About EBL and James Ellis

Employer branding and talent strategy that just makes sense.

About Employer Brand Labs

Employer Brand Labs is an employer branding consultancy that specializes in employer brand research, employer value proposition (EVP) development, and employer branding strategy for organizations seeking to improve talent attraction, engagement, and retention.

We focus on evidence-based employer branding, combining qualitative and quantitative research with strategic positioning frameworks to help organizations understand and communicate what it is like to work for them.

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We work with organizations across multiple industries to analyze how employers are perceived by current employees, candidates, and the broader labor market. This happens by focusing on your differentiated value to align internal employee experience with external employer brand messaging.

We are commonly called on by human resources, talent acquisition, and employer branding teams during periods of growth, transformation, or competitive hiring.

How EBL is Different

Business-Focused

"Classic" employer branding is considered a "nice-to-have" recruiting add-on because it isn't connected to business growth. By tapping what makes your company special, it helps you hire better and faster, but supports your corporate and consumer marketing.

Tech-Enabled

Most employer brands are built on a foundation of focus groups, but they rarely reveal anything interesting. Instead, we leverage technology to define your differentiated value quickly.

Outcome-driven

Who cares if you have a pretty career site and awards if no one understands how you're different and why they should choose you? You need your brand to do more than just look pretty.

Strategic to a fault

You might think you have a "talent strategy," but unless it leverages your differentiated value, it's just "what most people usually do."
That's not strategy.

Transformative

A proper strategy isn't putting lipstick on a pig. It is the elevation of what makes you interesting so you can become more of that thing on purpose.

Fast as hell

We measure "time to value" in days and weeks, not months and years.

James Ellis

James Ellis helps companies grow by rethinking how they attract and keep talent. As principal of Employer Brand Labs, he partners with mid-market teams to build “Choosable” employer brands that sharpen differentiation, improve hiring outcomes, and align leadership around talent as a growth engine. He’s worked with organizations like Webflow, Roku, BECU, Freese & Nichols, and ASICS to make recruiting more strategic and far more effective.

Based in Chicago, IL.

James Ellis

CEO / Owner / Chief Brander

Let's grow your company

The cheapest way to fix your pipeline is to stop sounding like everyone else.

Why should the talent your business depends on choose you?

If it takes you more than one sentence, that's the problem.

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