Hasta La Creative!

LONDON – Specialist magazine publisher Future said today (29 September) it expected a modest decline in revenue and a broadly flat pre-tax profit for its UK business.

I have been applying to various agencies, consulting firms, digital design houses, and the like, and one of the so-called Human Resources’ policies has moved on my “corporate irritation scale” from irk’d off to pissed off.  For the sake of this writing, I include only the personnel departments at advertising, marketing, online agencies, vendors, and companies as the places I’ve been focusing upon.

When did it become standard for HR Departments to determine  they need not respond to applicants? Doesn’t this seem a bit counterproductive, especially at a time when companies are refocusing their entire efforts on personalizing relationships, speaking to their audiences on a one-to-one basis?

Professional glut

During the past year, many professionals have been let go, from  C-level executives on down. Thus, there’s been a glut of qualified pros searching. As a professional, when I fill out an application and submit my résumé (usually using Taleo or some other third-party vendor), a cover letter, and samples in a nice package, it’s  indicative I either know your company well and am an “enthusiast,”  or I’ve researched it enough to realize there’s strong potential for both parties to  match on various levels, creating a win-win situation.

Thus, I submit what’s  required when I apply at XYZ. Not two seconds later, I receive an e-mail stating that after review, if my qualifications are a match, I may hear from someone. Otherwise, due to the volume of applicants, I will not hear another word.  First off, this is not only rude, but belittling. I have 11 years experience, and if I qualify, you may contact me? I cut my chops. I have respected your requests, filled out your paper in addition to submitting my own, and you “may” get back to me? It’s at this point I regret applying, job or no job.

A week passes.

Follow-up is key (if you can)

I call the office switchboard. I’m dumped into the HR general voicemail. No once calls back. Knowing I already have no contacts within the organization, I try to figure out if there is another way to get past the wall of silence. I begin to dial the main number with a ploy to speak to the Marketing VP I just looked up on LinkedIn.

While waiting, I wonder what’s transpired. Is the job closed? How many applicants applied? Are they still accepting applications?  Was my résumé submitted correctly? Was there something that screamed out I was wrong for the position? Did I make it to the final first cut, only to be weeded out due to my salary requirements?

I leave a voicemail for the VP. After a couple weeks without contact, I make a note on my spreadsheet that no one ever responded and move on to another opportunity.

Social media

Surprisingly, I see a lot of HR people using social media, especially on LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs. To me, this states that HR departments are versed in basic social-media tenets:

• Listen.
• Ask questions.
• Listen some more.
• Initiate on-to-one communication.

HR departments use social media to recruit. Why then is it so difficult to get anyone to respond? Why do I have to call the VP of Marketing to get a response, knowing at this point my job hopes have just been shot down?

HR peeps I know say it’s due to the massive amount of résumés they receive, and they’re too busy.I have to say this is a cop out.

Everyone is busy, everyone does more with less, and times are tense. However, most people at a business (with one exception) cannot risk ignoring anyone who contacts them, especially in an industry as fickle as this one.

WWJD, or what would Jeff do? (the solution)

As HR is capable of using social media for recruiting, then why not use social media to keep job posts updated?
It’s efficient, simple, and effective. Set up a blog page with job updates. Send out Twitter updates that a position’s been filled. Write a Facebook App that will cross-reference a job number with a status update. Have a prerecorded job line that applicants can call to learn of any updates.

Problem Solved.

Jeff Louis: Media Planner, Brand Project Manager, blogger, and aspiring writer. Please leave a comment or follow him on Twitter. As always, thanks for reading.

What was all over the advertising headlines last week seems to be a ploy to increasing Web site traffic. On September 21st, Togo’s announced their new campaign launch, “Pastrami Money-Back Guarantee.” It stipulated that if you try the new sandwich during its promotional month (9/23-10/20) and you don’t feel it is better than the “other guys,” you’ll get a full refund. Who wouldn’t go for that? Don’t we wish all food establishments offered this service?

What’s the price for requesting a refund, though? Let’s say, for example, the pastrami sandwich was indeed worse than the “other guys.” What then? According to the refund rules, the requirements to receive a refund seem to be more cost-per-effort than merely swallowing the five or so bucks and moving on with your life.

Refund Process:

1. Go to the Togo’s Web site.
2. Print out redemption form.
3. Fill out redemption form.
4. Find the “original Togo’s store-identified cash register receipt (copies not accepted) showing purchase of a #9 Hot Pastrami Sandwich between 9/23/09 and 10/20/09″ to include in the envelope.
5. Find the “original competitor’s store-identified cash register receipt (copies not accepted) showing purchase of a Hot Pastrami Sandwich between 9/23/09 and 10/20/09″ to include in the envelope.
6. Write a letter with your name, address, and a brief description of why you did not like the sandwich.
7. Mail to: Togo’s Pastrami Guarantee PO Box 2859 Carmichael, CA 95609-2859.

NOTE:
*Properly submitted and eligible claim entries will receive a check in the amount of the purchase price of a Regular #9 Hot Pastrami Sandwich from the original Togo’s receipt submitted (tax not included). Large and family-size purchases will receive the suggested retail price of the Regular #9 Hot Pastrami Sandwich. The suggested retail price for a Regular #9 Hot Pastrami Sandwich is $5.59 (tax not included).

Are they serious? Why don’t they require getting the redemption letter notarized? I’ll just skip the sandwich altogether, thanks. Just writing the steps above made me hungry for Jimmy John’s anyway. Nobody loves pastrami this much — nobody!

If Togo’s wants people to go to their site, then offer a better incentive, not a 1980’s rebate procedure. It’s almost as if Togo’s just crawled out of a bomb shelter and decided to increase sales. In this age of ADD Tweeting, are they really expecting successful product promotion? Sorry, Togo’s, if you can’t get with the zero’s, get back in your shelter.

Rena Prizant is a Copywriter, Ad Creative, SEO Gal, and mammal in the Chicago area. Visit www.RenaPrizant.com or @WriteLeft.

Acho que desde 2004 ou 2005, não sei bem ao certo, as empresas de internet começaram a valorizar a máxima importância do usuário como ativo colaborador, criador e gerador de idéias e conteúdos para construir a história da rede. Pouco tempo depois, outras empresas – agora não mais de internet – também passaram a valorizar o usuário, consumidor da ‘geração (internet) content‘.

Anos se passaram e, ao invés de diluir, as marcas continuam incentivando e levantando a bandeira de seus consumidores (ou usuários) mais engajados. A última campanha do Yahoo! é assim. Foram mais de 100 milhões de dólares gastos na nova campanha institucional do Y!, o que pode não parecer tão estrondoso, para uma empresa de essência 100% online, esta quantia é pra lá de elevada. Dentre as ações de marketing: mídia impressa, exterior, internet e televisão. Há tempos não via uma campanha de internet tão sólida numa televisão.
Ok, a campanha ainda não chegou por aqui, mas dá pra sentir um gostinho dela assistindo o comercial de televisão que já começou a ser veiculado nos Estados Unidos. A criação da Ogilvy & Mather enfatiza o poder do Y!ou: “Há um novo governante do universo digital: você”. Vale o play!

O talento musical do Black Eyed Peas já chamou a atenção de Barack Obama, Oprah e T-Mobile. Quem agora também se simpatizou com o grupo musical é a Virgin, holding do multimilionário e ambicioso empresário americano, Richard Branson. Através da companhia aérea V Australia, o plano é bater dois recordes: o maior concerto ao vivo já realizado num avião e a gravação de uma música a cerca de 10 mil metros de altura. O bilhete para o evento só estará disponível no eBay. Isso quer dizer que, ganha ingresso para o evento aéreo aquele que oferecer a quantia mais alta. Por enquanto, a quantia mais elevada foi de U$1.025,00. A renda do leilão virtual será revertida a favor da Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, informou o Wefind.

O que a Virgin e o Black Eyed Peas vão ganhar? Muita visibilidade, mídia espontânea e, quem sabe, um lugarzinho no Guinnes Book. Tá de bom tamanho, não é mesmo?!

LONDON – Dog show Crufts, which is returning to British TV on More4 in 2010, has appointed production company Sunset+Vine to handle international TV distribution.

Google is attempting to integrate email, instant messaging, media sharing, social networking, document creation, project management, entertainment and much more into shareable Waves.

LONDON – Marketing magazine has begun a two-year programme to reduce its carbon footprint.

Lee National Denim Day marks its 14th anniversary Oct. 2, and the event is still going strong. National Denim Day, held the first Friday in October since 1996, was originally created to allow employees to wear jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation for breast cancer awareness efforts by Lee Jeans. This year, the effort is on target to raise $5 million, pushing the 14-year total past $75 million with 700,000 companies participating as well as individual teams.

LONDON – Media 140 is almost upon us. On 26 October leading figures in the digital industry will gather to discuss the impact of the real-time web and Revolution has teamed up with the people making it happen. Ande Gregson, founder of Media 140, runs down 10 things you need to know about the London event.