In this article we explain how Infrabel was able to win the talent race in Belgium with their Strongest Team campaign. This business case was even awarded with a Silver IAB Mixx Award in the category ‘Best Media Engagement’.
Winning the talent race: crafting a strong strategy to reach Infrabel’s ambitious goals
Belgium’s 2nd largest employer, Infrabel, faced talent shortage in 2022, seeking 930 specialized hires. Traditional recruitment fell short for technical roles like mechanics, electricians, and track workers.
New employees cost €4,000 each, posing a €3.72 million challenge. Amidst 135,777 Flanders vacancies, competition intensified.
Undeterred, Infrabel aimed to be an appealing employer, reshaping the employer-employee dynamic.
Semetis translated this vision into a tailored "intimate-moment strategy," informed by in-depth audience analysis from The Global Web Index. This approach revealed insights about the ideal candidate's habits – avid readers of HLN.be, Instagram enthusiasts, and sports aficionados, while also harboring interests in fitness, fast-food, and cinema. These revelations were the bedrock of a comprehensive creative and media strategy.
Duke & Grace conceptualized "The Strongest Team of the Country," a campaign perfectly echoing Infrabel's Employee Value Proposition. The concept emphasized strength, teamwork, and Infrabel's omnipresence across Belgium, echoing values of unity and collaboration. Current employees featured prominently, reinforcing the essence of teamwork.
The ‘intimate-moment’ strategy
The media strategy was precise: establishing a connection with potential candidates during intimate moments, inviting them to join the prestigious Infrabel team – "The Strongest Team." The strategy comprised 3 layers:
- Inner Intimacy Circle: (d)OOH Face2Face screens in local hangouts connected personally to engage in their most intimate moment. While 124 DOOH screens in Basic Fits targeted sport-centric candidates. All focused in the most challenging region: Antwerp & Ghent.
- Emotional Local Message Layer: The media mix of the inner intimacy circle does not have enough capacity to install the employer branding message and in turn activate potential candidates. Therefore print and online banners in local newspapers and TV ads on regional channels like ATV and AVS were activated. Infrabel’s Coffee Truck visited 23 locations, amplified by Instagram, Facebook geo-targeting ads.
- Broad Reach Layer: To achieve a broader impact, Infrabel aired TV ads during the World Cup Football on VRT, strategically targeting a sports-loving audience. Online video activations on YouTube and display advertising on HLN.be reached wider in-market audiences interested in sport and fitness.
Beyond recruitment: building a strong employer brand for lasting external and internal impact
Infrabel expanded efforts beyond hiring, valuing employee engagement. The Ambissify platform let them share opinions and content about Infrabel, earning rewards. 'The Strongest Team' campaign featured current employees across media. The 'Refer a friend' competition promoted teamwork and candidate suggestions, encouraging employees to engage strongly with the campaign.
The results: 795 team members hired in 2022
These efforts resulted in an impressive 8% turnover reduction and hiring of 795 candidates (+41% YoY). Cost per hire was way below the 4,000€ average. During the Strafste Ploeg campaign, Search Leads increased by 30%, and CPL decreased by 33%. The employee-centered, media-driven strategy propelled Infrabel to new heights, with 26% of recruits coming from the 'refer a friend' program.
Interesting to see how our campaign looked like? Have a look at our Business Case video.
Justine Cremer
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