09 DECEMBER 2008: FCO Services, a Trading Fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is putting new technology to the recruitment test. Working with TMP Worldwide, the recruitment communications business, FCO Services launched a campaign using a 2D barcode to recruit security and technology experts.
Marco Bertozzi, Director of Digital and Media at TMP Worldwide, explains: “This is the first-time that a 2D barcode has been used as a targeting tool in a recruitment campaign. We know that, for most people, 2D barcodes will mean very little. However, when FCO Services needed to recruit technical security specialists, they understood that their applicant base would recognise this technology, know how to interact with it and be curious about its use in a recruitment drive. Applicants use their phones to scan the 2D barcode which launches a WAP-enabled recruitment website. This acted as a first-stage filter for the campaign, as only those who understood the technology and its application would progress their application.”
The technology to power the campaign was provided by TMP Worldwide’s mobile partner, Velti. The company’s Mobile Marketing Platform (MMP) enabled the creation of WAP landing pages and the use of 2D barcodes to generate value for interested job applicants.
The print campaign initially ran in the technology section of a national newspaper and also in local newspapers. It was supported by a more traditional digital campaign on major job boards to ensure that FCO Services maintained visibility and captured people who might not have the required technology on their phones or access to the press choices.
2D barcodes are a way to encode information, just like conventional barcodes, but they can encode significantly more. The FCO Services 2D barcode contained the informationwww.fcossecurity.mobi. When the image is photographed or scanned, special decoding software reads the encoded information and prompts the phone’s browser to visit the URL. This type of technology is common in Japan where some organisations are already featuring barcodes containing contact information on their business cards.
FCO Services is part of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. They deliver a unique range of security – related services. All over the world in embassies and high security sites they install security and communications systems using leading-edge technology. The campaign is aimed at attracting British citizens who are excited by the opportunities presented with the latest in high tech security solutions.
FCO Services said: “Increasing business volumes means we have a real need to attract the best technical installation specialists to work with us here and abroad. Developing the talents of our employees and creating a high-performance culture is vital for us to deliver for our customers, and gives our people the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology in security installation working on exciting projects around the world. This innovative campaign communicates just that.”
The campaign launched at the end of November and ran until the end of the first week in December.
Ends
TMP Worldwide
Rebecca Dunstan, Flagship Consulting
Tel: 020 7886 8440
rebecca.dunstan@flagshipconsulting.co.uk
About FCO Services
FCO Services is a Trading Fund of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. It is a worldwide multi-service organisation delivering secure products and services, primarily to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and other public and private sector organisations. Secure solutions delivered include ICT systems, building construction & management, technical and protective security and global logistics. FCO Services comprises around 1,000 staff and has a turnover of approximately £113m per annum. It operates from 3 sites in the UK; Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes, Old Admiralty Building, and King Charles St, London. There are also around 100 FCO Services’ staff serving at FCO posts overseas.
About TMP Worldwide (www.tmpw.co.uk)
TMP Worldwide in the UK & Ireland provides recruitment advertising and manages the process of hiring from everyday roles through to senior positions. Its end-to-end solutions provide a pain free way to get the best candidates onboard, designing and delivering everything critical for the hiring process from job profiling to candidate management and executive search.
TMP Worldwide is one of the largest organisations of its kind, with ten offices across the UK & Ireland and it works as part of a global network which enables it to provide a tailored service on both a local, national and global level. Its creative approach to recruitment communications means it has won multiple-awards for its campaigns across the private and public sector.
About Velti
Velti’s market-leading mobile marketing technology platform, coupled with its experience in the mobile advertising industry, enables clients around the world to deliver an extensive range of highly targeted marketing campaigns. With operations in 25 countries, and a mobile marketing joint venture with the Interpublic group, a top global holding group of advertising agencies, Velti has the ability to reach through its platform an estimated 1.4 billion consumers. Velti’s unique Mobile Marketing and Advertising Platform manages the full cycle of planning, execution and monitoring of multiple campaigns across differing mobile formats and channels, offering customers more than 70 mobile marketing and advertising templates, which can be managed from one user interface. For more information, visit www.velti.com.