Five creative recruitment campaigns

Are you getting a poor response to your job ads, or worse, no response at all?

There are many reasons why this could be happening.

For example:

  • Your job descriptions are confusing

  • The application process is torturous

  • You have unrealistic expectations

  • You’re posting your ads in the wrong places

Or, it might just be that your ads are bland and uninspiring.

Whatever the reason, it’s time to change tactics.

Applying a little blue sky thinking to your recruitment campaign could be just the thing you need to generate interest.

Here are five inspiring examples from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors to get your creative juices flowing.

1. IKEA – Career Instructions

In 2012, an Australian branch of the Swedish furniture chain was looking to hire a staff for its new store.

How did they go about it? They included a ‘career instructions’ leaflet in every IKEA purchase.

Inspired by their iconic assembly instruction booklets, the quirky ad included step-by-step instructions, along with illustrations.

The campaign was a stroke of genius as it targeted people who were already familiar with the brand.

It also saved them from forking out for advertising through traditional marketing channels.

The campaign attracted 4,285 job applications, resulting in 280 new hires.

We’d call that a DIY recruitment win.

2. The City of Los Angeles – Graphic Designer

You may have seen the ‘graphic design is my passion’ meme; a tongue-in-cheek mockery of poor design work.

Well, the City of Los Angeles took the concept a step further with its fun recruitment campaign for a graphic designer.

To promote the role the organisation created a graphic that looked like it was created by a toddler in Microsoft Paint and posted it on social media.

And it had the desired effect.

The ad attracted a ton of attention and witty comments from designers. And the city of L.A. was quick to respond with a series of witty comebacks.

The ad was retweeted 24,000 times and garnered 65,000 likes. And it highlighted the fun, laid-back culture of the organisation.

Creative recruitment at it’s best.

3. Crime Stoppers Queensland – Do You Recognise This Person?

Crime Stoppers Queensland is a volunteer-run organisation that aims to keep Australian communities safe.

In 2018, they needed to recruit volunteers but knew they’d need to go the extra mile to entice people to give up their free time.

To do it, they launched a quirky ‘do you recognise this person?’ campaign.

They created a poster, (a take on the identikit concept), but instead of showing a person of interest, each poster featured a collage of faces, along with the qualities they were looking for in volunteers, such as “creative ideas” and “community-minded”.

They supported the poster campaign with a television commercial, in which leaflets on a notice board come to life and discuss the benefits of becoming a volunteer.

The results of the campaign haven’t been made public, but the quirky campaign is bound to have attracted plenty of attention.

4. Ogilvy & Mather - The world's greatest salesperson

In an effort to attract top sales talent, Ogilvy, one of the world’s most prominent advertising agencies, launched a creative recruitment campaign to find ‘the world's greatest salesperson’.

Sounds simple enough, but what did the application involve?

Selling a brick. Yes, a brick. 

Contestants were asked to submit a YouTube video demonstrating how they would sell a common, household brick.

The prize? A three-month paid internship with Ogilvy and the chance to pitch at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Unsurprisingly, this quirky competition attracted hundreds of entries and sent social media into meltdown.

Here’s the winning entry.

5. FareShare – Let’s Get Together

This is another volunteer recruitment campaign, but it could work just as well for a paid role.

To recruit new volunteers, the anti-hunger and food waste charity launched a recruitment campaign titled ‘Let’s get together’ .

The charity designed a series of posters highlighting the relationship between people and food in a bold, impactful way.

One design featured a bald man next to a boiled egg with the caption “every egg needs a soldier”. Another depicted a woman with a pink headscarf next to a cupcake with pink icing, accompanied by the text, “apply now. It’s a piece of cake”.

The campaign, which reflected FareShare’s fun and inclusive ethos, resulted in 400 applications and a 900% increase in brand awareness. Impressive huh?

Creative campaigns can work wonders, but so can recruitment agencies. We can help you find your perfect fundraiser. Call us on 0203 750 3111 to find out how.

 
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