Branding is an age old concept.
Coca-Cola’s first ad ran in 1895 stating, “Drink Coke”, Eastman Kodak’s first ad appeared in 1893 and Ford’s first branding campaign was introduced in 1907 with, “Watch the Ford’s go by.”
Our society is used to being sold. And over 100 years later, companies started branding themselves to job seekers.
Especially this day in age, if there is no sales statement, you can bet your product won’t be bought. Whether it is sold by word of mouth advertising or more traditional methods like TV, Radio or Internet, the need for a sales pitch is probably more important to the consumer than it is to the seller.
Any advertising professional will tell you that a good sales pitch is meant to convey what the product is, how it can help you and how it can change your life. When the economy takes a hold of our everyday life, advertising campaigns usually reflect the current situation. For example, car commercials have been rolling around the market stating that their machines are better on gas, especially during this time of economic hardship and high gas prices. Good for them. They took advantage of the situation.
Why don’t companies looking for talent do this? I know it took organizations about 100 years or so to catch on to the basic Marketing model of branding and then advertising their company as an employer of choice, but why stop there?
As of May, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest unemployment rate of 5.5, I for sure thought I’d start seeing more advertising from employers on how they can help people during an economic downturn. It only makes sense. Sure, companies can tell job seekers all day long about their benefits and work life balance, but what candidates really want to know is, “How can working for you make my life better? How can you help me to like my life, at work and at home?” Times are tough. They need encouragement and are seeking it from the place they may spend most of their days.
While Johnson & Johnson didn’t set out to recruit people during an economic downturn, they did something similar with their Discover Nursing Campaign. It includes a TV commercial recruiting people into the Nursing and Nurse Educator professions as well as a website with information and resources. It’s a brilliant campaign and it’s the only one I’ve seen like it. While they aren’t necessarily recruiting people for their own company, they are making a social statement. Good for them.
It is absolutely a mystery to me why organizations don’t have campaigns targeting those who have been downsized. It’s no secret that in a one year period {May 2007-May 2008} 1.6 million more people were out of work. So if I’m ABC Company and still recruiting frequently for many positions across the country, you can bet that I would have some sort of campaign out there that is providing empathy to those affected by mass downsizing and high gas prices. You can bet that my ad campaign would then go on to say that we understand and that’s why we want you on our team. (Or something to that effect, it’s 7pm on a Friday, forgive me for the lack of creativity).
The point is that companies should not wait another 100 years to catch on to main stream marketing trends. The time is now. People expect it. Everyone is a consumer whether they are spending money to gain something or giving their time.
Regardless of whether it’s hard economic timing or a shortage of professionals, it’s time for organizations to start allocating more to their recruiting budget and targeting people who expect to be sold.
