Entertainment Company Spin Master Uses Meme-Based Recruiting Campaign to Land Game Lovers for Marketing Team
Leading global children’s and family entertainment company Spin Master is using a creative new approach to attract talent to its innovative new games pod which will support marketing for the games and puzzles division by launching a meme-based recruiting campaign that targets those who were or became board game and puzzle enthusiasts in the past year while at home during the pandemic.
The outside-the-box recruiting initiative, developed by the company and creative agency L&C New York, is part of a hiring blitz designed to reach these candidates.
Spin Master, famous for game brands such as Rubik’s Cube, Hedbanz, Jumanji, Upwords and many others, is using the campaign to attract talent to its innovative new Games Pod team in its Long Island City, NY office. The group will support creative marketing efforts for the Games, and be responsible for social content and community management, project management, growth marketing, design, and copywriting.
To arrive at attention-grabbing memes and reach for the campaign, Spin Master partnered with Doing Things Media, creators of some of the internet’s most viral memes and videos curated daily to an audience of more than 60 million followers across 25 original meme brands on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
Spin Master recruiting memes take a casting call approach: post-pandemic, it’s time for game lovers to put their newfound skills or long time passion to work at a dream job with one of the world’s leading gaming companies.
Initial memes include uniquely created content to connect in relatable ways to hook board gamers who follow each channel.
One meme pictures an attentive dog sitting at a game of Jumanji with the line “If you made your dog play board games with you during the pandemic, then we have a job for you”; another features a computer desk made out of stacked board game boxes and reads “Some of y’all are tired of working from home, I’m just getting started”.
Spin Master recruiting memes will run on Doing Things Media Instagram accounts including Doggos Doing Things (2.7 million followers), TrashcanPaul (2.5M), MiddleClassFancy (2.4M), RadDad (1.7M), NeatMom (1.1 M), and more.
Clicking through the meme leads to a landing page that links you to the application pages.
Games enthusiasts can apply July 22nd-August 13th, with the hiring blitz expected to result in the new team being in place by early September. Applicants can also add more personality to their submission by submitting via TikTok Resumes, where Spin Master is a founding partner and the program’s only gaming company.
The campaign comes at a time when talent is increasingly hard to find, and the traditional hiring process is in need of reinvention. As many industries rebound from the pandemic, companies are looking beyond traditional recruiting methods in order to compete for the right people.
According to Instagram, meme content gets shared seven times more than non-meme content on their app. GWI reports memes and funny content are the second-most desired form of influencer content by US social media influencer followers, and social media users (especially Millennials and Gen Z) have been sharing more memes as a result of the global pandemic.
Spin Master went to the experts at Doing Things Media to execute and use their reach to meet the next generation of Games Pod team members where they live online. DTM has worked with brands including AB InBev, T-Mobile, Activision, Hulu and others.
Laura Henderson, EVP, head of marketing, Spin Master, Toronto: “After the past year spent at home, a whole new cohort of board game and puzzle enthusiasts has emerged. This meme-based campaign is designed to hit home with these new puzzlers and gamers and make them think “that’s so me”. We’re deliberately looking to reach those who never imagined they’d find a dream gig combining their digital media skills and new love of games.”
Elizabeth LoVecchio, VP, marketing and GBU games, Spin Master, New York: “We’ve done a total rethink of the recruiting process for our new Games POD marketing incubator. This campaign reaches candidates in their element on platforms where they spend time, using engaging memes that are culturally relevant and shareable. The content is designed to motivate people to submit an application, or tag a friend who fits the profile.”
Gian Carlo Lanfranco, CCO/co-founder, L&C New York (formerly Lanfranco & Cordova): “The idea honours the original gamers — those who are obsessed with classic board games, puzzles and brain pushers — and lets them know there’s a perfect gig for them and their gaming skills at Spin Master. This memes campaign is a whole new approach to reach that audience with content that really resonates with them.”
