Evonik and empower® – How consistent brand management becomes scalable

How empower^® helped a world-leading chemical company manage its brand more consistently, streamline processes, and advance its communications strategy.

The starting point: A brand in transition – and a new self-understanding

In 2007, Evonik turned a new page: a new name, a new identity, a new presence. A traditional corporate group became an internationally active umbrella brand with today’s goal of driving the green transformation of industry.

“The Evonik brand started out as a child and has grown up,” says Denis Seger, Head of Brand & Campaign at Evonik. “Back then, we had to control a lot. Today, our brand management is largely based on trust. empower^® has contributed to that shift.”

The path was demanding. With various subsidiaries, inconsistent templates, and decentralized responsibilities, ensuring brand consistency and a professional external presence across a global company with over 100 entities and 32,000 employees was a significant challenge.

In the early years, brand consistency was the priority. Over time, the focus shifted to how everyday communication processes could be made more efficient, faster, and more automated – without compromising corporate design (CD).

The bottleneck: PowerPoint as a systemic constraint

PowerPoint – an essential tool for company-wide communication – became one of the biggest hurdles:
Entire internal teams and external agencies were involved in creating CD-compliant and professional presentations for key events such as board meetings or press conferences. It was a heavy workload for such a routine tool.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned during the brand redesign, it’s this: don’t trip over PowerPoint. This isn’t just about a few communicators. PowerPoint is one of the most widely used platforms in our corporate communication. We have over 32,000 employees with very different needs. It only works with a system-based approach – and that’s where empower^® came in,” says the communications expert.

The solution: A system that works for everyone - globally, consistently, and efficiently

What started in 2012 with 2,000 PowerPoint licenses evolved into a strategic platform for all Microsoft Office communication. Today, Evonik uses the complete empower^® Suite – PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Outlook signature management – under a corporate license for all employees worldwide.

“empower^® is now a standard product on all our devices,” says Ralf Korbach, Product Manager for Application Virtualization & Global Digital Services at Evonik.

Template management has been centralized, brand leadership standardized globally, and access to current content fully integrated: “Template changes? That used to be a manual effort. Now our IT team handles it centrally – with one click, for all entities worldwide,” says the IT expert. “Employees no longer need to search or ask. They find their templates directly in the application. Changes to the corporate structure or executive board? No problem. The new slide is available with a click.”

Another key success factor: flexibility. With empower^®, users can switch between different user and company profiles. For instance, when communicating on behalf of a different Evonik entity. A feature that covers many everyday scenarios – without IT support or manual workarounds.

The implementation: Change that connects

The rollout took place in coordinated waves – driven by close collaboration between Communications and IT.
Workshops, intranet campaigns, information articles, learning sessions, and Teams communication: empower^® became visible, understandable, and an integral part of everyday work.

“empower^® used to be mainly a communications topic – today, it’s a strategic digitalization project. The reason this transformation worked so well is the smooth, cross-departmental collaboration,” says Denis Seger. “I’ve never implemented a project so smoothly with our IT.”

The outcome: Efficiency. Consistency. Peace of Mind.

Over roughly twelve months, Evonik achieved a 644% ROI.

The results speak for themselves:

• Time savings through automation: Presentations can be converted to new formats in just a few clicks – for example, from 16:9 to 16:10 in five minutes. What used to be tedious, like migrating old slides to a new master, now works at the click of a button.

• 96% improvement in brand consistency: Unified templates and CD-compliant communication – over 100 entities use the same central source. Specifically, 96% of users regularly use empower^®’s branding features, actively contributing to brand-compliant business documents.

• Less dependence on agencies: What was once outsourced is now mostly handled internally and in a standardized way, bringing clear advantages in both cost and quality.

• Fewer conflicts, more productivity: PowerPoint design debates are a thing of the past. Even non-design-savvy users can now create high-quality, brand-compliant slides – without stress.

• Better collaboration: Processes are clear, roles are defined, responsibilities are aligned – strengthening the organization.

“empower^® is a vital team member - it gives us the space to focus on the work that truly matters,” concludes Denis Seger.

Looking ahead: empower^® + AI = The future

Evonik is looking forward and believes empower^® will remain a valuable partner in the coming years. The next chapter is about AI (artificial intelligence). The empower^® AI Assistant is currently in pilot testing, and expectations are high.

“Many AI tools promise to generate brand-compliant slides automatically. But thanks to empower^® and our well-thought-out master, our level of professionalism is so high that these tools would actually set us back,” says Seger. “That’s why we’re eager to see how empower^® integrates AI capabilities.”

Conclusion: When software becomes a strategic foundation

Evonik and empower^® demonstrate how targeted technology can strengthen brands, simplify processes, and make daily work more effective. This partnership shows that digital transformation reveals its full value when it creates clear structures, reduces manual tasks, and fosters collaboration across departments.

Evonik’s journey proves that a global industrial company, with the right tools, a clear vision, and strong collaboration, can communicate more consistently, agilely, and effectively. Every single day.