Hotjobs.com Downloads Tactical Ads, Campus Events for 'Better Job Search' - Brief Article

Brandweek,  Jan 1, 2001  by Kenneth Hein

Tags: advertisement, HotJobs, job, job search

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Hotjobs.com is embracing a more tactical approach in upcoming ads and will wage a guerrilla marketing effort in a bid for heightened awareness among college types.

Shying away from its pure branding plays of the past, the site will begin airing three, 15-second tactical spots this quarter boasting ease-of-use search capabilities and its privacy features, such as "resume blocking."

Part of its evolving "Onward. Upward" campaign, the spots will be precluded by a more broadly positioned ad that plays up an empowerment theme during the Jan. 28 Super Bowl XXXV telecast. The site, the third most popular career site on the Web, per Media Metrix, will spend $2.4 million for three spots during the pre-game show and one during the game itself. It will spend about $40 million on ads in 2001, the same as last year.

Hotjobs.com decided to trumpet its practicalities because "so many dot-coms weren't getting into the nuts and bolts of the business of why you'd want to go to their sites in the first place," said Marc Karasu, dir-advertising for Hotjobs in New York. "We want people to know that we're not just a dot-com, we're a better way of doing a job search."

On the guerrilla front, Hotjobs will kick off a 75-campus push later this month under a partnership with Student Advantage, giving it a presence at big events like homecoming day. Students decked in Hotjobs caps and gowns will hand out key chains and tout the benefits of career planning in high-traffic areas.

On-campus reps will also shoot digital pictures of students and encourage them to view online photo albums powered by photoChannel.com and ultimately register at the site. Ads in campus newspapers support.

Following tests in Seattle in November, Hotjobs will also expand its use of "evangelist" street teams--who stand on soapboxes and preach about the site--to other metro areas.

Radio spots featuring the "Onward. Upward" tag, which began airing last month in San Francisco and Los Angeles, will roll out to other cities this quarter. Print is set to roll next month, when new outdoor ads begin appearing nationwide.

The site will also inaugurate on-screen movie theater ads in six cities. Weiss Stagliano Partners, New York, is the agency.

COPYRIGHT 2001 BPI Communications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group