Executive Grapevine, September 2005

Betty Thayer is Chief Executive of exec-appointments.com.

Do you think of online job ads as simply a way to get a job description out to potential candidates? If so, you are missing out on a variety of interesting and developing means for bringing your ad to ‘life’.

The beauty of online advertising is it provides an opportunity for an interactive experience, to take candidates to further information, and to create an impression about the company and its values.

Market Communications (www.marketcomms.com) used a comprehensive new media approach to help the NSPCC promote its cutting edge social work among children and young people.

Steve Garlick, Market’s Account Director, was co-opted onto the charity’s National Recruitment Group to develop the key myth-exploding messages. Press advertising alone was never going to overturn decades of misconception. Market developed a joined-up strategy in which every communications channel – exhibitions, websites, e-marketing and top-quality candidate management material – had its clearly defined part to play. And they set out to axe the NSPCC’s recruitment costs.

exec-appointments.com played a part in the communications strategy, advertising the role on the site, featuring the NSPCC logo on the site with a link to the ad, and promoting the NSPCC through email alerts to over 25,000 executives.

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But the new media approach did not stop at awareness and advertising. Market also developed a web-based response system to streamline a previously paper-based process.

Differentiating an ad is a challenge for most advertisers. exec-appointments.com won this year’s ONREC Award for the best online ad for a niche site, but what else are we doing to enhance the impact and reach of ads?

We are working with JobPositiveTM (www.jobpositive.com) to offer clients the ability to direct candidates not just to the client’s website, but to a tailored, informative microsite.

Microsites are ideal for complementing online and print media campaigns. They provide the space to display more detailed job information such as role responsibilities and skills, as well as in-depth information on what a career with the company has to offer.

Microsites are often funded from the savings made on press ads. And a company does not have to be recruiting an army of people to make a microsite worthwhile. Clients who have used microsites report excellent application rates among site visitors, and candidates are provided with a professional and compelling picture of the company as a desirable place to work.

The new media approach can provide any sized recruiter with a brand-based campaign that leverages on design strengths and the global reach of the internet.

Reprinted from Executive Grapevine, September 2005