Desperate for employees, companies try help-wanted ads on TV

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company is trying to recruit workers.

The ad, which describes how one can go from an entry-level job at Domino’s to owning a franchise, to businesses across the country has popped up in recruitment ads amid a tight job market.

“If you want to make money and have fun while doing it, you won’t find a better opportunity than your local Domino’s,” said Lolly Jones, 27, Oregon-based Domino’s franchise owner, in the commercial.

The tight labor market that has developed during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to pull all stops to complete applications, including raising wages, signing up bonuses and allowing more flexible hours.

Many are also increasing their spending on help-seeking ads, some even adopting expensive national TV commercials – a tactic not commonly used for recruitment efforts – while others on social media such as TikTok and Instagram. -Let’s turn to the media platform.

Some companies that run recruitment ads on TV, including Domino’s and auto-repair chain Safelite Group Inc., said they had never used TV commercials for that purpose before the pandemic, but did not use the box to address staff shortages. Had to think out, what was on their weight. businesses.

At this point, the cost of not filling open jobs far exceeds the cost of TV commercials, said Joe Shaker Jr., president of Shaker Recruitment Marketing.

Domino’s, which has shortened store hours due to staffing shortages, reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter sales last week, a decline attributed to a lack of delivery drivers due to the Omicron version. Stores and franchisees have to do a lot of things to address the headwinds, said Kate Trumbull, Domino’s senior vice president of brand.

Domino’s said it was spending more on recruitment advertising, but declined to provide figures.

SafeLight said it has found TV advertising to be an effective tool to reach job seekers. The company said its campaigns, which include online ads running on TV and Instagram and TikTok, have helped grow SafeLite’s job application pool by 50% since the ad campaign began in June.

One of SafeLight’s TV spots has a montage of employees stating that the company offers many different opportunities for advancement. Its vice president of customer experience, Kristina Pletnewski, said the TV commercials allowed the company to better showcase its “personality and team spirit.”

FedEx Corp. started running a TV commercial called “Career: My Work” last year. The ad, which ran during expensive programming like National Football League games, says FedEx employees help deliver important items like Vince Lombardi trophies, vaccines and water. Locations for Disasters Handling Locations Ends by saying that FedEx has several open positions.

Jenny Robertson, FedEx’s senior vice president of integrated marketing, said, “The company operates in a competitive market for talent. FedEx declined to disclose how much it spent on its recruiting advertising effort, but Media-Measure The firm iSpot.tv estimates that FedEx has spent about $24 million airing its TV ad as of last month.

“We believe the campaign has been successful,” said Ms Robertson. In December, FedEx said it filed 111,000 applications for hourly positions in one week, more than any other week in its history.

Louis Naviasky, chief executive of Bayard Advertising, a New York-based advertising agency specializing in recruitment marketing, said Bayard’s clients spent nearly 60% more on recruitment ads last year than they did in 2019, which was before the pandemic. was the last year of

The increase in spending occurs because the number of employment opportunities in America far exceeds the number of unemployed workers. “79% of employers report that they are having difficulty filling all of their open positions,” said Maggie Hulse, senior vice president of enterprise at Indeed, a jobs site.

Recruiting advertising experts said labor shortages and the flood of companies trying to lure in job seekers have prompted many to rethink their approach and find different ways to help break through the clutter of wanted ads. Have motivated for.

Sandwich chain Subway, which has also cut store operating hours due to personnel shortages, has advertised on social-media platforms such as Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram, Snap Inc.’s Snapchat and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok to lure job seekers. is driving. , Milford, Conn.-based Subway launched its help-seeking campaign in May, one of its largest recruitment advertising efforts to date. The company said it has seen an increase in the number of job applications in its online job portal since the advertising effort began.

Dunkin’, a donut chain owned by Inspire Brands Inc., enlisted the help of social-media influencer Charlie D’Amelio to help woo applicants last year, as part of a franchise-led initiative to hire nearly 20,000 new employees. In.

In a TikTok video that was labeled as paid programming, Ms D’Amelio, who has over 130 million followers on the platform, talked to a Dunkin’ employee about her career at the restaurant. The video was part of a series of interviews that various celebrities—including TV personality Maria Menounos, once a Dunkin’ staff member—had with employees of the Donut chain on TikTok and Instagram.