Shortlisted at the TIARAs, bronze at the EBMAs: bringing GKN Aerospace's shop floor to the candidates
We were delighted to be at this year's EBMA and TIARA awards, where our recruitment marketing campaign with GKN Aerospace won bronze at the EBMAs and made the shortlist for the TIARAs.
The brief was to hire 30+ fitters, fabricators, composite operators and machinists across two Bristol sites, in one of the UK's most competitive engineering talent markets. An earlier in-person open day had shown there was interest, but shift patterns and travel put it out of reach for many of the people GKN Aerospace most wanted to meet. So we flipped it. If candidates couldn't come to GKN Aerospace, we would bring GKN Aerospace to them, with two digital immersive recruitment events built around shift patterns.
It took:
- A deep understanding of the audience: the insights and inspiration provided by Louise Askey and Adam Cooper, who set the challenge and really understood the motivations, current employers and shift patterns of the target audience.
- Access provided by James Moreton Sherwood and Rob Bullock to two extraordinary GKN Aerospace manufacturing sites in Bristol.
- Expert guided tours by Tara Biggs, Izaac Douglas, Billy Holland and Rob Bullock.
- The walking, talking tripod (and wide-angle stills): Adam Winterton.
- Production and editing by the fabulous Tom Newman, and close-up B-roll by Matt Bevan.
- Immersive experience venue design by the wonderful Ilinca Croome.
- The best digital experience platform, from Robert Petrossian and the team at Engagez.
- IT shenanigans from Declan Guerin and Peter Colborn, to enable access for all.
- Scheduling, programming and project management by Joanna Soler and Eloise Holland.
- Brilliant presentations from Lucy White, Neil Bailey, Jamie Williams, George Bettesworth and Daniel Clark.
- Seamless tech support from Isabella Hudson.
- Targeted, AI-powered social media advertising from Adway.
- Super slick and attractive reel creation by Emmie Lambert (our Australian connection).
- Friendly and informative candidate conversations with Lucy Johnson, Sam Scriven, Sian Lewis, David Bufton, Emma Holmes, Mike Slade, George Pledger, Lex Demydov and Anthony Booker.
The result: 130 attendees, against a target of 100. 70 applications. 30 job offers for fitters, fabricators, composite operators and machinists at GKN Aerospace. And a bronze at the EBMAs and a place on the TIARA shortlist to round it off.
Watch the interview with Adam Cooper, GKN Aerospace and Adam Winterton, Dawson Walker with Communicate Magazine here
A huge thank you to everyone named above, and to GKN Aerospace for trusting us to try something different. What a team!