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Audience buying not media buying

Back in the days before the News of the World started reporting on the contents of people’s voicemail messages, media buying was all about compromise. Research for the media – press, radio or TV – allowed you to calculate the most cost-effective way to target your audience. I literally knew how many 35-44 year old male whiskey drinkers were reading a particular paper or watching a certain channel/programme. You ran your campaign knowing that the majority of people who viewed your ads were NOT the people you were trying to reach but your campaign gave the best chance for your targets to see the ads.

The ability to target advertising to specific audiences through digital media has changed the way we buy advertising. Much of the budget dedicated to digital or online advertising is based on success – pay per click rather than pay per view – however there is an equally large slice of the budget being spent on advertising only to a specific audience regardless of the website they are viewing. The ads being shown on the website vary depending on the profile of the person viewing that site. In terms of traditional media every reader of every newspaper would have an editorially identical newspaper filled with advertising unique to their own interests and profile.

We have all experienced the feeling that “big brother” is watching our every move online. Do a little research into the price of a flight to Spain and you will find that a number of the websites you subsequently visit are serving ads for car hire companies and hotels based on your flight search – it’s called Retargeting. The original site has dropped a piece of code (cookie) onto your PC/laptop etc and the advertising server associated with the later sites is reading it and serving related content.

In a recruitment situation it goes something like this. A person goes on to a page of content in Monster or Irishjobs that is displaying a list of ‘nursing jobs’. They leave this page in favour of having a look at a new book review on Amazon.

They are cookie’d, and are served the following messages as ads in Amazon:-

1. ‘Better pay, benefits & flexible working at XXXX – Click here’

2. ‘XXXX Nursing Open day – This Thursday in Cork – Register Now’

3. ‘XXXX Nursing Open Day – Last few places remaining – Don’t miss out’

If done well, (i.e. with good timing, geographically relevant, strong messaging) retargeting can force people to make an action.

Where will it end? We can already watch TV via a broadband connection on a computer. The latest TVs simply need a WiFi adapter to allow access to web and the download of video content. The On-Demand services from several broadcasters include specific online advertising slots. There is no jump in the imagination required to see basic tracking of your viewing via a cable or broadband signal leading to the serving of more targeted advertising.

Your organisation is probably already using this technology. Whether it is selling a product to a more targeted audience or promoting a health message to a particular group or community, marketers are taking full advantage of these tagging technologies. Recruitment is simply another “product” that is making use of this technology.

Ignore the next 8 weeks at your peril ... The Staycation is here to stay

All of a sudden my drive into work is taking me half the time it usually does, there are gangs of lads walking around Sandymount with cricket bags and there are rain clouds overhead. It must be the summer. With the primary schools finishing up on the 30th June the traditional summer silly season is upon us.

However, last year some 80% of Irish families reported that they would holiday at home. The economic climate has seen a much needed increase in the value offered across the Irish tourism industry and when all is said and done it is far easier and cheaper to load the car than to hit the airport (we generally don’t need to worry too much about volcanic ash either!).

This year we have been asked to “put the country first” and to consider holidaying at home. A major advertising campaign, and discounted rail fares are among the €1 million package to help promote Irish holidays and weekend breaks at home. Iarnrod Éireann promises a €20 day return fare from Dublin to anywhere in the Republic by rail on Saturdays.

Now please stick with me as we change direction slightly. I am one of the 50% of Irish consumers who owns a smartphone. In fact I’m addicted to my iPhone. I’m just back from holiday and once a day I would wander into the local square where there was a kids merry-go-round, plonk my two and half year old on the ride and then connect to the WiFi service and check my emails. I’m not alone in this addiction.

Research* indicates that the most popular use of smartphones in Ireland, as performed by 46% of users on a daily basis, is searching online. The second most popular tasks are checking email (39%) and social networking (also 39%), and lastly consuming news (36%). These popular activities predominately occur between six and ten in the evening, and in conjunction with other forms of media consumption like watching television.

In fact:
• 87% of mobiles can potentially connect to the internet
• 46% of mobile owners use the internet on their mobile
• 20% listen to the radio on their mobile every day
• 18% of smartphone owners watch video content on their mobile every day
• 16% of mobile owners clicked a mobile advert recently

Men aged between 18-34 years are twice as likely to use their smartphone as their female counterparts. Social networking is most popular on smartphones for women aged 18-34 years, while email is most popular for those aged over 50 years.

So we ignore our employment brand and our hiring plans for September at our peril. Our potential candidates are more connected (and addicted) than ever before. A larger number than in previous years will be staying at home and therefore the time to start influencing them is now. If you want to know more about how to take advantage of some of the great media offers available then give us a call or email us because you know we’ll be checking our smart phones at all times of the day!

*Mobile Ireland 2011 - Mindshare

Cloud computing has suddenly taken over my life

I’ve just had to change the settings on my Google alerts. I did have a whole load of them set up so that a mixture of the words jobs, recruitment, careers, Ireland, employment, branding, marketing etc would trigger an email once a day telling me the best matches on news stories. I also then have the alerts set up on a number of our client’s names.

Then Cork Institute of Technology announces that they will running the first graduate level courses in Cloud Computing anywhere in the world and the web went mad with stories. Instead of one or two articles each day, often no more than an updated course listing or Facebook comment, there were stories from literally the four corners of the earth about CITs Cloud Computing courses.

On Tuesday Dell announced the creation of 150 new jobs across Limerick and Dublin. The Dublin jobs will be in the new Cloud R&D Centre. The first of its kind for Dell, the new centre will help develop the next generation cloud computing architecture on a global basis. The centre is currently hiring world class software engineers.

So between working on a new microsite for Dell to cover this recruitment drive and opening page after page of alert emails generated by these two pieces of news it has been a pretty busy week. I barely had time to investigate what Cloud Computing really is. I did the usual thing, typed the words into Google, hit return and after waiting for at least 0.1 of a second I saw the first match of 90,500,000 results.

To cut a long story short it appears to be that Cloud Computing involves all the things that used to happen in the box on your desk but will now happen in a bigger box in someone else’s building and instead of buying boxes for our desks we will now buy time on someone else’s box. This will, of course, be much cheaper than buying your own kit, helping start-ups and removing the hassles of upgrades etc.

I have been trying to work out how to make my fortune now that I understand all of this and I believe I have it sussed. I am looking to invest in the company that makes the cables that connect your keyboard and mouse to your PC. It stands to reason that if you are no longer connected to the little black box under your desk but some datacentre in another country then the cables on your peripherals must be getting a lot longer.

Inspired and Branded

What do Dell, the HSE, L’Oreal, The Central Bank and Dunnes Stores all have in common?

They were all represented at the seminar we held on Wednesday night in The Westbury Hotel. Just over 30 HR, Recruitment and Talent Acquisition specialists from some of Ireland’s largest and most high profile employers were in attendance. In all some 21 organisations were present to hear Frank Durrell, our Head of Digital, and Neil Harrison, Head of Research and Insight cover Digital Inspiration and Employer Branding.

Frank had a simple message that Digital is maturing… moving outside… it’s everywhere we go. It’s gone beyond geeky, beyond cool, and now our everyday. It redefines how we engage with each other, and with brands. It creates one powerful activation channel …and we have the chance to exploit it now!

Neil works with some of the world’s best known organisations to help them develop and exploit their Employer Brand. As he put it, “It {the employer brand} should be seen as both a tool for retention & engagement as much as for pure attraction purposes. Applicants become candidates become new joiners become employees – they need to know the company they work for is the company they were first attracted to”.

It looks like we were spot on with our content judging from some of the feedback we have received:

• “Great info, fantastic presenters”
• “Very interesting and relevant presentations”
• “Great speakers, v. engaging and informative”

I am assured that these comments were received prior to the wine reception and that none of the speakers were related to anybody in the audience!

Let me leave you with this one particular thought.

We recently completed a survey in which 80% of the respondents completely or broadly agreed with the statement that “Enhancing our employer brand as the employment market picks up is one of our top three human resource objectives. 80%! Which is a great number because another piece of research around internet usage tells us that 80% of ALL online journey’s start with a search engine.

So before a single candidate has made it to your Facebook page, LinkedIn campaign, corporate website, QR code, YouTube channel, twitter account, blog or job board listing they have opened a search engine. And in Ireland that pretty much means Google. If a newspaper said you could advertise on the front page would you turn them down and insist on being buried at the bottom of page 1,456,345?

It’s amazing what we sometimes accept because it is Digital!

Ask yourself some basic questions. Are you managing your Employer Brand? What is your EVP? What are people saying about you online? Are you doing the right things online? Think of this as a quick spot check.

We’ll be holding another seminar in around 3 months time so if you have any suggestions for topics you would like to see covered or would be interested in attending please let me know – dave.griffin@tmpw.ie

Talking or Stalking? How can you get the most from social media?

Wikipedia (where else would you start when researching social media) defines media as the storage and transmission channels used to deliver information or data. It also describes social media simply as media disseminated through social interaction.

I’m sure they won’t mind me saying this but my “friends” on Facebook are a varied bunch. There’s a proper friend (know him in real world, played rugby with him and were at each other’s weddings) in Australia posting comments on a live Super 15s game. The wife of another sports associated friend starting a petition, a third friend (again I know him through sport) telling everyone to join him working in Dubai. A “work friend” (used to work with him but been a while since we actually spoke) telling one and all about a link he likes.

I’m also “liking” Lidl and “Gradge Killiney” which is all down to my wife. It goes like this – my wife doesn’t trust the security of social media so rather than have her own profile she uses mine thereby retaining her privacy and making me look like I am connected to an unusually large number of 30-something women! Anyway Lidl have just opened a new store in Newry and are also promoting their partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation. The Graduate (Pub) in Killiney was last updated last night when the whole country were getting behind Jedward and their performance in the semi-final of the Eurovision. Well done lads, we’ll all be tuning in now on Saturday night.

My twitter account is currently hopping on the rugby front – following the Leinster Supporters Club and some of the players – and, thanks to a single fanatic, the chances of Stoke winning the FA cup. The common theme here is of course communications. In the course of looking at my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts for this blog I commented on at least three posts, looked up a news story and hurled electronic abuse at the poor Stoke fan. I was engaged by the communications and driven to act. It may not be monumental stuff but I did it.

Lidl don’t use their Facebook presence to promote the products in store but to build their brand. There are lots of posts about new stores, extensions, refurbs and charity events. There is a definite style that is very healthy and energetic looking. It is a million miles away from the price-based inserts in the Sunday papers.

Digital media, social media and professional networking sites have all proved to be excellent sources of candidates. Recruiters are becoming incredibly skilled in the search techniques that allow them to identify candidates and then contact them. But imagine how much better your approach would be received if your target has previously been engaged by your brand?

As with all things in life it is the well-balanced mix of techniques that will deliver the best results. Digital changes how candidates socialise, work, and live their lives. Recruiters have exciting new ways to understand candidates; engage them; and measurably activate them.

TMP Worldwide will be holding a seminar on the 25th May 2011 in Dublin looking at Employer Branding and Digital Inspiration. If you are interested in attending please contact dave.griffin@tmpw.ie

Would you like a career in the public sector?

My first job was as a 15 year old Saturday boy in a local hardware and tool shop. It was a tiny place lined from floor to ceiling with shelves, hooks and boxes. This was in the days before DIY warehouses and these small hardware shops stocked everything. There would be 7 or 8 lads, one girl (the owner’s daughter) and the two owners. We all wore brown lab coats – all one size but they didn’t really fit anyone! Our job was to find tap washers, hole saws, mower blades, rivets or carbon brushes. Take home pay of around £9 for the day and overtime in the summer holidays.

After a year I left and started at Sainsbury’s. In my home town it was where the trendy kids worked, or it was until I started. Better hourly rates, one evening a week as well as Saturdays and, unbelievably to a 16 year old, holiday pay.

At 18 I took my A levels. I ended up ringing my school from a family holiday in Cornwall to discover that the results weren’t quite what I had expected. A few days later I was home and, via the UK clearing system, I had sorted out an alternative place at college.

During the few days between the results and the new college place I can still remember my Dad giving me some career advice. “You’re 6 foot 3 inches tall, a big lad etc, you should join the police. It’s a good job, secure, a pension after 30 years and plenty of opportunity for overtime”.

All of this happened at least 5 years before the term Employer Brand was first used. If you had mentioned employer branding in the tool shop they would probably have pulled out a soldering iron and a stencil kit!

Why am I going back over my early employment history? If I had followed my Dad’s advice I’d now be around 10 years away from a full police pension. It was an accepted fact that working in the public sector was secure, safe and pensionable. Whether the economy was growing or shrinking was not your problem, you kept your head down and worked hard.

The current recession has changed the game. The recruitment moratorium and pension levy were bad enough but when was the last time you heard about the good work of a public servant. Instead we read about privilege days, bank time and the payment of incremental salary rises. Whatever the reality is, the perception is of an employer brand under attack from a variety of directions.

In the current climate many people will content themselves with the idea that, when they have to or are allowed to, they can attract talent but what of the future. In the short-term scarce skills will remain scarce but the proposition of working in the public sector has changed. Will the talent that the country needs still want to work in the public sector?

TMP Worldwide will be holding a seminar on the 25th May 2011 in Dublin looking at Employer Branding and Digital Inspiration. If you are interested in attending please contact dave.griffin@tmpw.ie

National Employment Week 2011

It was 7.45am on Monday 21st February, The Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, Kildare Street, right next door to a very quiet Leinster House, I guess the TDs must all be on the stump as we head for Friday’s General election.

We were there to attend the launch of National Employment Week. Running from the 21st to the 25th February there were a series of events looking at barriers to employment, graduate hiring, mental health & employment, upskilling and self-employment.

It was a cracking line-up with Adrian McGennis of Sigmar Group introducing Senator Feargal Quinn, Paul Rellis - MD of Microsoft Ireland, Louise Phelan - PayPal and Mary Hanafin - Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation.

Paul Rellis looked at the potential growth of “Cloud Computing” and the possibilities of job creation with this sector in Ireland whilst Louise Phelan, having announced 150 new jobs at PayPal only last week, looked at why PayPal choose to do business in Ireland. Feargal Quinn covered setting the conditions for job creation and Mary Hanafin promoted a number of new initiatives aimed at getting people into the workplace to enable them to gain the experience they needed to kick start their career.

It’s clear from the presentations and the general mood of the speakers that they see Ireland as central to the successful growth of their organisations in the coming years and that the vast majority of the reasons why they have been successful in the past still exist – not least of which is the highly educated, motivated and skilled workforce available in Ireland.

No January detox for us

So the excess of Christmas and New Year are a distant memory, and many people are feeling sluggish with the dark mornings and evenings (and the few extra Christmas pounds!). Well, January has been far from tired and sluggish for the Dublin office, it’s been an exciting month for us and our clients! We have been busy planning and executing varied campaigns across all sorts of media, including TV, outdoor, online, search, radio and print.

On the education marketing front, we have carried out our first fully integrated campaign for one of our newest clients, Cork Institute of Technology (CIT). This is a key time of the year for all educational institutions in the country as the deadline for students to apply to the CAO is 1st February. We have used cinema 6 sheets, national and regional press, along with various online media and a Cork football star as the radio ad voiceover. We can’t wait to see the campaign management reporting on this campaign, especially as we are using Facebook and Google, which perform well for us.

On the recruitment side of things, we have executed an integrated campaign for MSD’s EMEA SBS Centre using the Metro Herald, online and radio ads. The creative leads people to a site TMP built www.msddublincareers.com The site has received almost 200 visits in the first 24 hours of media activity.

We have also built and launched a site to recruit NCHDs for the HSE www.irishhospitaldoctors.com There has been a very positive reaction to the site within the HSE, and it has received over 1,500 unique visitors since December. We have promoted the positions with new creative which sells the positives of working and living in Ireland. The media mix was journals, press and online, both in Ireland and overseas.

Finally, Valeo are undertaking a campaign for Engineers in 3 international magazines. The campaign will include a featured job on www.topengineeringjobs.com Valeo are also signed up to Choices 2011 - a careers, student and work/study event, with an anticipated attendance of 50,000. Choices 2011 will be held on January 21st to 24th in Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

With the ever developing digital world and opportunities for recruitment advertising what will February bring? Bring it on!

Snow, your employer brand and 2011

2 days until Christmas and the country, or at least big bits of it, are covered in snow. We’ve 60% of the Dublin office team here, 20% on holiday and 20% working from home which is probably a fair reflection of many organisations as we try to cope with the second big cold snap of the winter.

But what will January bring to the world of recruitment, talent acquisition and employer branding in Ireland? Well if our clients in Ireland are a good indicator, TMP will be busy helping organisations to hire the highly skilled people that a lot of organisations are looking for. What will make some organisations successful whilst other struggle recruit and retain staff? A lot of it will come down to their reputation as an employer.

Your potential employees may not know that they are being influenced by your employer brand but we all know they are. I just typed TMP Worldwide into Google and got 205,000 results – how many do you get for your organisation? We may have heard a lot about social media and recruiting in the last few years but I suspect that in 2011 these digital platforms will increasingly form a large part of all employer branded recruitment campaigns.

Engaging with potential employees, current employees and alumni will be key and social media will play a huge part in that process. But probably the most important thing for employers next year to do to meet their business objectives will be to ensure that they are using and their employer brand at all stages of the resourcing process, not just in their job adverts, to hire and retain the best people.

I’ll leave you with a link to something that has kept us busy over the last few weeks. The Health Service Executive are actively recruiting hospital doctors to a range of posts across the country. These are difficult to fill roles and in order to make them as attractive as possible the HSE has extended the traditional 6 month contract to two years and has introduced participation in continuing professional development through approved post-graduate training bodies. The specially created website – www.irishhospitaldoctors.com - has received over 1,300 visits in less than three weeks from 69 countries.

New Year Resourcing Resolutions

It has been a brutal recession and one that has probably changed the recruitment communications market permanently. 2011 is around the corner and organisations of all shapes and sizes, public sector and commercial are entering into a new era of hiring. Top quality talent at all levels from call centre and retail staff to specialists and senior management are more selective than ever in their career and job decisions.

The recession has highlighted that there are winners and losers, companies and bodies with a great vision and culture and others who have lost their way or cannot find their niche in this every changing economy in which we all operate. So moving employer has become a more thoughtful and reflective process, reward is always important but the Employer Brand of an organisation is more central to that process than ever before.

The direct sourcing model is growing in favour in attraction and sourcing as this allows potential hires to engage directly with the brand, culture and values of their potential new employer and make more intelligent and emotional decisions about where they really want to work.

The Employer Brand experience touches every stage of a potential new employee's experience, most importantly even before they are thinking of moving job they are gaining insights and perceptions of organisations and whether they want to work for them. If you are not actively managing the Employer Brand all the time then it is being managed for you by the information that pours onto the internet every minute from news headlines, twitter feeds, you tube videos etc as well as corporate information which still shapes opinion but was never meant to be read by an applicant.

Every year in or out of recession is one which is full of hiring challenges, 2011 will be no different but how organisations respond in this changing digital world needs to be different. For some recruiters if the resourcing model doesn't change they may start to find that the best people are moving elsewhere.

Food for thought as you make your New Year's resolutions ...