Stealing Staff
TBWAHUNTLASCARIS
Issue 6 | July 2008
Agency
TEQUILAJohannesburg
Creative Team
Gary Steele - Art Director;Hagan de Villiers - Copywriter
Production Team
Craig Walker - E-graphics
Date
October 2007
Background
TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS needed to bolster their creative department with some top young talent. To find top talent in South Africa can be a costly exercise, which involves highly overpaid recruitment companies who do not necessarily find the right talent. The agency needed a cheap short cut to the good staff. Their other barrier was that agencies protect their talent, so cold calling is difficult to get past the PAs. The only way to get to the staff directly is in their studios, and what better way to do it than by hijacking something they use everyday - layout pads.
Idea
The agency decided to target the top five advertising agencies in South Africa. They reproduced the layout pads of the most popular supplier - Art Book Centre - and delivered them to the agencies, all looking the same as usual… apart from the recruitment ad stamped on the first page.
Results
The agency needed three new creative teams, and quickly managed to fill all the positions. They even had a response from Nairobi, without having done a drop there. The process took less time and cost far less money than it would have using a headhunter.
Target Audience
Top young art directors
Size
Packs of 100 were sent to the top 5 agencies in South Africa.
Our Thoughts
A brilliant media choice. I'm sure the ingenuity with which the message was delivered persuaded many recipients to respond. Plus, it's always a good idea to send your target a piece of the ‘real world’ which has a use beyond that of delivering the message. SH