Fresh Ad Creative: When and Why it is so Important

Attracting the right numbers of high-quality applicants can be challenging. Many talent leaders seek a resolution through a mix of new technology, operational efficiency, and additional media spend. While this approach may prove effective, it may lack one very important addition — fresh ad creative.

For those asking themselves, “What exactly is fresh ad creative?”; ad creative is the artistic use of words, images, and/or multi-media to communicate a message to an audience.? When it comes to talent acquisition, that audience is the active and passive job seekers needed to fill open roles. Changing up your ad creative (making it fresh) can mean new content, new messaging, different targeting, or even starting all over from scratch.??

Ad creative is designed to build an intent in your audience, but over time creative content becomes stale, losing its influence. Think about the first time you hear a new sound.? At first it creates curiosity, and you often look for its source.? Repeated day after day, that sound becomes white noise and you no longer even hear it. Only a new noise will recapture your attention.

When it comes to talent acquisition, ad creative falls mostly in one of three categories:

• Consumer Brand
• Employer Brand
• Job Opportunity.

Each category serves a different purpose for talent acquisition, so I will explain each of them separately.

Consumer Brand?

A company’s consumer brand is the overall image and/or reputation as experienced through its consumers. Ad creative in this category appeals to a company’s customers, encouraging them to have a positive impression of the company and its products or services. A company’s consumer brand creative elements can add to or take away from its employer brand and job opportunity creative, but it cannot replace them.?

Typically consumer brand rarely needs a refresh but any of the following scenarios might warrant consideration:

• A change in consumer behavior or trends
• There is a need to reach a new or expanded consumer base
• There is a need to improve brand perceptions or performance

Consumer brand seldom influences talent attraction, but it is possible for jobseekers to have such a negative perception of your brand that they will never view it as a suitable employer.

Employer Brand?

A company’s employer brand is the public perception of it as a place to work, as shaped by its culture, values, employee benefits, and employer reputation. Ad creative in this category tends to evoke positive feelings, impressions, or emotions about a company as an employer.?

Here are some examples of when you should consider an employer brand refresh:

• When there is failure to attract enough talent (particularly for highly skilled, low volume roles)
• When expanding into new markets, regions, or countries
• After a merger, acquisition, or ownership/leadership change
• When there is an absence of an employer brand in the target jobseeker community

While employer brand creative is not designed to sell products & services, or generate job applications, when done well, it can boost the performance of each.

Job Opportunity?

To attract significant numbers of qualified applicants, job advertisements often require job-specific ad creative.? This may include images, video testimonials, and compelling written ad copy.?

Designed to encourage job applications, this type of ad creative may need to be refreshed if the following occurs:

• ?Not attracting enough qualified applicants, or too many unqualified applicants
• An increased amount of candidates disappearing in the hiring process (ghosting)
• New hires are complaining about or quitting because of not fully understanding their job
• A change of culture, benefits, or compensation
• A need to attract a wider range of candidates

When asked about the importance of keeping ad creative fresh, Matthew Gilbert , Appcast’s head of EVP & Employer Brand Strategy had this to say, “Fresh creative certainly helps get attention in noisy channels, but when done effectively, it sets the stage for deeper connections and better career conversations. The right content can even open a job seeker’s mind to exciting new possibilities, and inspire them to take action.”

If you still have questions about employer brand or job description ad creative, just drop me a message, or schedule some time to chat.

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