We founded WorkingTheory on a single conviction: Connection is the ultimate competitive advantage. It's also seriously hard to achieve.
For over 20 years, we've been fighting this battle from different trenches. We've led creative and strategy for brands like Nike, Disney, Lockheed Martin, the ASPCA, American Red Cross, and Encompass Health. We've also led employer brand and purpose internally at iconic organizations like JPMorganChase and TD Bank.
We've seen brilliant strategies—ours and others'—die on the vine because the industry is built on a wall. On one side are agencies chasing brand love, award-winning commercials, and social applause. On the other side are the leaders who own the "how"—the internal experience, the stakeholder buy-in, the P&L justification, and the mountains of hurdles involved in doing anything innovative.
The gap between vision and execution is where value gets lost. Agencies deliver concepts that can't be built. Leaders dilute their ideas just to get them through the system.
That's the problem we solve—combining strategic rigor with operational empathy. The kind of firm we wished we could hire when we were in your seat.
Context is everything. Employees, candidates, and consumers make decisions differently based on where they sit and what they need. Generic promises don't work. Understanding why something is valued does.
We offer an honest partnership: senior-led, grounded in reality, built to bridge what you promise and what you deliver. You don't have to choose between bold ideas and what's actually possible.
If there's a challenge with no clear solution, we do what we've always done: get in deep and figure it out.
Our Awards
How we think
How we think
Brand Roles Don't Live on Different Planets
Most companies treat their corporate brand and their employer brand like strangers at a dinner party. Marketing speaks one language. HR speaks another. Everyone chases different goals while wondering why nothing sticks. But brand isn't a logo—it's the sum of what you do and what people believe about you. When these roles don't talk to each other, value stays hidden. We reconnect the pieces.
Brand Roles Don't Live on Different Planets
Most companies treat their corporate brand and their employer brand like strangers at a dinner party. Marketing speaks one language. HR speaks another. Everyone chases different goals while wondering why nothing sticks. But brand isn't a logo—it's the sum of what you do and what people believe about you. When these roles don't talk to each other, value stays hidden. We reconnect the pieces.
Brand Roles Don't Live on Different Planets
Most companies treat their corporate brand and their employer brand like strangers at a dinner party. Marketing speaks one language. HR speaks another. Everyone chases different goals while wondering why nothing sticks. But brand isn't a logo—it's the sum of what you do and what people believe about you. When these roles don't talk to each other, value stays hidden. We reconnect the pieces.
The Old Map Doesn't Work Anymore
The era of working in separate silos is over. Marketing and HR moving in opposite directions while AI rewrites the rules of work isn't strategy—it's friction. You can't navigate disruption with a fragmented map. Leaders need everyone moving together. They need to pivot without the whole thing falling apart. Today's world demands that marketing, comms, and culture actually support each other. Anything else is an expensive headache.
The Old Map Doesn't Work Anymore
The era of working in separate silos is over. Marketing and HR moving in opposite directions while AI rewrites the rules of work isn't strategy—it's friction. You can't navigate disruption with a fragmented map. Leaders need everyone moving together. They need to pivot without the whole thing falling apart. Today's world demands that marketing, comms, and culture actually support each other. Anything else is an expensive headache.
The Old Map Doesn't Work Anymore
The era of working in separate silos is over. Marketing and HR moving in opposite directions while AI rewrites the rules of work isn't strategy—it's friction. You can't navigate disruption with a fragmented map. Leaders need everyone moving together. They need to pivot without the whole thing falling apart. Today's world demands that marketing, comms, and culture actually support each other. Anything else is an expensive headache.
Value Strategy: The Connective Link
Value isn't fixed. It's a mix of someone's career, their family, their beliefs, and their mindset in the moment. To take this all in, we use Decision-Dynamics—a framework that bridges Functional Value (what you deliver) and Identity Value (how you fit into their story). Data is a guide, not the whole picture. We look at how people feel about their identity and how trust is built—or accidentally broken. Your brand isn't the hero of their story—it's the staircase to help them become who they want to be. When your internal truth matches your external promise, people believe you. And belief is powerful currency.
Value Strategy: The Connective Link
Value isn't fixed. It's a mix of someone's career, their family, their beliefs, and their mindset in the moment. To take this all in, we use Decision-Dynamics—a framework that bridges Functional Value (what you deliver) and Identity Value (how you fit into their story). Data is a guide, not the whole picture. We look at how people feel about their identity and how trust is built—or accidentally broken. Your brand isn't the hero of their story—it's the staircase to help them become who they want to be. When your internal truth matches your external promise, people believe you. And belief is powerful currency.
Value Strategy: The Connective Link
Value isn't fixed. It's a mix of someone's career, their family, their beliefs, and their mindset in the moment. To take this all in, we use Decision-Dynamics—a framework that bridges Functional Value (what you deliver) and Identity Value (how you fit into their story). Data is a guide, not the whole picture. We look at how people feel about their identity and how trust is built—or accidentally broken. Your brand isn't the hero of their story—it's the staircase to help them become who they want to be. When your internal truth matches your external promise, people believe you. And belief is powerful currency.
Brand without people is a logo. People without brand is disconnection.
Your employees are the most vital part of your brand. When they believe the mission, they do your marketing for you. This changes everything—from Glassdoor reviews to customer loyalty. We help you turn internal alignment into external growth. When the inside and outside of your brand move in harmony, you stop wasting energy on damage control. That's where real impact lives.
Brand without people is a logo. People without brand is disconnection.
Your employees are the most vital part of your brand. When they believe the mission, they do your marketing for you. This changes everything—from Glassdoor reviews to customer loyalty. We help you turn internal alignment into external growth. When the inside and outside of your brand move in harmony, you stop wasting energy on damage control. That's where real impact lives.
Brand without people is a logo. People without brand is disconnection.
Your employees are the most vital part of your brand. When they believe the mission, they do your marketing for you. This changes everything—from Glassdoor reviews to customer loyalty. We help you turn internal alignment into external growth. When the inside and outside of your brand move in harmony, you stop wasting energy on damage control. That's where real impact lives.
Context Is Everything
Every choice—to buy a product or take a job—is shaped by what's happening in someone's life right now. We use context modeling to understand the "why" behind the "what." We create scenarios that show how people find meaning at the moments that matter most. This lets you meet people where they are, instead of shouting at them from where you wish they were. It's a much shorter path to "yes."
Context Is Everything
Every choice—to buy a product or take a job—is shaped by what's happening in someone's life right now. We use context modeling to understand the "why" behind the "what." We create scenarios that show how people find meaning at the moments that matter most. This lets you meet people where they are, instead of shouting at them from where you wish they were. It's a much shorter path to "yes."
Context Is Everything
Every choice—to buy a product or take a job—is shaped by what's happening in someone's life right now. We use context modeling to understand the "why" behind the "what." We create scenarios that show how people find meaning at the moments that matter most. This lets you meet people where they are, instead of shouting at them from where you wish they were. It's a much shorter path to "yes."
From Data to Story
Research is just a pile of paper if it doesn't move anyone. We turn complex insights into film, animation, and design that people actually remember. We make abstract ideas feel real and conversations feel natural. Strategy becomes a story worth sharing.
From Data to Story
Research is just a pile of paper if it doesn't move anyone. We turn complex insights into film, animation, and design that people actually remember. We make abstract ideas feel real and conversations feel natural. Strategy becomes a story worth sharing.
From Data to Story
Research is just a pile of paper if it doesn't move anyone. We turn complex insights into film, animation, and design that people actually remember. We make abstract ideas feel real and conversations feel natural. Strategy becomes a story worth sharing.
The Process
We move from discovery to results in four stages: Insight & Value Strategy—finding out what actually matters. Brand Trust Design—aligning goals and emotions. Employee Experience & Advocacy—turning staff into believers. Growth Metrics & Activation—proving it works. Transformation done right only needs to happen once.
The Process
We move from discovery to results in four stages: Insight & Value Strategy—finding out what actually matters. Brand Trust Design—aligning goals and emotions. Employee Experience & Advocacy—turning staff into believers. Growth Metrics & Activation—proving it works. Transformation done right only needs to happen once.
The Process
We move from discovery to results in four stages: Insight & Value Strategy—finding out what actually matters. Brand Trust Design—aligning goals and emotions. Employee Experience & Advocacy—turning staff into believers. Growth Metrics & Activation—proving it works. Transformation done right only needs to happen once.
The Result
When brand and culture act like the same system, the benefits snowball. Hiring gets easier. People stay longer. Your culture becomes a magnet for the exact talent and customers you want. This isn't just a marketing, TA, or HR line-item. It's a capital investment in your company's future. And that's a win for the whole company.
The Result
When brand and culture act like the same system, the benefits snowball. Hiring gets easier. People stay longer. Your culture becomes a magnet for the exact talent and customers you want. This isn't just a marketing, TA, or HR line-item. It's a capital investment in your company's future. And that's a win for the whole company.
The Result
When brand and culture act like the same system, the benefits snowball. Hiring gets easier. People stay longer. Your culture becomes a magnet for the exact talent and customers you want. This isn't just a marketing, TA, or HR line-item. It's a capital investment in your company's future. And that's a win for the whole company.
Our Clients
Founding Partners
Matthew Gilbert
Matthew has spent nearly two decades building employer brands that actually work. As Chief Creative Officer at Bayard, he launched and scaled one of the talent industry's most sophisticated employer brand practices before its acquisition by Appcast in 2023. He and his teams have created over 350 employer brand programs for clients like Nike, Disney, Lockheed Martin, Encompass Health, PayPal, Pfizer, and many more.
Earlier in his career, he worked in management consulting and helped develop the RFID technology behind EZ-Pass. He holds a BS in Economics from NYU Stern and an MFA in Design from SVA, where he was part of the inaugural class. He's also taught at Parsons and lectured at SVA and SUNY, co-authored a children's book, and created a Civil Rights exhibit prominently displayed at Columbia University, Queens Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Schomburg Center.
He lives in Hoboken with his wife Jen and son Jason. Weekends are for motorcycles, half-finished novels, and pickup soccer games that matter way too much.
Devin DaRif
Devin has spent 15 years connecting corporate and employer brands to drive real business results. Most recently, he was Executive Director and Head of Employer Brand & Internal Purpose Activation at JPMorganChase, where he helped lead the firm-wide rebrand and integration strategy, propelling the company to a #1 Ideal Employer ranking for US business students—ahead of Google, Apple, and the usual suspects—while also topping LinkedIn's Top Companies and eFinancialCareers rankings. Before that, he was VP of Employee Experience & Employer Brand at TD Bank and built the talent brand marketing function at Two Sigma Investments.
He started his career at Universum Communications, leading employer brand consulting engagements across more than 15 countries for Fortune 500 clients. He holds a BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University.
Based in New York, Devin can also be found working out of coffeeshops in Lisbon, training in Northern Thailand, or exploring abandoned ruins in distant lands.
Founding Partners
Matthew Gilbert
Matthew has spent nearly two decades building employer brands that actually work. As Chief Creative Officer at Bayard, he launched and scaled one of the talent industry's most sophisticated employer brand practices before its acquisition by Appcast in 2023. He and his teams have created over 350 employer brand programs for clients like Nike, Disney, Lockheed Martin, Encompass Health, PayPal, Pfizer, and many more.
Earlier in his career, he worked in management consulting and helped develop the RFID technology behind EZ-Pass. He holds a BS in Economics from NYU Stern and an MFA in Design from SVA, where he was part of the inaugural class. He's also taught at Parsons and lectured at SVA and SUNY, co-authored a children's book, and created a Civil Rights exhibit prominently displayed at Columbia University, Queens Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Schomburg Center.
He lives in Hoboken with his wife Jen and son Jason. Weekends are for motorcycles, half-finished novels, and pickup soccer games that matter way too much.
Devin DaRif
Devin has spent 15 years connecting corporate and employer brands to drive real business results. Most recently, he was Executive Director and Head of Employer Brand & Internal Purpose Activation at JPMorganChase, where he helped lead the firm-wide rebrand and integration strategy, propelling the company to a #1 Ideal Employer ranking for US business students—ahead of Google, Apple, and the usual suspects—while also topping LinkedIn's Top Companies and eFinancialCareers rankings. Before that, he was VP of Employee Experience & Employer Brand at TD Bank and built the talent brand marketing function at Two Sigma Investments.
He started his career at Universum Communications, leading employer brand consulting engagements across more than 15 countries for Fortune 500 clients. He holds a BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University.
Based in New York, Devin can also be found working out of coffeeshops in Lisbon, training in Northern Thailand, or exploring abandoned ruins in distant lands.