Recruitment Through Creativity: Turning a Hiring Challenge into a Brand Campaign
The Challenge
Bodyspinner needed a fashion designer with a strong eye for graphic T-shirt design. Traditional hiring methods—posting job ads, screening CVs, and conducting interviews—were costly for the recruitment team, generated limited applications, and didn’t effectively showcase creative talent. The challenge was to attract a larger pool of qualified, creative candidates while also enhancing brand awareness.
The Data Journey
I approached the challenge as both a recruitment and marketing problem, analyzing:
-
Recruitment metrics: Cost-per-applicant, number of CVs received, and time-to-hire.
-
Social media analytics: Engagement rates, reach, and user-generated content.
-
Community behavior: Observed how young fashion enthusiasts share and showcase designs online (Instagram, Twitter).
Insights Discovered
A traditional hiring ad wasn’t appealing to creative talent—it looked like just another job post.
-
Designers were more motivated to showcase their creativity in public than to submit a CV.
-
Gamified, community-driven campaigns generate both brand engagement and organic reach at a fraction of the cost.
The Strategy
I designed a game campaign that doubled as both a talent search and a brand-building activity:
-
Invited participants to design graphics on a plain white T-shirt, share it on Instagram or Twitter, and tag the brand.
-
Created a digital marketing plan across social media channels to promote the campaign.
-
Positioned the initiative as both a fun contest and a career opportunity.
-
Set up a jury evaluation system to shortlist the top 50 designs from over 7,000 entries.
Execution
The campaign ran fully online with integrated social media promotions:
-
Launch announcement across Bodyspinner’s digital platforms.
-
Content calendar with regular posts, reminders, and engagement activities.
-
Community engagement through reposting selected designs to motivate more participation.
-
Final jury selection of the best 50 submissions and recruitment of 2 winning designers.
Impact
- 7,000+ unique designs submitted on Instagram/Twitter.
- 50 designs shortlisted for final jury review.
- 2 talented designers recruited directly from the campaign.
- Significant boost in brand visibility through user-generated content shared across thousands of accounts.
- Reduced recruitment costs and time-to-hire, while simultaneously running a brand awareness campaign.