
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
Our ability to influence colleagues, leaders, and future employees is a top priority in a time where “likes” leveraging and hashtag harnessing are crucial communications currencies. But today’s world is filled with much more than hashtags – 2020 saw rapid changes due to COVID-19.
Internal communicators had to become master adapters, able to pivot their skillsets in response to seemingly endless challenges and shifts in priority. Even though, in many ways, 2020 was the worst of times, our profession managed to become a shining light in the darkness as we delivered clarity by a trusted source, and fostered hope and togetherness.
In this executive brief, which is based on a Poppulo Bootcamp Presentation by Kevin McDougall, Director of Employee Experience at Gallagher and Tino Fritsch, Global Head of Communications at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, we explore four key trends in internal communication and employee engagement, as well as how you can rise to the challenges they bring.

Kevin McDougall
Director of Employee Experience, Gallagher

Tino Fritsch
Global Head of Communications, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions

Tim Vaughan
Editorial Director
Digital signage has been evolving from passive displays to intelligent, immersive experiences—but delivering those experiences requires the right foundation. Join Poppulo and BrightSign to explore how next-generation BrightSign players, paired with Poppulo’s digital signage platform, create a secure, AI-ready ecosystem built for what’s next. In this webinar, you will discover how to future-proof your digital signage strategy while elevating engagement across customer and employee environments. We’ll demonstrate how purpose-built hardware and centralized content orchestration work together to transform screens into interactive, measurable experience hubs—unlocking new value as AI capabilities continue to advance. What You’ll Take Away: The building blocks of an AI-ready digital signage ecosystem How to deliver more personalized and interactive experiences Strategies for aligning hardware and software to maximize impact Ways to drive stronger ROI from experiential digital signage
Employee use of the word “misalignment” to describe leadership increased 143% last year. Nine in 10 leaders say strategic alignment matters, but less than one in 10 employees feel it. That gap has held for seven years and it’s becoming a bigger, more urgent problem. In a time of constant change, eroding trust, and AI-accelerated everything, misalignment spreads faster, slowing decisions, duplicating effort, distorting priorities, and eroding the bottom line. This is the Misalignment Tax—a silent, compounding drain on productivity, performance, and ultimately profitability. Every organization pays it, unseen and unquantified. In this live webinar, Zora Artis and Wayne Aspland of Clear Leaders share what their latest global research reveals about why alignment fails, what it truly costs organizations, and what it takes to turn around. It is a strategic opening for Communication and HR to lead the fix—together. These functions are uniquely positioned to make it happen, but most aren’t doing so yet. This session is about changing that. What You’ll Gain: A Clear Understanding : Why the gap persists, and the two paradoxes that sustain it. The AI Multiplier : How AI amplifies clarity in aligned organizations—and chaos in misaligned ones. A Practical Framework : The leadership conversations required to close the gap, and how Comms + HR can shape them. Tangible Actions : Specific moves Communication and HR leaders can initiate immediately. The Research Behind the Session: Zora and Wayne’s research - their third global study - draws on interviews with more than 50 CEOs, Chiefs of Staff, and senior leaders across communication, HR, strategy, and operations - and points to three conversations that determine whether strategy actually moves, or simply sits on a shelf. It also explores the cross-functional enabling work that must happen before any of them can.
When Hollywood Casino Greektown—part of PENN Entertainment—set out to modernize its digital signage network, the goal wasn’t simply to add new screens. The team wanted flexibility and scalability without added cost or IT complexity. With more than 800 screens operating across properties in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, AV/IT lead Jason Oziem needed a way to grow the network quickly and affordably. The Amazon Signage Stick, paired with Poppulo, proved to be exactly that solution. Read our latest case study to learn how these casinos expanded their digital signage networks faster and more affordably by pairing Poppulo with the Amazon Signage Stick—without adding IT complexity.