So, you’re a leader at a great agency. You make terrific work. And more good news: your people and clients are happy. But the agency is located in a market that’s not necessarily an advertising mecca. It’s more of a hidden gem. Not the first market people think about when they think about agencies or places to live.
There’s no doubt the pandemic has broadened the talent pool as the agency world adopts more flexibility on location, teams and how agency work is made and sold.
But… location, location, location. It still matters. Where does the team enjoy a nice dinner after your new business win? Where does one enjoy a beverage? What’s there to do on weekends? Where and how do people live? Where do your staffer’s kids go to school?
What follows are some things you can do to attract and recruit talent to your agency – particularly if it’s not in a market like the Windy City or the Big Apple.
This thinking has come from helping agencies find leaders to work in fantastic markets like Atlanta, Milwaukee, Omaha, Kansas City and New Orleans.
(Full disclosure: I fully admit these ideas will also work when driving down Lake Shore Drive on a summer day. Or grabbing a blanket and some vino for a weekday, after-work concert at Chicago’s Millennium Park. Your market has it’s own Millennium Park. Your mission is to find it and make sure your candidate feels it.)
Find simple and creative ways to sell your market
So your agency isn’t in Chicago or New York. And for many, that’s a great thing! There’s a lot of existing content out there about your market and I encourage you to use it. Give candidates a chance to understand what it’s like to live there. For one agency, we created a one-pager with links to local tourism-type content, testimonials, and cost-of-living comparisons so that candidates could see how much further their money went in the smaller, but way more liveable market. The document went out with every job description.
And at another agency, we made sure to give finalist candidates a nickel tour of the market, helping them understand good neighborhoods, schools, entertainment options and other cultural highlights of their prospective new town.
You could have a lot of fun selling your market. Do it in a creative, distinctive way and it might even attract some trade attention, creating more awareness for your agency.
Identify a candidate pool with ties to your market
This can mean things like where they went to school or if they had a job earlier in their career (in your market). I loved Atlanta so much, I worked there twice. In 2020, we recruited four professionals to a great agency in a market that has a hard time attracting talent. And one way we did this was based on the professionals’ past ties to that market.
Share newsworthy stuff about your agency or market with the candidate pool
Doing this over time creates awareness. While they may not be looking for a job now, they will be looking for a job in the future. Or they know someone looking now and will refer them to you or pass along your interesting news. This is a location and agency-specific example of a relationship valentine.
Develop relationships with local colleges and universities
These kinds of institutions have a vested interest in helping their students and alma mater find jobs. So explore what a relationship can mean. It could be anything from sponsoring alma mater communication… to guest lecturing…to running a campaign competition…to having an informal relationship with marketing professors to identify top talent. Play your cards right and they could even turn into a client.
Find out more
Hope the above gives you a thought or two that can make recruiting at your agency more effective. And should you ever want to discuss any of the above, feel free to reach out. Thanks for reading!
Here’s some other thinking that can inspire ad agency recruiters and help find your next great leader:
- Thoughts on to earn more staff referrals and lower outside recruiting costs
- How to use agency credentials to attract and retain people
- How your agency’s HR function can be made more valuable
- Ways that agency recruiters uncover passive candidates
- Why agency recruiters like a boomerang candidate
photo credit: Uxbridge Onatrio ~ Canada ~ Rutledge Jewelers ~ Former Grocery Store /Dry Goods ~ Heritage Block via photopin (license)
