If THIS is the way it's going to be then I give up.
Mark Terry
From Insight to Impact ?? Marketing Leader & Storyteller ?? Specialising in Tech & Digital-First Organisations ?? Driving Growth Through Transformation ?? CMO & Head of / Marketing Director ??
2 weeks ago I was on the Tube, travelling to Cobweb's beautiful offices on the 42nd floor at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf.
The Good
Despite my personal space being continually invaded by a variety of things, including the Metro newspaper (my nose ended up black) held by a City Banker (take that as you will) and a kid listening to Justin Bieber too loud (the song was "Sorry") I noticed the below advert.
The message, proposition, offer and ad placement was daring - it's call to action was (to those who are daring), tempting.
Yes, HotelTonight succeeded, it stood out from the other "me too" ads promoting slimming pills (are those 2 guys actually the same person?), charities who now want ￡10-20 a month (as opposed to the ￡1 you give to a war vet every November) or TFL saying the Night Tube is coming soon (when the drivers get an increase on their "derisory" ￡40,000 salary).
As a result I started to recall the ad to fellow marketers, but within seconds they interrupted me, saying, they too had seen the same ad!
Now although I didn't use it (no really, I didn't), I applaud Hotel Tonight (linked for those who ARE "daring", spontaneous and/or interested!) for their approach.
Now the Ugly
Sadly I cannot say the same about the below CV Library campaign I saw last week.
Now, I don't know who came up with the words...
LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT JOB?
...but creative, marketing genius are not words I would use to describe the person responsible for creating it.
Maybe it gets to the point, but:
- What are the " " s for?
- Haven't we seen this message before thousands of times?
- Where's the creativity?
- Who is the Owl and what does the Owl signify?!
- Wheres the linkage to London (where the campaign is placed)?
Having previously worked at Jobsite.co.uk and Guardian Jobs and also lost ONREC Awards (shamefully) to CV Library (big ONREC media budgets = award winners), I thought it would only be fair to visit their website to understand it better.
January being the most busy time of the year in Recruitment, where the year can be won or lost in just a few weeks, competition is fierce with everyone fighting for the best candidates.
Having seen CV-Library's ad campaign around (they have won ONREC awards for their marketing), I felt compelled to visit their website to understand it better.
It was then that I saw the below "Premium Profiles" candidate proposition.
Now if the screen you are reading this post on is small, you have appalling eyesight or can't quite believe what you are seeing here it is.
If a Candidate PAYS ￡9.99 to get the below:
- 30 day premium highlighted profile and CV on CV-Library
- Your profile on top of standard profiles in employers' search results
- Your job application sent with premium branding to employers & recruiters
- Jobs sent to you by email daily as they get posted
- A free CV review by experts to ensure you're getting the most from your experience
- An exclusive guide with hints and tips on how to succeed in your career search
Now lets be clear 4, 5 and 6 are available on any half decent FREE Job Board or Careers Website, so its brave/cheeky/insulting (delete as appropriate) CV Library are offering these as a benefit for a paid service.
But 4, 5 and 6 are not my gripe, it's 1, 2 and 3 that make me shake my head with anger. I could go on forever about how recruiting should be done (maybe thats another post), but will leave you with my shortened views in some final provocative thoughts.
Provocative Thoughts
Ad Campaigns
OK, so I am no Don Draper when it comes to putting a great ad campaign together (although I know a few people who are). But if you are going to spend a load of money on media, at least create a half decent ad. THINK about the audience, the message, the format, the call to action and the placement. More importantly, be BOLD, be CREATIVE and please, at least try and be a little UNIQUE
Paying for a Job
If we are now approaching a new era, where candidates need to PAY to stand out and/or increase their chances of getting their CV read by corner cutting reactive HR people or Recruitment Consultants (many of which are glorified PPI salesmen) just to get the below "badge of honour", then leave me to a career in Copying and Pasting, because I give up.
Note: CV Library are not the only ones, Linkedin charge (DOUBLE) for the privilege and even provide these reasons as to why its worth ￡19.99 per month - they advertise only a fraction of the jobs CV Library do.
Job Seeker Premium Play Book
Disclaimer: If there is anyone out there looking to recruit a "Copier & Paster" with over 12 years experience, then please see my Linkedin profile for more details.
It includes a number of well known employers who I paid (and begged) to give me a job and colleagues who I paid even more (and gave new sports cars away) to recommend me.
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1 年Any ideas on cancelling the ￡9.99 Subscription with CV-Library would be appreciated. I've been searching for a while obv very annoying when this kind of thing is buried, not a good look IMO. Perhaps it's not a Subscription?
Director and Chief Financial Officer at BIOVENTIX PLC, NED, Mentor and Writer
9 年Thanks for your response Mark Terry. Recruitment is absolutely about finding the right match of role to candidate. However a CV is just a way of getting noticed, statement of your brand as a candidate, marketing material and a route to the next stage of the recruitment process. Paying to promote your brand is a very common commercial transaction and if I understand your expertise correctly something which satisfies and rewards you, to me Lee Biggin’s business is merely facilitating a transaction to allow promotion of a candidate’s brand. It is incumbent upon the consumer or the recruiter to see through the marketing and advertising to appreciate the underlying reality and if the product or CV is inappropriate or inadequate in some other way then merely paying to promote it is a waste of the candidate’s time and effort and gains no real advantage. I know that in an ideal world there would be a level playing field for all choices and transactions but we play on the pitch we have got secure in the knowledge that other good players in the game will amend their tactics as well.
Recruiter.
9 年I don't see the problem with candidates being able to access premium products that may enhance their chances of employment. If we flip the argument on it's head and look to employers, should they all be restricted to lineage ads with no branding? Are the best employers to work for those with the biggest shiny ads? So why not give candidates the same opportunity? Looking at the CV Library ads on the underground, personally I think they do the job well. They get noticed and if I'm not mistaken, haven't CV Library got the largest CV database in the UK... so somebody likes the ads.
Director and Chief Financial Officer at BIOVENTIX PLC, NED, Mentor and Writer
9 年At the risk of being caught in the crossfire doesn’t the Cv Library advertisement simply propose that candidates pay to advertise themselves? Strikes me that if the concept of paying for attention is appropriate for CV Library then it appropriate for candidates. Whether either candidates or employers get the best result by choosing CV Library or the candidate respectively is a moot point. Finally, maybe an interesting resolution CV Library should challenge Cobweb to come up with a better ad and brand for them and Cobweb do so on a speculative basis? Many fairy tale endings start with a barney!
Founder & CEO of Resume-Library and CV-Library
9 年Glad you spotted our ads! I’m familiar with your work at Jobsite, which had previously been one of my favourite brands in the industry. While I appreciate you taking the time away from ‘Delivering Marketing Transformation & Strategy’ to blog about CV-Library, I believe your time may have been misspent. Despite your concerns around both our advertising and Premium Profiles, we’ve successfully created the UK’s largest CV database and consistently receive positive feedback from candidates and clients alike about the value of our premium offerings. Given that you travelled to London from Southampton I’d think you see the value in our ads appealing to a national audience; the capital attracts millions of travellers from across the UK. While you’ve been fortunate enough to see our campaign in London, we also use a variety of marketing tools, some more targeted than others, to reach the most active and passive candidates possible. The investment has and continues to pay off for the business.