A young Black man in an apron smiling in the doorway

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NCRLA

Everyone loves a good vacation, a day trip or just a meal they didn’t have to cook. But it takes a throng of dedicated hospitality workers to bring the perfect excursion to life. As the state of North Carolina struggled to fill these many roles, we helped the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA) confront stereotypes, shift perceptions and invigorate the hospitality industry through a new integrated campaign.

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Challenge

Candidates weren’t flocking to hospitality jobs in North Carolina. The state’s hospitality industry faced a shortage of over 50,000 workers, even as thousands looked for jobs in the region.

Solution

We connected with hospitality employees to rebuild it from the inside out, developing a story-focused campaign (Serving Careers) that highlighted the industry’s unique appeal.

Results

Our Serving Careers campaign website attracted over 600,000 visitors within just six months. It also drove candidates to start 687,000 job applications, with application start rates topping Indeed’s benchmark by 176%.

NCRLA website on multiple tablets

Aligning campaign execution with audience insights

We began by interviewing hundreds of hospitality workers across the state. These interviews uncovered compelling stories to share on all channels. They also steered our campaign in line with real audience experiences.

Our subsequent strategy centered on the hopes and habits of actual candidates:

  • Candidate behavior informed our media outputs and creative optimization.
  • Candidate career aspirations informed our messaging.
  • Candidate job board habits informed our Indeed interface (custom-developed for this program).
NCRLA website on multiple mobile phones
NCRLA sign up form on a tablet and mobile phone

Fueling action on every NCRLA channel

Our integrated Serving Careers campaign made use of nearly every marketing channel. Whether on streaming TV, out-of-home, banner ads, social media, job boards or any other format, we drove qualified job-hunters directly to listings on Indeed.com.

For candidates who needed more resources before starting an application, we developed a holistic new website. The website provided:

  • Indeed.com interface for direct applications after viewing site content
  • Hospitality career success stories
  • Industry myth-busters
  • An interactive quiz to uncover your hospitality job fit
  • Training opportunities
NCRLA billboard ad

Amplifying real stories for real impact

Ultimately, the hospitality industry needed to get back in touch with its strengths to increase its appeal and drive people to consider new careers. Our storytelling focus for NCRLA shed light on the relevant, concrete employment journeys workers take in the industry—as well as the viable short- and long-term career options available.

The NCRLA website on a laptop
Screenshots of NCRLA Now Hiring content

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