Axians Launched Employee Advocacy With a Compact Test Group

Why Axians Chose Apostle

Axians decided to experiment with Apostle on the recommendation of marketing lead Paul Brand, who had previously used the platform. Recognizing LinkedIn as an essential part of their marketing mix, the team had already invested in external LinkedIn training sessions. However, those efforts didn’t lead to the desired outcome—employees still weren’t actively sharing content. In hindsight, this made sense: not everyone creates content daily.

Instead, Axians opted for a simpler approach, a two-month experiment with a small group of employees. Low-threshold, manageable, and focused.

“LinkedIn is often seen as powerful, but it’s short-lived. Not everyone has the time or skills to create content from scratch. Apostle offers structure without making it complicated.”
– Paul Brand, Marketing Lead at Axians

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Quick Wins Through Simplicity

Ten employees participated in the experiment, actively sharing content through Apostle. No large campaign, just a straightforward setup where employees received ready-to-share post suggestions, with room to personalize. The results were immediate: shared posts averaged 23 likes per post, all fully organic and spread through personal networks.

What started with a small test group quickly led to visible brand awareness and internal enthusiasm. The combination of structured content suggestions and personal flexibility proved highly effective. Employees could get started instantly, without it feeling like an obligation.

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Big Impact Starts With Small Steps

The experiment initially focused on FoodSource, an Axians initiative in the fresh produce sector. When that project faced delays, the team easily pivoted to other topics, demonstrating Apostle’s flexibility: the platform adapts to your strategy, not the other way around.

Now that multiple divisions across Axians are involved, content is increasingly tailored to specific target audiences or areas of expertise. What was once purely a marketing initiative is becoming a company-wide effort.

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From Test to Rollout

The success of the experiment has inspired a clear ambition: expand Apostle to more business units. This scale-up is intentional, Apostle excels at combining centralized brand management with local relevance. Personalized hashtags, visual customization, and team- or region-specific posts ensure brand consistency while empowering employees to activate their own networks in an approachable way.

Axians proves that you don’t need a massive campaign or complex tooling to mobilize people. With the right approach and a user-friendly platform, great results follow.

“Even if you use just a small part of Apostle, it works. There’s no need to explain—it’s intuitive and people can start right away,” says Paul.

For Axians, the experiment was a low-barrier way to get colleagues excited about something they were initially hesitant to try. And it worked. We’re proud to now count Axians as a client, using our platform in a way that fits their goals and needs.

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Looking Ahead: From Pilot to Scalable Advocacy

After the pilot concluded, the Apostle team visited Axians to reflect on the results and align on next steps. During the session, we shared updated insights and discussed the ambitions moving forward: onboarding all colleagues from the current business unit, expanding the program to additional units, and gradually growing to 100–150 users with at least 40% active participation.

It was a valuable strategy session, and we’re excited to continue supporting Axians as they scale their employee advocacy efforts across the organization.

‍Want to try Apostle at your company? Start like Axians did with a simple two-month pilot. Learn more here!

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