How Many Years Does It Take for Internal Branding to Take Root? A Survey of 300 Employees Reveals a "5-Year Hurdle" and Unexpected Key Personnel for Success

Daishinsha Communication Design Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Toshiki Isshiki) has released the results of its "2026 Survey on the State of Internal Branding," conducted among 300 individuals involved in promotion and execution. The survey found that approximately 70% of companies (72.4%) remain in the "awareness, understanding, and empathy" stages of penetration, with less than 30% of companies having progressed to behavioral change and habituation among employees. Furthermore, a gap in perceived penetration levels was observed between promotion managers and executing employees, with a notable 9.4-point difference in "habituation." This survey highlights the importance of not only information dissemination measures but also the creation of systems that link internal branding to daily work and encourage action to achieve results.

Background of the Survey

Companies engaged in internal branding often face the challenge of "communicating philosophy and management policies without changing employee behavior."

Many companies implement various initiatives, such as holding kickoff events, distributing internal newsletters, and delivering messages from top management. However, objective data indicating "how much effort is needed to lead to behavioral change" or "which initiatives lead to lasting adoption" has been insufficient until now.

Therefore, Daishinsha Communication Design Co., Ltd. conducted a survey on the state of internal branding among 300 company employees who work for companies that have newly established their philosophy or management policies within the last five years.

This survey analyzes the relationship between the penetration status of internal branding and the number of years of effort, as well as initiatives with high perceived effectiveness, to clarify the factors leading to successful philosophy penetration.

Survey Overview

Daishinsha Communication Design Co., Ltd. conducted a survey on the state of internal branding among 300 company employees who work for companies that have newly established their philosophy or management policies within the last five years.

Two Key Points Revealed by the Survey

This survey yielded two major insights regarding internal branding in companies.

The first is that it takes about 2 to 3 years for employee behavioral change to become apparent, and more than 5 years of continuous effort is important for it to become a habit.

The second is that philosophy penetration is influenced not only by top management but also by "managers and direct supervisors" who play a role in translating the philosophy to the front lines.

72.4% of Companies Stop at "Awareness to Empathy"

The first reality revealed is that many companies remain in the early stages of philosophy penetration.

In this survey, respondents were asked to rate the penetration status of their company's internal branding on a five-stage scale:

Awareness

Understanding

Empathy

Action

Habit

The results were as follows:

Awareness to Empathy Phase: 72.4% | Action and Habituation Phase: 27.6%

In other words, while many companies have reached the stage of "knowing," "understanding," and "empathizing" with their philosophy and management policies, only about 30% have progressed to the stage where it becomes ingrained in daily decision-making and actions.

Behavioral Change Becomes Apparent Around the 2nd to 3rd Year

So, how long does it take for philosophy to translate into employee behavior?

Analysis by the number of years of effort revealed a clear trend.

Within the first year of starting initiatives, the focus is primarily on "awareness" and "understanding."

On the other hand, it was found that the number of companies entering the "action phase" begins to increase in the second to third year.

This suggests that employee behavior does not change in a short period simply by disseminating the philosophy; rather, behavioral change is gradually encouraged through continuous efforts.

Adoption Increases After 5 Years

Further noteworthy results were found for companies that have continued for over five years.

In this group,

Action Phase: 28.9%

Habituation Phase: 26.7%

The total for the action and habituation phases reached 55.6%.

This means that in companies that have continued for over five years, more than half have successfully integrated their philosophy and management policies into their daily decision-making and actions.

This survey indicates the importance of promoting internal branding not as a short-term measure for immediate results, but as a medium- to long-term initiative for cultivating organizational culture.

Reasons Why Philosophy Doesn't Translate into "Action"

Why is it that many companies cannot progress to the action phase? The background reveals characteristics in the objectives of the activities themselves.

The most common objective was "promoting awareness and understanding of policies and strategies" (24%).

In contrast, "promoting employee behavioral change" accounted for only 8%.

This implies that while many companies aim to "make people aware" and "help them understand," they may not have designed their activities to reach the stage of "changing actual behavior."

This result aligns with the reality that 72.4% of companies remain at the "awareness to empathy" stage.

Both "Top Management" and "Direct Supervisors" Support Philosophy Penetration

The survey also investigated "who is the most effective source of communication" for philosophy penetration.

The most frequent response from employees was:

Top Management (45.0%)

Top management's communication of philosophy and direction plays a significant role in delivering messages to the entire organization.

On the other hand, "managers and direct supervisors" also received high ratings in the survey.

To achieve philosophy penetration, it is crucial for top management to explain "why it is necessary," and for "managers and direct supervisors to translate what needs to change at the front lines" into concrete job actions.

It is believed that taking on the role of connecting the philosophy not just through communication but also to daily work and decision-making criteria is a key point for behavioral change.

Additionally, initiatives with high perceived effectiveness included:

Regular presentations at company-wide meetings

Alignment with personnel systems

Dialogue with management

This shows the importance of creating systems that connect to daily work not only through information dissemination but also through systems and management.

Successful Companies "Design Actions," Not Just "Communicate"

What has become clear from this survey is that the challenge of internal branding is shifting from "philosophy not being communicated" to "philosophy not leading to action."

Disseminating the philosophy.

Ensuring understanding.

Gaining empathy.

Many companies have achieved these steps.

What differentiates performance beyond this point is:

Clarifying how employees should act.

Managers translating the philosophy to the front lines.

Implementing it into daily work through systems and structures.

Philosophy alone does not become organizational culture; it only takes root as corporate culture when it is translated into action and linked to daily work, as suggested by this survey.

Comments on Survey Results

Daiki Kaneko, Brand Consultant at Daishinsha Communication Design Co., Ltd. and author of "Introduction to Branding" (Kanki Publishing), commented on the survey results as follows:

"This survey revealed the difficulty many companies face in establishing "action" and "habituation" beyond achieving "awareness," "understanding," and "empathy" of their philosophy. We also observed a trend where behavioral change takes 2 to 3 years and habituation takes over 5 years, indicating that internal branding is not a short-term initiative for immediate results but an activity to cultivate organizational culture over the medium to long term. I believe it is crucial to create systems that enable managers to implement the philosophy into daily work and connect it to the actions of each employee, rather than just communicating it."

Future Initiatives

Based on these survey results, Daishinsha Communication Design Co., Ltd. will strengthen its internal branding support services to connect philosophy and purpose to the actions of each employee.

We also offer support for companies wishing to understand their philosophy penetration status and current organizational standing, including penetration phase diagnostics, issue clarification, and initiative design.

Detailed Survey Report Available for Free Download

The content introduced here is only a portion of the survey results.

The survey report, available for free download, provides a detailed explanation of the following in 17 pages with charts and graphs:

Why 72.4% of Companies Stop at "Awareness to Empathy"

Perception Gap Between Promotion Managers and Employees

Characteristics of Companies Successful in Behavioral Change

Ranking of Initiatives with High Perceived Effectiveness

Challenges Companies Face in KPIs and Effectiveness Measurement

Three Points to Advance Internal Branding

This content is designed for executives, HR, PR, and corporate planning department members promoting philosophy penetration and organizational culture development.

If you wish to objectively review your company's initiatives, please download the free report.

【Free】Download the Survey Report

https://www.daishinsha-cd.jp/whitepaper/13321/