up next to competitors.

What makes Universum one of the best employer branding agencies?

• Deep benchmarking across industries and regions– so you’re not flying blind
  
  
• End-to-end EVP development– from insights to creative to activation
  
  
• Campaigns grounded in real data– not hunches or trends
  
  
• An academy to uplevel your internal team– because branding isn’t a one-off

For global orgs (or any team ready to stop winging it), Universum helps you move from vague messaging to a clearly defined, research-backed brand that earns trust and talent.

2. Blue Ivy Group

Best for: Aligning internal culture with brand strategy  

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Source: Blue Ivy

If you’ve ever sat in a meeting where “employer brand” turned into a mood board and a few stock photos, Blu Ivy will feel like a breath of fresh air.

They don’t just slap lipstick on your culture, they dig into what’s working, what’s not, and how your people experience your company. Then they help you build a brand from the inside out.

Why teams like working with them:

• They talk to your employees, not just your execs
  
  
• They understand both culture and recruiting
  
  
• They build strategies you can scale, not just one-off campaigns

It’s part research, part storytelling, part therapy for your workplace. But it works. Especially if you’re done chasing surface-level brand wins and want something that sticks with your team and with talent.

Read More: Building a Brand-Centric Talent Strategy

3. Exaqueo

Best for: Building internal buy-in through authentic employer branding

Source: Exaqueo

Exaqueo digs into what your employment experience is and helps you build a brand around that truth.

Their strength? 

End-to-end employer brand consulting rooted in real research. They talk to your people, pull insights that go deeper than engagement surveys, and shape strategy, messaging, and creative that’s as aligned internally as it is compelling externally.

They’ve worked across global markets, know how to balance consistency with local nuance, and specialize in employer brand strategies that attract, retain, and engage talent long after day one.

If you’re looking for a partner that values honesty over hype and long-term clarity over campaign quick wins, Exaqueo’s built for you.

4. Hudson RPO

Best for: Rapid hiring with brand support

Source: Hudson RPO

They specialize in building practical, results-driven employer brands, especially for companies that are hiring at scale or evolving fast.

They’ll help you define your EVP (Employee Value Proposition) and bring it to life through career sites, social content, microsites, and video, all tailored to where your candidates are and what they care about.

What makes them stand out? 

Their work is grounded in execution. From building a full EVP from scratch in under 90 days to filling 300+ contact center roles with a campaign microsite, Hudson RPO knows how to turn employer brand strategy into real recruiting momentum.

If you need your EVP to sound good and attract top talent, reduce time to hire, and support retention, Hudson’s team brings both the creative and operational muscle to make it happen.

Perfect fit for companies that want to move fast, align HR and marketing, and stop letting their employer brand collect dust in a slide deck.

5. Cielo Talent

Best for: High-volume hiring with consistent global branding

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Source: Cielo Talent

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Cielo’s sweet spot is blending talent marketing with creative storytelling, data-backed targeting, and a ton of global experience. 

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Whether you need to define your EVP, launch recruiting campaigns, revamp your career site, or build out employee content that feels real, they bring the strategy and the execution.

From award-winning TikTok campaigns to full-scale career site overhauls (like Campari’s 500% traffic spike), their work delivers results you can put on a dashboard. 

What sets them apart is how integrated their offering is. Strategy, creative, media, CRM, social, internal comms…it’s all under one roof. And they don’t just talk culture. They help you design it, communicate it, and turn it into something candidates and employees want to be part of.

Cielo’s especially valuable for companies that need consistency at scale, but don’t want to lose local nuance or personality in the process.

Choosing the Right Agency: A Quick Side-by-Side

Agency

Best For

Strengths

Not Ideal For

Universum

Data-first EVP definition

Global benchmarking, research depth

If you want just execution

Blu Ivy

Culture + brand alignment

Internal comms + deep storytelling

Quick creative-only campaigns

Exaqueo

Internal brand buy-in

Truth-first approach, strategic rigor

Global activation at scale

Hudson RPO

Fast-scaling TA orgs

Execution-focused, microsite rollouts

Strategic EB overhaul + workshops

Cielo

Global, high-volume hiring

Full-stack EB + campaign delivery

Localized EVP-only work

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A good EVP can make your team feel proud. A great one can change the trajectory of your hiring

If you’re serious about making that message stick, you need a partner who’s more than just a vendor.

The agencies on this list have helped brands attract talent in hard markets, launch global EVPs, rebuild trust with employees, and turn recruiting into a brand advantage.

So whether you're scaling fast, repositioning in a new market, or finally giving your employer brand the attention it deserves, these are the folks worth talking to.

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