Connection Crew Turns Headhunting on its Head with Mysterious OOH Posters

Most people when they hear the phrase 'being headhunted' will think of big jobs in industries that value higher education. Connection Crew and TBWA\London has challenged this concept, and created a campaign that turns headhunting on its head by using mysterious cards, an enigmatic user journey and specifically targeting lower-income workers.  

Connection Crew CIC is an award-winning social enterprise that works with people of all backgrounds, many of whom have faced barriers to work. 20% of their crew have had experiences of, or have been at risk of, homelessness.  A London Living Wage employer, they provide exciting and creative jobs in crewing for festivals, events, concerts, exhibitions, construction and more. Their highly experienced 200-strong crew works across some of the biggest and most prestigious events in London and the UK.

To drive applications TBWA\London has created 'You’ve Been Headhunted', a campaign centred around Connection Crew team members being challenged to go out into the real world to find the best gig economy workers. These could be bar staff, taxi drivers, security, fast food workers or the hard-working Barista who goes the extra mile making their coffee.  

And once they have found their super star to headhunt, this is where the intrigue begins. They will hand them a beautifully designed but enigmatic 'You've been Headhunted' business card which contains a QR code that starts them on a mysterious journey to a new job. 

As well as the cards there are a set of OOH posters also containing the QR code. Having been intrigued by the campaign’s mysterious messaging, users are taken to a screen saying 'you're nothing like the person we're looking for', along with an enticing 'Don't apply' button. Once hitting that, they will be presented with further negative instructions. But if they persevere and continue to click, they are rewarded with a page that says 'you're persistent - I like that'. The user is then welcomed, and invited to apply, or find out more about Connection Crew.

The cards have been intricately designed, with six eye-catching and intriguing styles to reflect the six different teams - the Cherry card champions a nostalgic diamante and graphic Cherry design, while the Love Heart card sweetens the concept with ‘Head Hunted’ spelled out in bright tempting love heart sweets. There are incentives for the team that converts the most cards to genuine applications. 

Camilla Marcus-Dew, head of ventures at Connection Crew, said, “We want people who are passionate about doing practical, hands-on work. This is often mistaken for being ‘low-skilled’-, which is not something someone in the events crewing business would ever agree with. Crew are highly driven, adaptable, and come up with solutions on the fly, day in and day out. Crewing is as demanding as it is fun and flexible. And TBWA\London has given us a brilliant disruptive way to reach people.” 

Andy Jex, chief creative officer at TBWA\London, said, “We want the feeling of being handed a card to be a real compliment and ego boost, but also mysterious, exciting and enigmatic. Think Squid Games, but with a much more positive outcome and a new job at the end.”