Hospitality Rising: How a Crack Team are Working to Save the Sector
The campaign, ‘Rise Fast, Work Young’ is a response to the hospitality sector experiencing a chronic labour and skills shortage. The brightest and the best from across the advertising industry were brought together to create the UK’s biggest advertising recruitment campaign and save the nation’s hotels, pubs, bars and restaurants. Working with Hospitality Rising, the crack team, assembled by Julian Douglas as part of his IPA Presidential 10X THINK Agenda with the ambition of doubling the amount of people considering a job in the sector. Paulo Areas, CCO at Forever Beta, the lead creative agency on the campaign takes us behind the work.
Q> Why was this particular issue a passion project for Forever Beta?
Paulo> The hospitality sector is experiencing a chronic labour and skills shortage with over 400,000 hospitality vacancies and only one in five (21%) UK workers think it is an appealing industry to work in. It was clear we would need more than a recruitment campaign, but somehow to change the face of hospitality in the UK. In order to do so, The IPA has gathered some of the best creative minds and agencies in the country to tackle the problem, and among these agencies, Forever beta was tasked with delivering the creative work that would lead this change. Passionate about solving problems as we are, this one felt particularly exciting as the core of our independent mindset is to understand the constant change in culture and be capable of staying relevant by influencing or impacting society's behaviour. What we did was to create not only a campaign but a tone of voice, a visual language, and an attitude that intends to reshape the hospitality industry and connect with the young audience, making them proud of being part of something as exciting as this sector.
Q> Where did the inspiration for the creative come from?
Paulo> Hospitality is an exciting and unpredictable career. It offers flexibility, freedom, and fast-paced career progression but mostly, it is not boring like sitting at a desk from 9 to 5, and according to the research and strategic work we did along with VCCP and Ogilvy UK, that was the most appealing argument to enlist young people. So the first creative task was to find a line that would encapsulate this spirit. 'Rise fast. Work young.' is born from the energy and attitude of the iconic sentence ‘Live fast die young’, but brought to life with a more constructive and relevant meaning, and is the cornerstone of the whole campaign, dictating the tone of voice. Finding the visual language was as important as finding the line, as we had clear from the beginning that this should not look like a typical recruitment campaign, but more like covers and posters that would be embraced by the young community. The faceless characters that deliver the message are a subliminal invitation to change the face of the industry, and the colours, the type, the lines, and everything that followed were well thought out to deliver a code that would transcend a campaign media plan and become part of the way the hospitality sector presents itself.
Q> What were the challenges you faced?
Paulo> The campaign was highly dependent on bringing the investors and partners along and aiming at such a young audience, it was not always easy to convince business owners that this was the right approach. Mark McCulloch, Founder of Hospitality Rising, had an impressive role on selling what we were trying to achieve to all investors and getting them on board, and now, with just a couple of weeks since we soft-launched the concept, we are gathering even more partners that have started realising the impact of this new language can bring on young people and the sector.
Q> What was it like to work collectively with other agencies on this project?
Paulo> Fluid and constructive. Having Julian Douglas, IPA president as the orchestra conductor, we were able to work together, everyone adding their grain of sand towards a common goal. I also think it happened because the whole process transcended the corporation level, and had individuals involved with their own personal passions and beliefs. All wanting to make a selfless contribution to solve a national problem. Some of these individuals have become my personal friends as the campaign evolved, and that made all the difference.
Q> How do you think this campaign will change things for Hospitality?
Paulo> Back at the beginning of the whole process, I remember someone saying that the ultimate victory would be to have people that work in hospitality proudly bragging about it. When you look at the tone of voice we are bringing to the table (never better said), it is all about praising the attitude and the excitement of a colourful life where you engage with different people every day and live life as a job. No other sector can talk like that. We are looking to establish a code that will set hospitality apart from other sectors, and make it exciting, thrilling and fresh, not only in this campaign but in whatever the sector does from now on.
Q> Is there any behind-the-scenes info you can tell us?
Paulo> Most of the people involved in the campaign were actually from the target audience we were trying to reach. From the voice behind the hospitality track to the animators and motion graphic artists, everyone had a hospitality background and could understand the tone we were looking for, bringing their own view to the campaign. The process counted people not only from the UK but also from Vietnam (Mono Station), Brazil (Ritmika audio arts), and much more. It was really a huge effort of people embracing the same cause, and that is what we are most proud of.
