As a victim of their own success and expansion, Ernest set aggressive goals to double employee headcount over a three-year period. Ernest has an in-house recruiting team led by Vince Vincent, VP of talent, but the company lacked a dynamic campaign and tools the recruiters could use to find the best and brightest future E-Teamers to join the company.
As Ernest’s agency of record, Liquid Agency knew the recruiting campaign needed to push convention in the industrial market for talent and take advantage of the very unique and bold approach we have created for this very special brand and expression of their unique culture. In the spirit of the quirk that is evident in all of Ernest’s campaigns and communications, the “Not Hiring” campaign was born. The creative team at Liquid Agency created a humorous “Geico-esque” campaign poking fun at candidate attributes they didn’t want in favor of the ones they do. Creating a cast of sheep, porcupine, bulldozer, “Wacky the Wolf” and other characters, we were able to juxtapose the traits Ernest desires for leadership, backbone, collaboration and real people.
Eight 30-second spots were produced, as well as a toolkit full of digital assets recruiters could use in email and other outreach techniques. The campaign was deployed across major career platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor. Liquid Agency also suggested Vince Vincent play himself in the quirky ads. Many of us feel Vince might be one of the greatest silent actors of modern times, but Ernest won’t let him quit his day job.
Over a three-year period, and with aggressive hiring KPIs, the “Not Hiring” campaign became notorious in the industrial sector in support of Ernest’s recruitment team goals. The recruiters cited how important the campaign and toolkit were to help them gain lots of interest from candidates and differentiate their career offering. Ernest exceeded their three-year hiring goals by 300% and managed 100% with their in-house recruiting team, eliminating the need for high-cost agency fees through outside partners. Liquid Agency was rewarded in the industry, winning Best of Show at the Silicon Valley American Advertising Awards, as well as a coveted Rosey from the Portland Ad Federation.
