A Hiring Strategy That’s Anything But Square

In the spring of 2022, a fiery hot job market made hiring a challenge across many industries and enterprises. Looking to fill some open positions, Verve, a Credit Union ($1.5B, Oshkosh, WI) thought outside the box with an upcoming billboard change.

“Everyone had banners and posters up to recruit new workers,” says Jordan Destree, assistant vice president of brand and design at Verve. “Even most of the billboards were about hiring. We wanted to do something different, a little risky.”

Verve’s answer to the challenging hiring market was QuitYourJobNow.com, a campaign designed to catch the attention of drivers via a bold billboard demand that doubled as a way to learn more.

“It lent itself to who Verve is as an organization,” Destree says.

QuitYourJobNow.com promoted hiring while at the same time showcasing how Verve is a different kind of place to work. The easy-to-read-and-remember URL directs visitors to a web page that shows them if they’re ready to quit their job, they’re ready to start a career at Verve.

Why Verve? Because, according to the website, it’s an organization that helps employees “unlock their potential, find their passion, and challenge the status quo through an intentional, servant-led culture.” It’s an organization built on employee empowerment and inspiration.

Perhaps that’s why the credit union garnered 3.9 stars out of 4 on the company review website Glassdoor. Yep, Verve prominently displays that rating for job seekers who carefully consider word of mouth. And for the cynics who assume online reviews are fake or deceptive, the credit union includes the accolades it has garnered from corporate work culture recognition programs.

Of course, the page also includes more traditional information — such as benefits and compensation — as well as a link to career openings.

All of this from just one simple message on a billboard. That simplicity, according to Destree, is what made the campaign a hit.

“Having the message, creative, and CTA all in one URL kept things simple and made it so effective,” the AVP says.

The credit union didn’t include its logo or name on the billboard, just its “V” icon at the top. The credit union felt it had enough brand equity in the market and the creative would drive interest on its own.

It did. The billboard generated a lift of 254% more visits to Verve’s website than the credit union would normally see when advertising a product campaign, such as a loan or checking account. In terms of hiring, the credit union’s talent management also reported an increase in applications.

“We were trying to fill primarily front-line positions, but we were also selling the brand and culture,” Destree says. “It definitely worked.”

The billboard was up for the majority of 2022, and beyond the uptick in website traffic and applications, Verve received several positive phone calls about the unusual campaign. Several people not connected with anyone at the credit union on LinkedIn even posted about it on the platform, remarking about how it caught their attention.

“Normally, our ads don’t generate conversations,” Destree says. “This one definitely broke through the clutter.”

In terms of lessons learned, Destree emphasizes the importance of simplicity. Sure, the credit union wanted people to act after seeing its billboard, and, overall, it was trying to solve a complex hiring problem, but the simple execution made it easier to achieve both goals. Whether on a roadside billboard or elsewhere, simplicity matters.

So does creativity.

“From a creative standpoint, being bold and taking the risk is what ultimately made this effective,” Destree says. “Another ‘now hiring’ billboard would have had zero impact. We showed people we were different instead of telling them.”

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