UK 
United States
When London-based video agency StudioYes found itself in need of a recruitment drive to their demand for talent, the team decided that to garner truly effective results it would do something it had never done before – implement its particular style of viral marketing in the process.
“We set out to achieve the world’s most viewed recruitment video. We wanted to attract creative people and show those people who we are as a creative agency, so the idea came very quickly when we made that our goal,” StudioYes Creative Director Duclie Cowling told Recruitment Grapevine.
The video, which lampoons Prime Minister Theresa May, depicts the OM walking into No.10 Downing St after getting past a barrage of press with their flashing cameras, before closing the door and expressing her frustration and stress away from prying eyes. The sketch with the message ‘Fed up with your job?’.
Fed up with your job. #TheresaMay #BritishPolitics pic.twitter.com/pfcdqXSLrZ
— AALOOO.me (@AALOOOme) January 26, 2019
The 31-second video was viewed over 25million views in just four days – most of which came exclusively from social media streams. One week from launch, StudioYes now put that number closer to 40million; it’s safe to presume that the company achieved it’s goal.
The campaign also proved that the agency – even when promoting a relatively niche recruitment drive – is capable of delivering powerful campaigns without the need for nearly any of the traditional marketing routes.
For all intents and purposes, the brand simply released the video and let the public do the leg work via social media – a choice that Creative Cowling says was a considered move away from the traditional routes for recruitment.
“We completed a recruitment drive a few months ago through the standard methods and whilst we did receive some promising candidates, we decided to do things differently by using our own resources in the process," commented Cowling.
"It’s been a massive success; we don’t believe we’d have had this kind of engagement even if we spent the money on a prime-time TV advert.”
What’s more, with an average recruitment drive cost of over £1,000 per employee, StudioYes managed to essentially circulate a highly successful jobs advert for multiple roles with a cost to the company of next to nothing.
“Because we have creative talent in-house, it made sense to use the talents we already have to make something that we believe is more effective. If you have those resources, why not use them?” Cowling continued.
Is attracting candidates getting harder?
In August 2018, it was revealed that response to UK recruitment advertisements had hit an all time low, with an average of just 3.22 applicants per role.
Whilst this news is music to the ears of prospective candidates, it represents a worrying prospect for recruiters, who are inevitably going to have to take the lead of StudioYes and think outside of the box to attract a comprehensive range of talent.
In addition to decreased candidate response, nearly a third (32%) of over 1,200 UK employees polled in a recent study believed that their skillset will be more desirable over the coming months – even against the current economic and political climate – demonstrating a key shift to a candidate-driven recruitment process.
So what’s the secret to attracting the right talent in abundance? According to Cowling, recruiters need to be more flexible on their approach: “I think it’s important that recruiters don’t just see themselves as recruiters. If an ad such as ours can achieve such success, then I think the lines between our agency and recruitment are blurred.
"If you know creative people, why not talk to them about making an attractive job ad? Being creative with your approach can garner great results.”
