Kony 2012 may be the most ambitious recruitment campaign that I’ve ever seen. Jason Russell’s The Invisible Children has been established to build awareness rapidly about Joseph Kony and to recruit people to help effect his arrest. Here are some observations:

Social media and engaging content
To date the first Kony 2012 video has over 104 million views on YouTube, over 3.2 million likes on their Facebook page, and they’ve received over 3.59 million pledges. Their aim was to recruit people to their cause on an international basis, and they’ve successfully reached their audience through developing engaging and personal content. To differentiate, companies looking to attract the right staff need to effectively identify their target audience and create engaging social media content to best talk to them. It isn’t enough to have a passive message – it has to encourage action.

Advocacy
Initially, people didn’t know Joseph Kony, but they do know Justin Beiber (20+ million Twitter followers) who took to Twitter to put his endorsement on the cause. In business, people aspire to work for companies that have individuals who are strong advocates for the brand; these are people who are the face of companies and who display a passion for their work.

Word of mouth
My colleague in March: ‘Have you seen the Kony video’?
Me: ‘The what??’

My first thought was, is that a new consumer electronics brand or sports shoe brand? By the time my wife and colleagues had mentioned Kony; it was difficult to NOT watch the video. In the recruitment industry; the best jobs and the best people that we hear about are always through word of mouth and referrals.

Empowerment
The best companies in the world offer individuals the promise of being part of something special and to make a difference. Kony makes it clear that their goal cannot be achieved without ‘you’ helping to effect change. People always ask us ‘Why should I come to work for this organisation?’ Kony 2012 reflects that the impetus should come from the individual; i.e. what you can bring to the organisation and how you can contribute.

Compliance
The positive response received from the campaign has been matched in full by negative sentiment and backlash as to financial disclosure and intentions of The Invisible Children. With the current nature of information and its accessibility, companies will be scrutinized from front to back. Prospective employees will do their due diligence and background checking, so be prepared and make sure the house is in-order.

Until next time.

empowerment, Facebook, Hiring, Jason Russell, Justin Beiber, Kony, Kony video, recruitment, Social Media, The Invisible Children, Twitter, YouTube

Last week Google Chrome became the most used web browser in the world for the first time ever (even if only for one day!). As Internet Explorer has been the top browser since 1999, this was a major milestone for them.

How have they done this?

In the early days of Google, the company bucked trends and shied away from traditional forms of marketing. As a technology and media firm, they were adamant about never allocating media budget for TV commercials.

Starting in 2010 however; there has been a significant shift in Google’s marketing strategy, diverting more spending to traditional TV ads. According to research agency Kantar, in 2011 Google spent $70 million USD on TV ads; an increase up from $6 million USD in 2010.

Last year, Google launched it’s most expensive advertising campaign yet, ‘The Web Is What You Make Of It’ to showcase its flagship internet browser Google Chrome. Several TVC’s were developed in conjunction with the creative agency BBH. The ads have been very successful, with ‘Google Chrome: Dear Sophie’ receiving many accolades:

This ad is almost perfect – it speaks about their integrated product (Google Chrome, Gmail, and YouTube) and re-tells a true story about their product which evokes an emotional response with the viewer.

It also reminds us that sometimes the traditional, tried and tested solution – in this case TV adverts, can be the most effective. Google has been able to adapt, and hasn’t been afraid to do a complete 180 degree turn compared to their original marketing strategy. In the business world, we’re always trying to ‘re-invent the wheel’ but often going back to basics or using proven solutions pays the most dividends. With this campaign, Google has reached out to a new segment of consumers and it’s now paying off for them.

Until next time!

'The Web Is What You Make Of It' campaign, Gmail, Google, Google Chrome, Google Chrome: Dear Sophie, Internet Explorer, YouTube