GOOD
Employer: RightStop
Vacancy: Marketing
A good, well-conceived and executed idea can say so much about your vacancies - and your company. But you all know that, don't you? Judging how some recruitment consultancies try to convince candidates that they're the right place for their future career move, you'd think not. RightStop, however, does believe in the power of advertising. This ad works really well. It ties in with popular culture (X-factor) and long-running brands (Oxo) to show that they're on the ball and aware of heritage.
It's just the type of consultancy that would care about what you're looking for. It is so refreshing to see an intelligent ad in this area, instead of the usual happy consultants smiling off the page, insisting on telling you how good they are, not how good they can be for you.
BAD
Employer: The Herald
Vacancy: Legal sector appointments
So how does the recruitment media sell itself off the page? Take this small ad: legal sector plus identity parade equals half a real idea. It's not truly original but they tried. Then they succeed in completely ruining it. How? Surely you've seen the mistake already? No?
OK, look on the second line of the headline and the word 'appointments'. If it was in a candidate's CV, you wouldn't be impressed. But you find misspellings everywhere these days. Of course some will always slip through, but in an 11 word ad? How about the navigation of a company's recruitment website, in a testimonial inside a graduate brochure et al. What would it say about your business if you found such a misspelling today? Go on, better read that website copy again.
Mark Rice is co-founder and creative partner of the communications agencyandsome; email mark.rice@haymarket.com.
