This is a Beauty innovation from The 70 Best Trend-Driven Innovations of 2019.

In March the Brazilian cosmetics company Boticário Group announced that it would adopt special working hours during this year’s Women’s Soccer World Cup, in order to enable staff to watch the matches of the national team. In Brazil, it’s common for the nation to come a near-standstill when the men’s national soccer team plays, and employers often allow staff time off to watch the games live. Boticário Group took to social media to announce that this year they will allow staff time to watch the women’s national team play live during the upcoming World Cup, which will take place this summer. The campaign was called ‘Com Você Eu Jogo Melhor’ – ‘With You I Play Better’ – and it also encouraged all Brazilians to value women’s football and support the women’s national team.

Love or loathe the Beautiful Game, there are some powerful lessons here.

Internal culture is brand. This move from Boticário Group is the right thing to do, and no doubt a welcome perk for staff. But its impact reaches far beyond the four walls of the business – it will change the way customers feel about Boticário Group, too. Yep, we’re talking GLASS BOX BRANDS. The theory in a nutshell? In a transparent world, consumers can see the internal culture of any business as never before. That means internal culture becomes a part of the way consumers feel about that business; it becomes part of the brand. The question for you: how can you make a meaningful change to your internal culture in 2019, and then turn that change into a compelling story to share with the world?

No hiding place. The idea that your internal culture is now a part of your public-facing brand can seem scary. But consumers don’t expect your culture to be perfect; they just want to see signs that you’re moving in the right direction. The key here: avoid changes to internal culture that are insincere, inauthentic, or seek to hide broader failings – they will be found out and rightly draw criticism. Long before they made this move Boticário Group were prioritising gender equality, including building a leadership team that is 50% female.

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